Breakdown of Fantastic Fest editions by year, with premieres, awards and nominees.
2005 The 2005 festival was only three days long, October 6–9. Screened films included Feast, Wolf Creek, and Zathura. The official sponsors of the 2005 festival were Milkshake Media, KOOP Radio, The Austin Chronicle, Jackson Walker LLP, and Independence Brewery.
U.S. premieres Hakugei: Legend of the Moby Dick
Texas premieres The Big White The Birthday Creep The Dark Hours G.O.R.A. Malefique Marebito Night of the Living Dorks P Pulse Strings The Wild Blue Yonder Wolf Creek
Special screenings Sneak preview of Feast Work-in-progress sneak preview of Hostel Sneak preview of the recut and extended version of Sin City Sneak preview of Zathura A Scanner Darkly
Retrospective screenings The theme of the 2005 retrospective series was "Post Apocalyptic Cinema". The Last Wave Miracle Mile No Blade of Grass 1990: The Bronx Warriors
Special events The special effects team from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe installed a display of costumes, creatures and props from the Narnia film. Legendary makeup and effects supervisor Howard Berger presided over a special effects Q&A.
2006 The 2006 festival was expanded to 8 days and held September 21–28.
World premiere Roman with Q&A by director Angela Bettis and star Lucky McKee
U.S. premieres Gamerz Isolation Lie Still with Q&A by director Sean Hogan The Living and the Dead with Q&A by director Simon Rumley The Woods Blood Trails Broken The Host Blood Tea and Red String Frank and Wendy Bug with Q&A by star Michael Shannon The Hamster Cage with Q&A by director Larry Kent Venus Drowning
Texas premieres Abominable The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell The District! Firefly Frostbite The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai Hatchet with Q&A by director Adam Green Inside with Q&A by director Jeff Mahler The Last Supper Funky Forest (aka Naisu No Mori) Nightmare Origin: Spirits of the Past The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes Puzzlehead A Quiet Love Renaissance Severance Shinobi: Heart Under Blade Shiva Simon Says with Q&A with star Crispin Glover Starfish Hotel Unrest Wilderness Zhest
Special screenings An unfinished version of Apocalypto, followed by a Q&A with Mel Gibson and star Rudy Youngblood Pan's Labyrinth; director Guillermo del Toro was unable to attend but sent along a written introduction for the audience Advance screening of Beowulf & Grendel Advance screening of Terry Gilliam's Tideland Advance screening of The Fountain with Q&A by director Darren Aronofsky Advance screening of Edmond Advance screening of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Retrospective screenings There were three retrospective series. The first paid homage to cult midnight films and included:
Parasite 3-D Northville Cemetery Massacre The Texas Chain Saw Massacre with Q&A by star Edwin Neal ("The Hitchhiker") A Nightmare on Elm Street Fantastic Planet presented by Darren Aronofsky The second was presented by cult author Jack Stevenson and included: A compilation of films depicting drugs in American film Scandinavian Sinema, a presentation of postwar Scandinavian erotic cinema Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages And the third was a retrospective of the action/crime films of director Ram Gopal Varma, featuring: Ab Tak Chhappan Company Ek Hasina Thi
There was also Meltdown Memoirs, a documentary about the making of Street Trash, which also played.
Award winners
Horror Jury Awards, for excellence in the horror genre Best Picture – Isolation Best Director – Billy O'Brien, for Isolation Best Script – Dylan Bank and Morgan Pehme for Nightmare Best Actor – Kane Hodder for Hatchet Best Actress – Nicole Roderick for Nightmare Best Supporting Actor – Lance Henriksen for Abominable Best Supporting Actress – Kristen Bell for Roman Best Art Direction – Alex Boynton for Unrest Best Cinematography – Robby Ryan for Isolation Best Special Effects – Hatchet Best Make-up – Broken
Serving on the horror jury were Jay Slater of FilmThreat.com, Edwin Neal of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Peter Martin of Twitch.com, and Chris Cargill of AintItCoolNews.com.
