Simon at Fantastic Fest

Fantastic Fest 2017

By Simon Barber on October 17, 2017 — 1 min read

In September 2017, I was able to attend Fantastic Fest, the genre film festival which takes place at the South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas. I hadn’t been able to visit since 2013, so it was great to be back with my compadre Dale Lloyd taking in extraordinary films from around the world and catching up with some of our cinephile friends.

In addition to checking out Austin, enjoying a round of Top Golf, and watching some live tapings of the Maltin On Movies podcast, I managed to see 30 movies during the event. They were:

Dan Dream
3ft Ball & Souls
Bad Genius
Let the Corpses Tan
King Cohen (with Larry Cohen Q&A)
Maniac Cop 2 (with Larry Cohen and Laurene Landon Q&A)
Applecart
78/52
Firstborn
Super Dark Times
Brawl in Cell Block 99 (with Vince Vaughn Q&A)
Blade of the Immortal
Take It Out in Trade
Bodied
Gilbert (with Gilbert Gottfried Q&A)
Anna and the Apocalypse
My Friend Dahmer
Thelma
The Death of Stalin (with Armando Iannucci Q&A)
Ron Goossens: Low-Budget Stuntman
The Square
Gerald’s Game
Cold Hell
Juvenile
Hagazussa
Mon Mon Mon Monsters
Darkland
Haunters
Maus
Downsizing

Among my favourites were Bad Genius, Super Dark Times, Bodied, Gilbert, My Friend Dahmer and the stunning Thelma.

I’ve noted some of my favourite Q&As in the list too, but luckily for us, most of the screenings featured post-screening interviews with the directors, crew and/or actors.

With the commitments of family and my many projects, it’s a challenge to get over to the States, but I look forward to getting back to Fantastic Fest in future years.

Posted in: Travel

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