05/04/2012 - Zombies, dead bodies, and haemoglobin: the 30th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival opened last night, under the patronage of Terry Gilliam

The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF) opened last night for 12 days of goose bumps and spectators jumping in their seats. For its 3oth edition, the festival, as usual, is thinking big. Tens of thousands of visitors are expected at Tour & Taxi, where a number of events will be organised beside the screenings: masterclasses, director workshops, horrific make-up contests, a zombie parade, a comic book stand, a manga market, a happy skeleton exhibition, and, the cherry on the cake, the much-awaited Vampire’s Ball, a veritable fest of canines and haemoglobin.

The festival’s guests include William Friedkin and Barbara Stelle (who will be made Knights of the Order of the Crow!), but also thriller writer Maxime Chattam and Henri Vernes (the creator of Bob Morane), as well as a perfectly wild guest of honour, director Terry Gilliam (photo).

The programme will feature about 70 feature films, to be screened throughout the busy festival. Spain, a healthy producer of fantastic films at the moment, will have three films in the international competition,(Extraterrestrial [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nacho Vigalondo
film profile] by Nacho Vilagondo, Game of Werewolves by Juan Martinez Moreno, and Juan of the Dead by Alejandro Brugues), as well as the new film by Alex de la Iglesia, As Luck Would have It [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Álex de la Iglesia
interview: Álex de la Iglesia
film profile], in the thriller competition.

In the European competition, the ten contenders for the Silver Méliès will include two Swiss, three English, two Spanish, one Italian, and only two Scandinavian films (one Finnish film and one Danish film).

Also worth noting are two Belgian co-productions, The Incident by Alexandre Courtes (who has directed music videos for The White Stripes, U2, and Jamiroquai), an American film co-produced by Artémis Productions running in the international competition, and Carré Blanc by Jean-Baptiste Léonetti, a co-production bringing together France, Luxemburg, Switzerland, and Belgium (Tarantula). Finally, to mark its 30th anniversary, the BIFFF will screen three Belgian fantastic films with Rabbid Grannies by Emmanuel Kervyn, Taxandria by Raoul Servais, and Calvaire by Fabrice Du Welz.

(Translated from French)