Short Film Jury Awards Best of Show – The Listening Dead Best Short-Form – Cost of Living Best Long-Form – Rogairi (Villains) Best Animated – If I Had a Hammer Best Comedy – They're Made Out of Meat
Serving on the Short Film Jury were Brian Satterwhite, Jay Knowles and Chris Cargill, all of AintItcoolNews.com.
Fantastic Fest Jury Awards, for excellence in films outside the horror genre Best Film — The Living and the Dead Best Director — Simon Rumley for The Living and the Dead Best Script — Larry Kent and Daniel Williams for The Hamster Cage Best Actor — Leo Bill from The Living and the Dead Best Actress — Jodie Jameson from Venus Drowning Best Supporting Actor — Alan Scarfe from The Hamster Cage Best Supporting Actress — Kate Fahy from The Living and the Dead Best Art Direction — Starfish Hotel Best Cinematography — A Quiet Love Best Special Effects — Puzzlehead Best Makeup — The Living and the Dead Special Jury Mention — Blood Tea and Red String
Serving on the Fantastic Fest Jury Awards were Christian Hallman of the Lund International Fantastic Film Festival, Wiley Wiggins of Dazed and Confused and Waking Life, and Scott Weinberg of Fearnet and Cinematical.com.
Audience Awards 1st Place – Hatchet 2nd Place – Isolation 3rd Place – Firefly
Highlights A notable highlight for the audience occurred when Mel Gibson walked into the theater. Closing night party was Undead Till Dawn, a vampire-themed dance party There was a special screening timed with the release of 42nd STREET FOREVER VOLUME 5: ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE EDITION where every trailer was shown in 35mm
2007 The 2007 festival was held September 20–27. In 2007, Fantastic Fest became a supporting member of the Melies European Federation of Fantastic Film Festivals and helped to found the North American Fantastic Festival Alliance, along with Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal and Dead Channels in San Francisco. The official sponsors of the 2007 Fantastic Fest were AMD, Stella Artois, AT&T, Twitch.com, B-Side, Rue Morgue, Fangoria, and Mondo Macabro.
World premieres There Will Be Blood, with a Q&A by director Paul Thomas Anderson Los Cronocrímenes (Timecrimes), with director Nacho Vigalondo in attendance (Timecrimes was purchased out of the festival by Magnolia Films for theatrical distribution, and remake rights were purchased by United Artists.)The Hollywood Reporter, 19 January 2008.
U.S. premieres Alone The Backwoods The Devil's Chair Diary of the Dead with Q&A by director George A. Romero Flash Point Hell's Fever La Hora Fria (The Cold Hour) Inside Invisible Target Maiko Haaaan!!! Mirageman with Q&A by director Ernesto Diaz Espinoza and action star Marko Zaror Rug Cop Summer Scars Wolfhound Wrong Turn 2: Dead End with Q&A by director Joe Lynch
Texas premieres Aachi & Ssipak The Beautiful Beast Blood, Boobs, and Beast Death Note Death Note 2: The Last Name Devil's Helper: The Folk Art Films of Phil Chambliss A Dirty Carnival Dog Bite Dog End of The Line The Entrance Exte: Hair Extensions The Ferryman Finishing the Game Five Across The Eyes Flight of the Living Dead The Girl Next Door The Girl Who Leapt Through Time Hell's Ground Kiltro with Q&A by director Ernesto Díaz Espinoza and star Marco Zaror The Last Winter Moebius Redux: A Life In Pictures with Q&A by director Hasko Baumann Never Belongs To Me Offscreen Postal with Q&A by director Uwe Boll and actor Zack Ward Princess Retribution Sex and Death 101 Son of Rambow Spiral The Sword Bearer Taxidermia Uncle's Paradise (the food/film feature of the year) Weirdsville Wicked Flowers
Special screenings Southland Tales, the world premiere of the final version after heavy edits, with Q&A by director Richard Kelly Persepolis Dai Nipponjin (Big Man Japan) El Orfanto (The Orphanage), with Q&A by director Juan Antonio Bayona
