Annual film festival in France
Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival
Official poster of the 6th Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival
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Location
| Strasbourg
, France
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Language
| International
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Website
| https://strasbourgfestival.com
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The
Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival
(
SEFFF
) (French:
Festival Europeen du Film Fantastique de Strasbourg
(
FEFFS
)), is an annual
film festival
held in
Strasbourg
,
France
, that focus on
fantasy
,
science fiction
and
horror
films. The festival takes place annually in September since 2008, it derives from the
Spectre Film Festival
that was created in 2005 by the organization
Les Films du Spectre
.
[1]
Notable past guests of the festival include
Tobe Hooper
,
Lamberto Bava
,
Catherine Breillat
,
Marina De Van
,
Ruggero Deodato
,
Lucky McKee
,
Agnes Merlet
,
Caroline Munro
,
Philippe Nahon
,
Brian Yuzna
,
Roger Corman
,
Mick Garris
and
George A. Romero
.
Moreover, since 2009 the festival starts with the Great Strasbourg Zombie Walk, it has become one of the largest in Europe with around 4000 participants in 2014.
History
[
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]
Hammer Film Festival
[
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]
In 2006, the organization
Les Films du Spectre
decided to organize the
Hammer Film Festival
which revolved around the work of the British film production company
Hammer Film Productions
. For this occasion the cinemas STAR in Strasbourg screened some of Hammer original 35mm prints such as
The Curse of Frankenstein
,
Brides of Dracula
,
The Gorgon
,
The Reptile
,
Dracula
,
Quatermass and the Pit
and
The Mummy
. Furthermore, Hammer screenwriter
Jimmy Sangster
was invited to present some of the movies.
[2]
Spectre Film Festival
[
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]
With the Hammer Film Festival being a success the organization decided to renew the experience in 2007 with the
Spectre Film Festival
. This time around the festival focused on
science fiction
films from the 1950s to the 1980s with the screening of
space operas
,
Japanese science fiction
films,
Jack Arnold
's movies and
Social science fiction
features. Moreover, some of the screenings were available in 3D such as the
Creature from the Black Lagoon
.
[3]
The festival program included features like
Forbidden planet
,
Plan 9 from Outer Space
,
Starcrash
,
Planet of the Apes
,
Invasion of Astro-Monster
and
The War in Space
. More guests were invited during this edition with the presence of
Francois Schuiten
,
Benoit Peeters
,
Luigi Cozzi
, Jean Pierre Berthome and Jean Alessandrini.
[4]
[5]
Creation of the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival
[
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]
In 2008 the festival joined the
European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation
(EFFFF) as an adherent member and changed its name to
Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival
. In addition to its usual screenings the festival added two competitions, respectively between European short films and European feature films. The SEFFF invited
Lamberto Bava
,
Caroline Munro
,
Philippe Nahon
and Jean-Francois Rauger to become the festival's first jury. Finally during this edition the festival paid tribute to the work of
Ray Harryhausen
through multiple screenings.
[6]
In 2009 the festival kept a similar format to the previous year. During this edition the jury was composed of
Ruggero Deodato
,
Jean-Jacques Bernard
,
Marina de Van
and its president
Roger Corman
. Moreover, for this second edition the SEFFF organized a retrospective of George Frangu work and celebrated the 20th anniversary of Ridley Scott's
Alien
.
[7]
Affiliation with the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation
[
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]
Third Edition
[
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]
In 2010 the SEFFF moved up to affiliated membership in the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation enabling them to hold a Melies d’Argent competition. This award nominate a feature film and a short film to the Melies d'or competition that is held during
Sitges
Film Festival. This year jury was made of
Brian Yuzna
, Manlio Gomarasca,
Axelle Carolyn
and Alexandre O. Philippe. The theme of this third edition revolved around
Val Lewton
work, the Italian pop cinema of the 1960s and the 30th anniversary of Star Wars Episode 2. The movie
Buried
which won Strasbourg's first Melies d’Argent went on winning this year Melies d'or.
