Fantaspoa, the largest festival dedicated to the fantastic genre cinema in Latin America, concluded its historic twentieth edition with great success and record in audience participation. Over the course of 19 days, film enthusiasts from Porto Alegre and around the world gathered to celebrate horror, science fiction, fantasy, and all their subgenres. With a selection of high-quality films and a diverse program, Fantaspoa once again consolidated its position as one of the world's leading genre film festivals, reinforced by the impressive number of 41 world premieres promoted by the event.
The 20th Fantaspoa featured screenings in four different venues - Cinemateca Capitólio, Cinemateca Paulo Amorim, Instituto Ling, and Cine Cult Victória - and hosted 64 debates, 4 masterclasses, 6 live-score film sessions, and 3 parties, reaching an impressive number of 13 thousand attendees at its in-person activities. A record number of 237 films were included in the festival program, with 92 of them available virtually on the Darkflix+ platform, which garnered an impressive and record breaking 313 thousand views during the festival period. Also, 2024 marks the first year that Fantaspoa awards the Méliès D'Argent award to a European short film, becoming the only festival from outside the European Union to grant such an honor.
The competitive categories of the XX Fantaspoa were: International, Ibero-American, Brazilian, Low Budgets Great Films, Animation, Documentary, and Short Films. See below the list of award winners:
Short-Film Competition
(Jury: Jaime Arnaiz, Frederico Franco, Felipe Iesbick)
Best National Short Film: "Collection of Extremely Short Stories” by Pedro Fraga Villaça
Best International Animation Short Film: "Wander to Wonder" by Nina Gantz
Best International Live-Action Short Film: "Cultes" by David Padilla
Mèliés D'Argent Award: "Sincopat" by Pol Diggler
Honorable Mentions:
"Bad Eye" by Nícolas Lobato
"Deadline" by Idan Gilboa
"Cut Me if You Can" by Nicolas Polixene and Sylvain Loubet dit Gajol
"The Cost of Flesh" by Tomas Palombi
Documentary Competition
(Jury: Fabian Forte, Gonzalo López Gallego, Nicanor Loreti)
Best Film: "Enter the Clones of Bruce" by David Gregory
Animation Competition
(Jury: Laura Aguerrebehere, Neal Dhand, Edu K)
Best Film: "Demigod: The Legend Begins" by Chris Huang Wen-Chang
Midnight Films Competition
(Jury: Mike McCutchen, JJ Weber)
Best Film: "Blind Cop 2" by Alec Bonk
Brazilian Competition
(Jury: Gonzalo Quintana, Hernán Quintana, Bianca Temperini)
Best Film: “Heavier is the Sky”, by Petrus Cariry
Low Budgets Great Films Competition
(Jury: Dominic Hardy, Justin Hardy, Chris Nunn)
Best Film: “Self Driver”, by Michael Pierro
Ibero-American Competition
(Jury: Patrícia Barbieri, Filipe Matzembacher, Marcio Reolon)
Best Film: "The Horned Frog”, by Augusto Sinay
Best Direction: Juan González and Nando Martínez for "The Fantastic Golem Affairs”
Best Screenplay: Augusto Sinay for "The Horned Frog”
Best Actor: Víctor Clavijo for "The Wait”
Best Actress: Julia Martínez Rubio for "Bionica"
Honorable Mention:
For the sensitive construction of portraits of its characters through refined direction, photography, and art, the jury awards a special mention to "Hidden City”.
International Competition
(Jury: Sylvia Caminer, Fernando Sanches, Dane Taranha)
Best Film: "Jupiter", by Benjamin Pfohl
Best Direction: Vardan Tozija for "M"
Best Screenplay: Makoto Ueda for "River"
Best Actor: Ryan Ward for "Daughter of the Sun”
Best Actress: Sophie Colon for "Endless Summer Syndrome”
Best Cinematography: Lílis Soares for "Mami Wata"
Best Special Effects: Dorian Cleavenger and Steve Johnson for "The Invisible Raptor”
Best Art Direction: Evelyna Darzenta and Martins Straupe for "The Invisible Fight”
Honorable Mentions:
3 great actresses from "Suppressed”: Jana Plodková, Milena Steinmasslová, and Magdaléna Borová
"Pandemonium" for being a genuine horror film
"Jupiter" for best ensemble cast