Twenty years of horror
As Halloween approaches and people begin to plan their parties, all of San Sebastian prepare for the ultimate spooky celebration. Rosie Khdir discovers this Spanish city’s Fantasy and Horror Film Festival.
If you like the adrenalin rush of being scared out of your wits then this could be the festival for you as the Semana de Cine Fantástico y de Terror is sure to be full of frights.
Originally set up by the San Sebastian Municipal Board of Culture twenty years ago, the festival was designed to get the youth interested in the horror genre and now attracts audiences of all ages. This is a week filled with street shows, music, comedy performances, exhibitions as well as a variety of horror movies shown at different venues around the city.
This festival also holds competitions for short films including the Audience Award which carries a prize of €6,000. Other awards go out for International Jury Prizes, the Youth Jury Prize and the Nomination for the Golden Méliès for Best European Fantastic Short Film. These films will be no longer than 30 minutes and must be on the subject of fantasy or horror.
The festival also organises showings of various publications on both a national and international basis including a special issue of the fanzine 2000 Maníacos.
The Fantasy and Horror Film Festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Basque Government, Kuxta and Calle 13 as well as other public and private companies. It is a great event for film lovers and is the perfect way to celebrate Halloween.
The festival runs from the 20th October until the 4th November and is only about an hour’s drive from Bilbao!
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Image credit: Rain Rannu
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