[8]
Fourth Edition
[
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]
The fourth edition of the festival was marked by the presence of
George A. Romero
as the president of this year's jury. Romero's work as well as
Tod Browning
's and
Edgar Wallace
's were celebrated during the festival with the screenings of their major features. Furthermore
Ben Templesmith
and Jean-Baptiste Thoret joined Romero to form the jury and directors such as Lucky McKee, Keith Wright and Matti Bye were invited as special guests.
[9]
Fifth Edition
[
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]
In 2012 the festival kept on growing with an even greater number of days, screenings and guests. This year theme was Post-apocalypse world as well as
Michael Powell
's and
Emeric Pressburger
's work. The jury was composed of
Mick Garris
, Pierre Bordage,
Alan Jones
and
Agnes Merlet
(the 2011 Melies d’Argent winner).
Moreover, many film crews were invited such as Colin Trevorrow,
Johannes Roberts
, Juan Carlos Medina, Zack Parker, Alexandre O. Philippe, Boris Rodriguez, Robin Entreinger, Justin Benson, Aaron S. Moorhead, Juan Martinez Moreno and Ryan Andrews.
[10]
Sixth Edition
[
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]
In 2013, the festival's size increased once again, with the addition of more special screenings, more crossovers movies, a new documentaries section, etc. Furthermore, during this 6th edition, the festival managed to get one international premiere, three European premieres (Proxy of Zach Parker,
All Cheerleaders Die
of
Lucky McKee
and
Machete Kills
of
Robert Rodriguez
) and numerous French premieres. This year's retrospective revolved around King Kong and El Santo. The feature films' jury was composed of
Lucky McKee
(2011 Golden Octopus winner) as president, Travis Stevens,
Carlos Areces
, Julien Gester and
Tomas Lemarquis
.
Other notable guests included
Xan Cassavetes
,
Marina de Van
,
Sianoa Smit-McPhee
,
Anna Mouglalis
, Zach Parker and Bobby Boermans.
[11]
[12]
A new independent video game contest, called Indium Game Contest, was also held during the 2013 SEFFF.
[13]
Seventh Edition
[
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]
For the seventh edition
Tobe Hooper
presided over the SEFFF jury on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Other members of the feature film jury were Juan Martinez Moreno and Xavier Palud.
[14]
As usual a part of the festival was devoted to past movies with a first retrospective on the theme of "Sympathy for the Devil" and second one focusing on Tobe Hooper's work.
[15]
This edition's notable guests were Ana Lily Amirpour, Leigh Janiak, Till Kleinert, Pau Esteve Birba, Xavier Palud,
Fabrice du Welz
,
Steve Oram
and
Helena Noguerra
.
Other events included an outdoor screening of
Ghostbusters
which was held in front of 2000 people at the foot of the
Strasbourg Cathedral
for the 30th anniversary of the movie,
[16]
a silent film concert of Faust, a master class held by Tobe Hooper, etc.
The Indium Game Contest came back for a second edition during this seventh edition of SEFFF with a selection of 18 independent video games.