Retrospective screenings The Nikkatsu action series featured films mainly never before shown theatrically in the U.S.: Velvet Hustler The Warped Ones A Colt Is My Passport Crazy Thunder Road
Award winners Source:
AMD Next Wave Award, for excellence by an up-and-coming filmmaker Gold Medal – Los Cronocrímenes (TimeCrimes) Silver Medal – Spiral Bronze Medal – Mirageman Special Jury Prize for Innovative Vision – End of the Line
Horror Jury Award, for excellence in the horror genre Gold Medal – Exte (Hair Extensions) Silver Medal – Alone Bronze Medal – The Devil's Chair
Fantastic Fest Jury Award, for excellence outside of the horror genre Gold Medal – Offscreen Silver Medal – Never Belongs to Me Bronze Medal – Aachi and Ssipak Special Jury Prize for Most Original Scenario – Never Belongs to Me
Horror Shorts Award Gold Medal – "In the Wall" Silver Medal – "The Fifth" Bronze Medal – "Far Out"
Animated Shorts Award Gold Medal – "Everything Will Be OK" Silver Medal – "Raymond" Bronze Medal – "X-Pression"
Fantastic Shorts Award Gold Medal – "Waiting For Yesterday" Silver Medal – "Sniffer" Bronze Medal – "Suityman"
Audience Award Gold Medal – Mirageman Silver Medal – TimeCrimes Bronze Medal – Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door
Highlights Shooting shotguns with the Next Wave directors Impromptu karaoke party and Fantastic Feud game show Watching pornography (Japanese pinku Uncle's Paradise) in the front yard of festival director Tim League's house Q&A by director Uwe Boll and star Zack Ward after a screening of Postal
2008 Fantastic Fest 2008 was held September 18–25.
World premieres Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds, with director John Gulager and most of the cast in attendance Santos, with director Nicolás López in attendance Seventh Moon, with director Eduardo Sanchez and stars Amy Smart and Tim Chiou in attendance Zombie Girl: The Movie
US premieres Acolytes with director Jon Hewitt in attendance Art of the Devil 3 Sauna Deadgirl with directors Gadi Harel and Marcel Sarmiento in attendance.
Texas premieres Alien Raiders Astropia The Burrowers Cargo 200 The Chaser Chocolate La Creme Dark Floors Doctor Infierno Donkey Punch Estomago: A Gastronomic Story (food/film event) Ex Drummer Fanboys Fear(s) of the Dark Fighter Gachi Boy: Wrestling With a Memory The Good, The Bad, the Weird How To Get Rid of Others I Think We're Alone Now Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer JCVD Just Another Love Story Late Bloomer Left Bank Let The Right One In Martyrs Muay Thai Chaiya Pulse 2: Afterlife Repo! The Genetic Opera Rule of Three South of Heaven Spine Tingler — The William Castle Story The Substitute Surveillance with Q&A by director Jennifer Lynch Terra Tokyo! Tokyo Gore Police Vinyan Wicked Lake The Wild Man of the Navidad The Wreck Your Name Here
Special screenings Zack and Miri Make a Porno (opening night film) with guest director Kevin Smith in attendance (followed by the Air Sex World Championships) The Brothers Bloom, with director Rian Johnson in attendance Appaloosa Eagle Eye (with road rally scavenger hunt) Role Models, with Paul Rudd and David Wain in attendance RocknRolla City of Ember (closing night film), with Bill Murray and Gil Kenan in attendance
Retrospective screenings There was an Ozploitation retrospective featuring Australian exploitation films from the '70s and '80s: Dark Age Mad Max The Man from Hong Kong Razorback Road Warrior, shown on an outdoor screen in the parking lot Turkey Shoot
And the documentary Not Quite Hollywood about Ozploitation in the golden age.
There was also a sampling of Japanese "pinku" titles, including Blue Film Woman Gushing Prayer A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn S&M Hunter
Award winners Source:
AMD Next Wave Award for excellence by an up-and-coming filmmaker