Fantastic Fest 2008

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

To ward of defeat in his future life, a dying ninja warrior wishes to be reincarnated with a skin of steel. He returns to modern-day Korea as a coffee vending machine. Appearing as part of the ANIMATED SHORTS program. CLICK HERE for details.

Brief Summary: Under the Christmas tree, unemployed loser François Margin mysteriously finds a jar of face cream that once applied, temporarily turns him into the most famous celebrity in France. WINNER: Best Feature, Fantasy Worldwide Film Festival WINNER: Best Foreign Feature, Oxford International Film Festival WINNER: Best Film, Beijing Film Festival Director Reynald Bertrand live in person! Full Description: As far as I'm concerned, a film like LA CREME is what film festivals are all about: Finding obscure gems that come from out of nowhere and suddenly become new favorites. Reynald Bertand's comedy has one of those premises that sound too simple and too pat - For Christmas, an unemployed family man gets a jar of facial cream that, when applied, makes people think he's incredibly famous - but this is a truly clever, multi-layered thing of beauty, a smart and hilarious farce that proves that all you need is the right idea and clarity of vision to make a terrific comedy. Some might think that a small French comedy might seem out of place at a genre festival like Fantastic Fest, but they couldn't be more wrong. LA CREME is about fantasy itself, about the power of illusion and the power that comes with it and how, once it's applied, takes on a life of its own. It's a very simple "What would you do?" premise, like having the ability to fly, and Bertand works it like a dream. The cream comes into the life of its lead character (played by Laurent Legeay) just when he's struggling to survive with his family on welfare while he's up for a much-needed sales job against the similarly desperate Nicolas Abraham, and with its great power comes not great responsibility but big trouble and tremendous consequences and Bertand's screenplay takes it into risky places directions that pay off wonderfully. Like a great genre film should, LA CREME is about more than what its premise implies - the ease in which people give in to power and celebrity - but also about how we all give in to illusion to make ourselves feel more important. This is not to say that LA CREME is a serious dissertation on this topic, because it's also one god damn funny movie, briskly paced (Bertand is one of France's top editors, here making his feature directorial debut) with barely a single wasted moment. He's helped immeasurably by a terrific cast; the wonderful Legeay makes for a perfect everyman, with top-notch support from Abraham, Marie-Anne Pauly as Leagay's wife, and an amusingly deadpan Rachid Moutsafy as a straight-laced cop who damn near steals the show. OK, I'm sure you guys get it that I really, really like this one, so expect to see me in at least one screening and if you like it, make sure to vote for it in this year's Next Wave competition, because it deserves to become a breakout hit. To me, LA CREME is this year's TIMECRIMES. (Matthew Kiernan) This film is sponsored by Room Service Vintage.

Brief Summary: FEAR(S) OF THE DARK is a unique collection of fearful tales by the world's most cutting-edge, acclaimed graphic artists. Their intertwined stories make up an unprecedented epic where phobias, disgust and nightmares come to life and reveal fear at its most naked and intense. Full Description: "A sophisticated showcase of contemporary animation. The best short, by Mr. Burns, is a science-fiction nightmare of erotic slavery, with elements of ALIEN and Kafka's METAMORPHOSIS." Stephen Holden, New York Times "Rich, inventive. Often gorgeous to look at, and clever. I don't imagine you'll want to miss this black-and-white feast." James Van Maanen, Greencine Daily The concept is simple:six of the world's best graphic artists (Blutch, Charles Burns, Peirre di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, Richard McGuire and Marie Caillou) were asked to create a black and white short film based on their own personal nightmares. The resulting monochromatic quilt shows a vast range of styles and tones. From the comedic, the bloody, the experimental and the downright creepy, all of the films are incredibly imaginative and effective in their own way. Charles Burns; this graphic novel titan delivers our favorite film of the bunch. A young entymologist finds more comfort in his six-legged friends than the humans in his life, but when he brings a woman home, their companionship might prove to be problematic. Blutch: His film, a hunter chasing his own particular brand of varmint through the woods is interwoven in small segments, providing a narrative thread to the entire tale. Pierre di Sciullo: The only animator on this project produces the most abstract entry. Patterns of lines and shapes morph across the screen, narrated with his more politically aware concepts of "fear". Mari Caillou: In counterpoint to di Sciullo, Marie's lighthearted, anime-inspired story follows a young girl haunted by violent hallucinations while asleep and tormented by bullies at school while awake. Lorenzo Mattoti: Easily the most virtuoso animation talent of the group, Mattoti chronicle's a monster who is terrorizing a small village, told from the perspective of a former resident of the town. Richard McGuire: The final segment is a straight-forward haunted house tale, but animated in a fresh, bold and creative style. The story is sparse, but the amazing visual imagery is the real focus. (Tim League)

A trio of surreal takes on the Spaghetti Western genre by three of Spain’s hottest young gun directors. Appearing as part of the SHORT FILMS OF NACHO VIGALONDO program. CLICK HERE for details.