[17]
Awards
[
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]
2008
[
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]
- Feature films
- Short films
- Golden Octopus for the best European short fantastic film:
Scary
of Martijn Hullegie (Netherlands)
- Jury Special Mention:
L'insomniaque
de Mathieu Mazzoni (France)
- Audience Award for the best European fantastic short film:
Scary
of Martijn Hullegie (Netherlands)
- Student Jury Prize for the best European short fantastic film:
Cold And Dry
of
Kristoffer Joner
(Norway)
2009
[
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]
- Feature films
- Short films
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European short fantastic film:
Full Employment
of Thomas Oberlies and Matthias Vogel (Germany)
- Audience Award for the best European fantastic short film:
Full Employment
of Thomas Oberlies and Matthias Vogel (Germany)
- Student Jury Prize for the best European short fantastic film:
The Knot
of Kjersti Steinsbø (Norway)
2010
[
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]
- Feature films
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European fantastic film:
Buried
of
Rodrigo Cortes
(Spain)
- Jury Special Mention:
Zwart Water
of Elbert van Strien (Netherlands)
- Audience Award for the best European fantastic film:
Buried
of
Rodrigo Cortes
(Spain)
- Short films
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European short fantastic film:
Mr Foley
of D.A.D.D.Y (Ireland)
- Audience Award for the best European fantastic short film:
Mr Foley
of D.A.D.D.Y (Ireland)
- Student Jury Prize for the best European short fantastic film:
Fard
of David Alapont and Luis Briceno (France)
2011
[
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]
- Feature films
- Short films
- Golden Octopus for the best international short fantastic film:
Bear
of
Nash Edgerton
(Australia)
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European short fantastic film:
La Femme a Cordes
of Vladimir Mavounia-Kouka (France, Belgium)
- Audience Award for the best European fantastic short film:
Legend of the Beaver Dam
of Jerome Sable (Canada)
- Student Jury Prize for the best European short fantastic film:
Legend of the Beaver Dam
de Jerome Sable (Canada)
- Short films made in France
- Seppia price:
L'Attaque du Monstre Geant Suceur de Cerveaux de l'Espace
of Guillaume Rieu (France)
2012
[
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]
- Feature films
- The Golden Octopus for the best international fantastic film:
Sound of My Voice
of
Zal Batmanglij
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European fantastic film:
Painless
of Juan Carlos Medina
- The Jury Special Mention:
Excision
of Richard Bates Jr.
- The Audience Award for the best international fantastic film:
Grabbers
of
Jon Wright
- Short films
- The Golden Octopus for the best international short fantastic film:
The Last Bus
of Ivana Laucikova and Martin Snopek
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European short fantastic film:
The Bird Spider
(
La Migala
) of Jaime Dezcallar
- The Student Jury Prize for the best international short fantastic film:
The Last Bus
of Ivana Laucikova and Martin Snopek
- The Audience Award for the best international short fantastic film:
The Bird Spider
(
La Migala
) of Jaime Dezcallar
- The Special Mention for the best international short fantastic film:
A Curious Conjunction Of Coincidences
of Jost Reijmers
- Short films made in France
- The Jury Prize for the best French fantastic short film:
Le Vivier
of Sylvia Guillet
- The Special Mention for the French fantastic short film:
The Island Keeper
of Aude Cabannes, Julien Malot and Charlotte Pipet
2013
[
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]
- Feature films
- Short films
- The Golden Octopus for the best international short fantastic film:
Yardbird
of Michael Spiccia
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European short fantastic film:
No tiene gracia (Not Funny)
of Carlos Violade
- The Student Jury Prize for the best international short fantastic film: No tiene gracia (Not Funny) of Carlos Violade
- The Audience Award for the best international short fantastic film:
Yardbird
of Michael Spiccia
- The Special Mention for the best international short fantastic film:
The Hunt
of Spencer Estabrooks
- Short films made in France
- The Jury Prize for the best French fantastic short film:
The Things they Left Behind
of Guillaume Heulard and Stepahen Valette
- The Jury Prize for the best animated short film:
Prgy-Skok
of Leonid Shmelkov
Indium Game Contest
