23/04/2025 - From 2-10 May, the Basque city will be full to the brim with directors specialising in genre film, such as Alice Lowe, Teemu Nikki, Miguel Llansó, Enrique Buleo and Daniel Monzón, among others

FANT – Bilbao Fantastic Film Festival, organised by Bilbao City Council, will hold its 31st edition from 2-10 May in the Basque city. It will be opened by a screening of the new movie by British-Iranian filmmaker Babak Anvar, Hallow Road, a psychological thriller starring Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys, which was premiered at SXSW in Austin. Meanwhile, Timestalker [+see also:
film review
film profile], the latest feature by Brit Alice Lowe, who will also be presented with the Fantasy Star Award, will have the honour of bringing the gathering to a close.

The official competition section will have 19 titles on offer: France’s Animale [+see also:
film review
interview: Emma Benestan
film profile] by Emma Benestan and Mads [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by David Moreau, Finland’s Death Is a Problem for Living by Teemu Nikki, Estonia’s Chainsaws Were Singing [+see also:
interview: Sander Maran
film profile] by Sander Maran, Ireland’s Fréwaka [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aislinn Clarke
film profile] by Aislinn Clarke, the Dutch flick Krazy House by Steffen Haars and Flip Van der Kuil, the Belgian-French co-production Night Call [+see also:
film review
interview: Michiel Blanchart
film profile] by Michiel Blanchart, and Spain’s Infinite Summer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miguel Llansó
film profile] by Miguel Llansó, El instinto by Juan Albarracín, Idilia by Javier Canales Sepúlveda and José Taltavull Sepúlveda, and Giro final by Norberto Ramos del Val.

This strand is rounded off by the Chinese-European co-production Brief History of a Family [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Jianjie Lin, the Argentinian movies 1978 by Nicolás Onetti and Luciano Onetti and Gunman by Cris Tapia Marchiori, South Korea’s Pig that Survived Foot and Mouth Disease by Hur Bum-wook and The Roundup: Punishment by Heo Myeong-haen, the Philippines’ Espantaho by Chito Roño, Canada’s The Silent Planet by Jeffrey St Jules, and the USA’s Desert Road by Shannon Triplett.

This edition of the festival sees it continuing to throw its weight behind local talents, granting them space in the FANT Laburrean – Euskal Filmak official section, which features Basque short films. What’s more, FANT is strengthening its European reach thanks to its membership of the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF), which promotes fantastical film hailing from the continent and enhances its visibility. This membership entails choosing the winner of one further prize: the Silver Méliès for Best European Fantastic Short Film. All of the shorts that receive this accolade at the festivals forming part of this institution are automatically eligible to enter the wider competition for the Silver Méliès Award, granted to a European short film in the fantastical genre. Likewise, the festival has dedicated a slot in its programme to screening various short films that have won Méliès gongs over the past year.

There will also be space for the FANT Maestros sessions, which this year are dedicated to Mexico’s Carlos Enrique Taboada (Darker Than Night, Poison for the Fairies) and to US-British helmer Terry Gilliam (Brazil). Similarly, tribute will be paid to the British company Amicus Productions via screenings of the classics Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors by Freddie Francis and Asylum by Roy Ward Baker.

This edition’s Honorary FANT Awards will be bestowed upon actor Saturnino García, a Goya winner in 1995 for Justino, un asesino de la tercera edad; filmmaker Daniel Monzón, whose Heart of the Warrior (with which he made his directorial debut in 2000 after a career in journalism) festival audiences will be able to enjoy; and actress Eva Llorach, who picked up a Goya Award for Quién te cantará [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carlos Vermut
film profile] and who also stars in the aforementioned El instinto, in the official section. Lastly, the FANTtrobia Award, which serves to recognise an emerging figure in genre cinema, will be granted to Manchegan helmer Enrique Buleo for his feature-length directorial debut, Still Life with Ghosts [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Enrique Buleo
film profile].

(Translated from Spanish)