Brief Summary: Three years after his SXSW debut feature PROMEDIO ROJO, Chilean prodigy director Nicolás López returns with SANTOS, a wild, sweeping tale of comic book nerds versus superheroes in a battle for the future of mankind. Think Ultraman with a Latin American brain transplant. From the producers of SIN CITY and THE ORPHANAGE, visual effects by Troublemaker Studios. Full Description: When Nicolás López first visited Austin in 2005 with his debut feature PROMEDIO ROJO, he implored his idol, legendary Austin producer Elizabeth Avellan to watch the nerd-centric high school romantic comedy (with a lead character named Roberto Rodriquez, natch). She was immediately captivated, both with the film and the spirited filmmaker. So much so that she eventually agreed to have Troublemaker oversee many of the CGI special effects for his ambitious follow-up project: SANTOS. The story begins in flashback, with two young (again) comic-obsessed boys on their shared birthday as they are treated to a song-and-dance routine by a plus size Ultraman-esque impersonator named Gigaman. Strange coincidences mounnt on this fateful day: a freak car accident nearly crushes their rotund entertainer, a blisteringly-close comet blazes across the sky, and in the ensuing chaos, boyhood pals Salvador Santos (Javier Gutiérrez) and Arturo Antares (Leonardo Sbaraglia) discover that the comet may have actually unlocked latent superpowers. Flash-forward to modern times. Salvador and Arturo are now comic-book producers, successful entrepreneurs on the brink of making it big. Strange things, however, are once again brewing: their childhood friends are dying in freak accidents, Arturo is morphing into a rather unlikable megalomaniac, and the same comet that sparked so much chaos in their childhood is set to return in a matter of days. In production for nearly three years, Nicólas López's film explodes off the screen with raw nerd-energy. With a complex plot that encompasses fanboys, superheroes, feces-addicted senseis (aka Antropomosco), homoerotic sidekicks, alternate universes and a plot to bring about the destruction of mankind, SANTOS is ambitious to say the least. Full of the same raw energy, charm and bubbling creativity that first drew Elizabeth Avellan to the director, SANTOS should prove to be a strong contender for this year's Fantastic Fest audience award. We are honored to be presenting the world premiere of SANTOS, in Austin, Texas, a town that after last year's MIRAGEMAN success is proving to be an unofficial cinematic sister city to Santiago, Chile. (Tim League) Director Nicólas López will be live in person to present this film and will answer questions following the screening.

A man with a stag's face contracts someone to perform his murder but changes his mind when he falls in love.

Brief Summary: An anthology of three 30-minute short films, all reflections on Tokyo by three non-Japanese directors. Michel Gondry’s INTERIOR DESIGN, Bong Joon-Ho’s SHAKING TOKYO and Leos Carax’s MERDE. Full Description: Viva punk cinema! Its spirit is alive and well in the form of TOKYO!, a new anthology film comprised of three 30-minute shorts made by 3 non-Japanese auteurs. These brief movies celebrate the life and energy of Tokyo in much the same way Richard Linklater explored Austin with SLACKER, albeit in their own unique disparate ways and voices. Packed with exploding Sogo Ishii energy and reckless punk abandon, each short feels as if Wong Kar Wai's CHUNGKING EXPRESS were re-imagined and reset in Tokyo, with a lot more mischief. That a film about a city many of us may never set foot in could be the most moving film of 2008 only reminds me even more so that the magic of cinema is universal. Each short represents daring artistic statements void of commercial pandering and should be a welcome ride for filmgoers looking for something alive and fresh. Merde Merde is French for shit, but this short is anything but that. Nothing can prepare you for this assault by French Arthouse director Leos Caraz. It's a film that comes at you 900 miles a second, slapping you each step of the way with an orgy of rebellion and farce. Living in an age when we are supposed to tread lightly and be afraid of everything, it feels damn near cathartic to get an anti-hero in the form of pissed-off wild child Merde. Dressed in an ill-fitting green thrift-store suit with uncombed hair and speaking a foreign language that is far removed from any spoken anywhere on Earth, he embarks each day from random sewer points and heckles the living crap out of everything in his path as he steals passerby's cigarettes, flowers and cell phones. He even tips over baby carts. Soon he has the whole city of Tokyo living on eggshells and fearful of where he will pop up next as he becomes both a media sensation and demon all at once. Things take a sharp and insane turn when Merde suddenly discovers a forgotten World War II arsenal in the sewer. From here on out Tokyo will never be the same. Viva Merde! Shaking Tokyo With SHAKING TOKYO Bong Joon-Ho seems to be running in the complete opposite direction of the kinetic monster mayhem of THE HOST towards a more intimately felt and explored tale. The jolts of action in this segment are few and far between, but don't let that put you off, as this quiet gem has more silent energy and life than most feature length films. A nameless "hikikomori" played by Teruyuki Kagawa (who stole the show in Miike's recent Spaghetti Western SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO) has been hidden away for 10 years, quietly enjoying the simple things in life like visits to the bathroom, pizza boxes and more. The hikikomori are defined as those who alienate themselves from all contacts with society and live in their own self-created jungles of isolation and darkness. In SHAKING TOKYO it takes an earthquake and a pizza delivery girl's love to wake Teruyuki Kagawa up from his reclusive slumber. Interior Design Like SHAKING TOKYO, this segment is a reminder that having our worlds shaken up isn't always a bad thing, as it forces us to more with less. That certainly is the case here as a homeless couple (played in top form by Ayako Fujitani and Ryo Kase of FUNKY FOREST) are unable to make ends meet and are forced to crash at a friends place, an efficiency apartment where they are all crammed into the same room. Ryo plays a burgeoning up and coming experimental filmmaker (with suitably Gondryan ideas) looking to make his big break. As his chances to make it big seem bleak, he takes a job wrapping presents to try and save up enough to break out of his friend's place. Meanwhile his girlfriend Ayako explores suitable living spaces of all types within Tokyo. Each one seems more bizarre and unsuitable than the previous one. This might seem very much like a routine tale of a young couple trying to make ends meet, but with Gondry behind the wheel, INTERIOR DESIGN slowly but surely blurs the line between fantasy and reality. As the fantasy void of all too obvious CGI starts crashing into this short frame it spirals into a dizzying Gondry love letter to both Tokyo and aspiring artists and lovers throughout the world. (Blake Ethridge)