Fantastic Fest 2008

Some people will go to the greatest lengths in the name of romance. This musical short was nominated for a 2005 Academy Award! Appearing as part of the SHORT FILMS OF NACHO VIGALONDO program. CLICK HERE for details.

Brief Summary: Hildur, a high-society socialite, is left bankrupt and alone after her corrupt husband is whisked off to prison. With no other prospects, she gets a job selling role-playing games and accessories at Astropia, the town's geek Meccas. Full Description: Leave it to Iceland to deliver a charming film in which LARPing could possible save all humanity. If in an alternate universe, Edgar Wright had an Icelandic brother making his own SPACED feature for the fanboy and comic book culture, the ASTROPIA (Dorks and Damsels) is at that film and Gunnar B. Gudmundsson is that brother. A politically incorrect satire that will make you think of Monty Python in THE OFFICE, and manna from heaven for those who have ever LARPed, been to Comic-Con, played a role playing game, bought a comic book or rented CUJO to a kid under 5, this hilarious low budget Indie should find a welcome home in Austin, with audiences that can totally relate to many of the characters in the film. While mainstream media tries to stigmatize fanboys and comic culture, ASTROPIA gives nerds their mojo in a big way. The beautiful thing here is you don't have to know a single dam thing about the culture; its a fully accessible story to all, but with some succulent, juicy bones thrown to the geek-dogs. The beginning of ASTROPIA feels very much like something ripped off the latest U.S. gossip mags, with a self-centered glamor girl hitting the skids. the out-of-control girl beauty here is Hildur, who is riding a dangerously overloaded gravy train belonging to a no good scammer named Jolli (the great Peter Stormare). Jolli pushes his luck too far and gets thrown in the slammer leaving Hildur homeless and on her own to make things work. Hopeless, without a true friend, her salvation comes from an unexpected direction. It's a magical comic book store called ASTROPIA. Through this metaphysical portal, she departs on a nerd odyssey (or nerdyssey) where the fantasy world of hers and others might just save the day, save the world and get rid of Jolli's evil once and for all. Director Gunnar Gudmundsson, screenwriters Ottó Geir Borg and Jóhann Ævar Grimsson and producer Ingvar H. Pórõarson will be in attendance! This screening is sponsored in part by Gamecock Media Group and their new game Legendary. Check it out at www.gamecockmedia.com

Sure, it's a fact that psychopaths love to torture and destroy innocent people. But what happens when your average suburban family gets their hands on a pack of sadistic cannibals?

A self-loathing cat food canner looks for happiness in all the wrong places, especially when he learns that a "female" companion can be ordered by mail. Beautifully animated in a style that proves to be less cute n' cuddly than first glance would have you believe. Appearing as part of the ANIMATED SHORTS program. CLICK HERE for details.

The follies of youth are lost on the old. Nacho Vigalondo stars as a man driven over the edge in a gaming arcade. Appearing as part of the SHORT FILMS OF NACHO VIGALONDO program. CLICK HERE for details.

A lonesome, elderly ventriloquist is plagued by his ugly reality and his lil' wooden friend in this unexpectedly comic view of people at the very last rung of society's ladder.

Brief Summary: Part of the Alamo Drafthouse’s patented signature show series, Quote-Alongs heighten the experience of watching your favorite films with props, subtitling of iconic lines of dialogue, pyrotechnics and confetti, always confetti. Full Description: "Groovy." The first time you saw EVIL DEAD II, your life was changed forever. Whether you were 14 or 40 on that fateful day, something inside you would never be the same, and from that moment on you had no choice but to be a fanboy. Since that day, of course, you've seen EVIL DEAD II dozens, perhaps hundreds of times. With each repeat viewing, you find some new thrill, some fun new detail, but haven't quite been able to capture that life-changing glee that came from the first time you realized that Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell are gods. Well, never fear. The Mondo Quote-Along presentation of EVIL DEAD II will recapture that glee for you, bottle it up, and let you take a whiff of it any time you need to remember what it's like to believe in awesomeness again. We'll start with a Blu-Ray presentation of this titan of genre films, then we add in some karaoke-style subtitles for the really big lines (obviously a lot of us don't need them, but still, it helps). You'll know exactly when to yell out "Swallow this," to be timed with Ash and everyone else in the crowd, and I guarantee that you'll get goosebumps down your spine when your voice joins everyone else in the crowd for a low and rumbling, "Jooiin usss." To top everything off, we'll have props for added audience interaction, confetti cannons, and more. Think of it as ROCKY HORROR for the true horror set, and prepare yourself for a fully religious experience. (Henri Mazza)

Brief Summary: Desperate to see STAR WARS EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE, five high school friends break into Skywalker Ranch to steal an early cut of the film. Full Description: Starring: Dan Fogler, Kristen Bell, Seth Rogen, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Ethan Suplee, Kevin Smith, William Shatner & lots of geeks! Harry Knowles here – talking with you about one of the oddest film experiences of my life. FANBOYS began as a wet dream for Austinite Ernie Cline. It was written in the days and months before THE PHANTOM MENACE opened in theaters. Like most of us, if you’re honest, we were in awe in living in the glow of an up-coming new STAR WARS movie. Somehow, Ernie concocted the evil thought – what if I die before I see a new STAR WARS film – and the kernel for this project began. He wrote me into the film as a character that provides the main characters with the knowledge they need to break into Skywalker Ranch – I agreed to play myself in his Indie movie, and he gave me the script to be sure. Having read the script I excitedly wrote a review of Ernie’s script on December 9th, 1998. I felt the script absolutely captured the mania and fear and anxiety about the coming of Episode 1. Yes, that was 10 years ago. The following 10 years found Ernie’s script in various stages of development… Possibly being made at somewhere around 5 different studios at different times. Then one miraculous day the film started shooting, with actual Star Wars actors in cameos, with the cooperation of Lucasfilm and with the backing of The Weinstein Company. I saw the first version of this film about 2 years ago. The storied battles behind the scenes are well documented, but the one thing that comes through it all is this… this is a movie about STAR WARS fans made by STAR WARS fans and it has finally come home to Austin! As you watch this incredibly fun and heartfelt geek movie you need to do just one thing. Go back in time, back when the worst thing about STAR WARS was Ewoks… oh, and Greedo firing first. When the dream about EPISODE 1 was a far away glimmer and the first trailer came out and blew our collective minds. Do you remember that? Remember the geeks lining up for months outside movie theaters nationwide? Do you remember who you HAD to see the movie with? This is a movie about all of that – and – making a bit of fun of all of that. It’s a celebration and embracing of Star Wars fandom. It’s about STAR WARS being the coolest thing in the world… and nobody knew who Peter Jackson was… and that book about those furry footed fuckers was a dim hippie-hazed memory of long ago. This is about the greatest thing STAR WARS does… bringing best friends together to argue, dream and plot about the greatest adventure ever. (Harry Knowles)

Nacho Vigalondo portrays an interstellar superhero who, along with his sniveling sidekick, fearlessly battles evil throughout the universe!