The largest genre film festival in Latin America, Fantaspoa, is set to celebrate its 21st edition with an impressive line-up in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The festival, renowned for its diverse and culturally relevant programming, will run at five theatrical venues across the city. The event will kick off with a special centenary anniversary screening of "The Phantom of the Opera" starring Lon Chaney, accompanied by a live score.
This year's Fantaspoa promises an eclectic selection of over 100 feature films. Notable entries include the Latin American premiere of "Rich Flu," a sci-fi satire from Spain's Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, known for his success with "The Platform" at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. The festival will also host the world premiere of "Three," a psychological drama by pioneering UAE female filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja.
A significant portion of Fantaspoa's short film programme will be available exclusively for Brazilian viewers for free on the Darkflix+ streaming platform, expanding the festival's reach beyond physical venues. With 61 countries represented, this edition will feature 11 world premieres, 12 international premieres, 47 Latin American premieres, 19 Brazilian premieres, and nine regional premieres.
The selection process for this year was highly competitive. Organizers received over 1,300 submissions, with more than 90% coming through FilmFreeway. Ultimately, only 18% of these entries were selected.
"We could not be prouder of the programme we have put together, having received over 1,300 entries for this edition. Over 90% of our entries came directly from FilmFreeway submissions and we selected 18% of all submitted films. Factors that influenced our title selection were overall quality, diversity, and cultural relevance." – João Fleck, João Teixeira, and Nicolas Tonsho