Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF), formerly European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation (EFFFF), established in 1987, is a network of 22 genre film festivals from 16 countries based in Brussels, Belgium, and dedicated to promoting and supporting European cinema, particularly films in the fantasy, horror and science fiction genres.
In their book Cult Cinema: An Introduction, Ernest Mathijs and Jamie Sexton describe it as "the biggest fan-based cult-network on the continent", comparable in scope to World Science Fiction Convention, San Diego Comic-Con, and Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors, though less commercial.
Each year, the federation presents the Méliès d'Or (Golden Méliès) to recognize the Best European Fantastic Feature Film and Short Film, as well as the Federation Award for Best Asian Film.
History MIFF was founded in 1987 on the initiative of five film festivals: Fantafestival in Rome, Fantasporto in Porto, the Paris International Festival of Fantastic and Science-Fiction Film, the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and the Sitges Film Festival.
The federation created its first awards in 1995, the Méliès d'Argent (Silver Méliès) and the Méliès d'Or (Golden Méliès), named in honour of Georges Méliès, the great French pioneer of fantastic cinema and special effects. The awards were intended to highlight the creativity and quality of European fantastic films, stimulate production and promote them worldwide.
The first Méliès d'Or ceremony was held by the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival in 1996 and the prize was given to Álex de la Iglesia for The Day of the Beast. Variety has called the Melies d'Or "Europe's top plaudit for horror pictures".
Member festivals
Affiliated members Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival – Brussels, Belgium Sitges Film Festival – Sitges, Spain Imagine Film Festival – Amsterdam, The Netherlands Lund International Fantastic Film Festival – Lund, Sweden MotelX - Lisbon International Horror Film Festival – Lisbon, Portugal Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival – Neuchâtel, Switzerland Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival – Strasbourg, France Trieste Science+Fiction Festival – Trieste, Italy Competitive members Abertoir: The International Horror Festival of Wales – Aberystwyth, Wales Court Metrange Festival – Rennes, France Curtas Festival do Imaxinario – Vilagarcía de Arousa, Spain FanCine - Festival de Cine Fantástico – Málaga, Spain Fant - Festival de Cine Fantástico de Bilbao – Bilbao, Spain Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival – Porto Alegre, Brazil – Vigo, Spain Grimmfest – Manchester, United Kingdom Grossmann Fantastic Film and Wine Festival – Ljutomer, Slovenia Haapsalu Horror & Fantasy Film Festival – Haapsalu, Estonia HARD:LINE International Film Festival – Regensburg, Germany Isla Calavera - Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival – Canary Islands, Spain Molins de Rei Horror Film Festival – Molins de Rei, Spain Razor Reel Flanders Film Festival – Bruges, Belgium Ramaskrik Film Festival – Oppdal, Norway Ravenna Nightmare Film Fest – Ravenna, Italy San Sebastian Horror & Fantasy Film Festival – San Sebastián, Spain Slash Film Festival – Vienna, Austria Splat!FilmFest – Warsaw and Lublin, Poland
Supporting members Fantasia International Film Festival – Montreal, Quebec, Canada Fantastic Fest – Austin, Texas, U.S. Mórbido Fest – Puebla, Mexico Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival – Bucheon, South Korea Screamfest Horror Film Festival – Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. Offscreen Film Festival – Brussels, Belgium Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival – Beirut, Lebanon Wench Film Festival – Mumbai and Kolkata, India
Former members Cinénygma Luxembourg International Film Festival – Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Dead by Dawn – Edinburgh, Scotland Espoo Ciné International Film Festival – Espoo, Finland Fantafestival – Rome, Italy Fantasporto – Porto, Portugal Horrorthon Film Festival – Dublin, Ireland London FrightFest Film Festival – London, England NatFilm Festival – Copenhagen, Denmark Riga International Fantasy Film Festival – Riga, Latvia Utopiales – Nantes, France
See also
List of fantastic and horror film festivals
References
External links