This is something that FrightFest


co-director Greg Day believes is contrib- uting to a shift in industry attitudes towards genre film festivals. “I think it’s to do with the fact they are watching with a captive audience and from their response, they can tell quite quickly how successful or how popular the film is. “In a way, [genre] film festivals will


become more and more famous as pub- lic events, and distributors embrace that. It gives them an opportunity to put on the films which they wouldn’t normally do, if they had to spend the money on straightforward exhibiting,” adds Day. PiFan programme director Jin Park


agrees. “Since I joined PiFan in 2007, I feel gradual changes in the industry toward genre festivals, as the industry has been aware genre festivals’ specifi- city appeals to the market as well as the audiences. “Owing to this atmosphere around


genre cinema, I’m sure the film industry worldwide can now take genre festivals seriously as good marketing and show- casing occasions.”


Mitch Davis, co-festival director of


Fantasia, attributes the industry’s changing attitude to a “perfect storm”. “I think the industry had no choice but


to take active notice and explore what we are and what we can do for a production. Foreign films and lower-budget produc- tions of the sort that can often be difficult in the marketplace can become block- busters on the genre film circuit. “Our audiences are hyper-informed


and they embrace films that take genu- ine risks. They’re also, for the most part, not cynical in the way that certain festi- val crowds can be and virtually everyone blogs these days with an eagerness to help discover and support new talent.” And genre film festivals have started


to play a major role in the marketing of a genre film, according to Mike Hostench, deputy director of Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia. One of the objectives Hostench and festival director Angel Sala set for Sitges was to make it relevant for the local and inter- national film industry. Hostench says: “[This meant] that


‘The film industry worldwide can now take genre festivals seriously as marketing and showcasing


occasions’ Jin Park, PiFan


having a film in Sitges will mean selling your film in Spain, or improve results at the Spanish box office. This has implied that more and more producers and dis- tributors from around the world, major and indie, are taking Sitges very seri- ously in the marketing plans of their genre releases.” Alongside the industry’s changing


The Network of Asian Fantastic Films genre market A FANTASTIC TOUR: SELECTED GENRE FESTIVALS


Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) Puchon, South Korea July 19-29, 2012 www.pifan.com


Showcasing cutting-edge films from around the world, PiFan attracts around 48,000 attendees each year. It hosts events such as an audience party, where guests can be made up as zombies. PiFan’s project market, Network of Asian Fantastic Films, is in its fifth year and was the first of its kind to launch.


Fantasia International Film Festival Montreal, Canada July 19-August 7, 2012 www.fantasiafestival.com


Has seen 1.2 million visitors since its launch in 1996, and is cited as one of the world’s most influential festivals.


Film4 FrightFest London, UK August 23-27, 2012 www.frightfest.co.uk


Now in its 13th year, FrightFest is


driven by fans, with film-maker Guillermo del Toro proclaiming it to be “the Woodstock of gore”. FrightFest also runs a strand during the Glasgow Film Festival in February.


Fantastic Fest Austin, Texas, US September 20-27, 2012 www.fantasticfest.com


With an audience of around 30,000 each year, Fantastic Fest offers unique experiences alongside the films, from freestyle nerd rap competitions to


boxing matches between stars and directors.


Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia Sitges, Spain October 4-14, 2012 sitgesfilmfestival.com


In terms of budget, number of films, talent invited and industry relevance, this is the number one genre festival. Some 170,000 attendees last year, including to its free access areas, with 64,000 tickets sold.


attitudes towards genre film festivals, there is also a shift in the way genre films in general are perceived. This is some- thing Tim League, founder and CEO of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Drafthouse Films and Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, sought to change having been dis- appointed that the “films we loved were being dubbed as ‘low art’, ‘B movies’ or worst of all, ‘so bad they are good’”. “Due in some measure to the grow-


n 52 Screen International June-July 2012


www.screendaily.com


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