- The Octopix for the best completed game:
Elemental4l
of i-illusions
- The Octopix for the best work in progress:
Pathogen
of Zach Bonn
2014
[
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]
- Feature films
- Short films
- The Golden Octopus for the best international short fantastic film:
The Landing
of Josh Tanner
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European short fantastic film:
Robotics
of Jasper Bazuin
- The Student Jury Prize for the best international short fantastic film:
Ceremony for a Friend
of Kaveh Ebrahimpour
- The Audience Award for the best international short fantastic film:
Robotics
of Jasper Bazuin
- The Special Mention for the best international short fantastic film:
Ceremony for a Friend
of Kaveh Ebrahimpour
- The Jury Prize for the best animated short film:
Imposteur
of Elie Chapuis
- The Special Mention for the best animated short film:
La Bete
of Vladimir Mavounia-Kouka
- Short films made in France
- The Jury Prize for the best French fantastic short film:
Shadow
of Lorenzo Recio
Indium Game Contest
- The Octopix for the best game:
The Coral Cave
- The Jury Special Mention:
Savage - The Shard of Gozen
2015
[
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]
- Feature films
- Short films
- The Golden Octopus for the best international short fantastic film:
Barrow
of Wade K. Savage
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European short fantastic film:
Detector
of Floris Kingma
- The Student Jury Prize for the best international short fantastic film:
Detector
of Floris Kingma
- The Audience Award for the best international short fantastic film:
Detector
of Floris Kingma
- The Special Mention for the best international short fantastic film:
Clones
of Rafael Bolliger
- The Jury Prize for the best animated short film:
World of Tomorrow
of
Don Hertzfeldt
- The Special Mention for the best animated short film:
Le Repas Dominical
of Celine Deveaux
- Short films made in France
- The Jury Prize for the best French fantastic short film:
Aquabike
of Jean-Baptiste Saurel
- The Special Mention for the best French fantastic short film:
Garconne
of Nicolas Sarkissian
Indium Game Contest
- The Octopix for the best game:
Apocalypse Cow
of Monsters are here
- The Jury Prize for the best game:
Zombie Night Terror
of NoClip
2016
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]
- Feature films
- Short films
- The Golden Octopus for the best international short fantastic film:
The Disappearance of Willie Bingham
of Matt Richards
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European short fantastic film:
The Tunnel (Tunnelen)
of
Andre Øvredal
- The Special Mention for the best short film:
Subotika, Land of Wonders
of Peter Volkart
- The Audience Award for the best international short fantastic film:
Madam Black
of Ivan Barge
- The Student Jury Prize for the best international short fantastic film:
The Disappearance of Willie Bingham
of Matt Richards
- The Jury Prize for the best animated short film:
Teeth
of Daniel Gray and Tom Brown
- Short films made in France
- The Jury Prize for the best French fantastic short film:
Quenottes
of Pascal Thiebaux and Gil Pinheiro
Indium Game Contest
- The Octopix for the best game:
Mars Underground
of Matthew Sanderson
- The Jury Prize for the best game:
Machiavillain
of Wild Factor
2017
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]
- Feature films
- The Golden Octopus for the best international fantastic film:
Double Date
of Benjamin Barfoot
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European fantastic film:
Let the Corpses Tan
of
Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani
- The Audience Award for the best international fantastic film:
Dave Made a Maze
of Bill Watterson
- The Jury Special Mention:
Earth and Light (Terra e Luz)
of Renne Franca
- The Jury Prize for the best crossover film:
Bitch
of
Marianna Palka
- Short films
- The Golden Octopus for the best international short fantastic film:
Fucking Bunnies (Saatanan Kanit)
of Teemu Niukkanen
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European short fantastic film:
The Absence of Eddy Table
of Rune Spaans
- The Student Jury Prize for the best international short fantastic film:
Expire
of Magali Magistry
- The Audience Award for the best international short fantastic film:
The Robbery
of Jim Cummings
- The Jury Special Mention for the best short film:
Mouse
of Celine Held and Logan George
- The Jury Prize for the best animated short film:
The Absence of Eddy Table
of Rune Spaans
- The Jury Special Mention for the best animated short film:
Pussy (Cipka)
of Renata G?siorowska
- Short films made in France
- The Jury Prize for the best French fantastic short film:
Animal
of Jules Janaud and Fabrice Le Nezet
Indium Game Contest
- The Octopix for the best game:
Do Not Feed the Monkeys
of Fictiorama Studios
- The Jury Prize for the best student game:
Abadi
of Beetle Games (ETPA Toulouse)
- The Arte Creative prize:
oQo
of Lance and 3-50
2018
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]
- Feature films
- The Golden Octopus for the best international fantastic film:
Exit (Cutterhead)
of Rasmus Kloster Bro
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European fantastic film:
The House that Jack Built
of
Lars von Trier
- The Audience Award for the best international fantastic film:
Exit (Cutterhead)
of Rasmus Kloster Bro
- The Jury Special Mention:
Prospect
of Chris Caldwell and Zeek Earl
- The Jury Prize for the best animated film
(ex aequo)
:
Mirai
(Mirai no Mirai)
of
Mamoru Hosoda
- The Jury Prize for the best crossover film:
Xiao Mei
of Maren Hwang
- The Special Mention for the best crossover film:
Pig
(Khook)
of
Mani Haghighi
- Short films
- The Golden Octopus for the best international short fantastic film:
Babs
of Celine Held and Logan George
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European short fantastic film:
A l'aube
of Julien Trauman
- The Student Jury Prize for the best international short fantastic film:
Deer Boy
of Katarzyna Gondek
- The Audience Award for the best international short fantastic film:
The Girl in the Snow (Das Madchen im schnee)
of Dennis Ledergerber
- The Jury Prize for the best animated short film:
Lola, une patate vivante
of Leonid Shmelkov
- The Jury Special Mention for the best animated short film:
Mr. Deer
of Mojtaba Mousavi
- Short films made in France
- The Jury Prize for the best French fantastic short film:
Chose mentale
of William Laboury
Indium Game Contest
- The Octopix for the best game:
Nine Witches : Family Disruption
of One Man Game
- The Audience Award for the best game:
The Textorcist
of Morbidware
2019
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]
- Feature films
- Short films
- The Golden Octopus for the best international short fantastic film:
Fauve
of
Jeremy Comte
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European short fantastic film:
Yandere
of William Laboury
- The Student Jury Prize for the best international short fantastic film:
The Burden (Het Juk)
of Nico Dan Ben Brink
- The Student Jury Prize for the best animated short film:
Pulsion
of Pedro Casavecchia
- The Audience Award for the best international short fantastic film:
The Burden (Het Juk)
of Nico Dan Ben Brink
- The Jury Prize for the best animated short film:
L'heure de l'ours
of Agnes Patron
- Short films made in France
- The Jury Prize for the best French fantastic short film:
Animal
of Jules Janaud and Fabrice Le Nezet
Indium Game Contest
- The Octopix for the best game:
Backbone
of EggNut
- The Audience Award for the best game:
Scourgebringer
of Flying Oak Games
2021
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]
- Feature films
- Short films
- The Golden Octopus for the best international short fantastic film:
Such Small Hands
by
Maria Martinez Bayona
- The Melies d’Argent for the best European short fantastic film:
White Noises
by
Thomas Soulignac
- The Student Jury Prize for the best short fantastic film:
T'es morte Helene
by
Michiel Blanchart
- The Jury Prize for the best animated short film:
Un Coeur D'Or
by
Simon Filliot
- Short films made in France
- The Jury Prize for the best French animated short film:
T'es morte Helene
by
Michiel Blanchart
Indium Game Contest
- The Audience Award for the best game:
Mind Scanners
by
The Outer Zone
Opening and closing ceremonies
[
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]
Since 2008 the festival schedule an opening and closing ceremony, which usually consist in a European movie premiere. Those movies were :
Other activities around the festival
[
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]
Since its beginning, the festival celebrate some of the most famous fantastic films directors and sagas such as Aliens, King Kong and Romero's "of the Dead Series", through exhibits, retrospectives, lectures and workshops.
In 2009 the first Great Strasbourg Zombie Walk was organized which marked the start of the festival. The walk brought together a few hundreds people for its first year but quickly grew bigger with more than 3500 people in 2012 and around 4000 people in 2014, making it one of the biggest zombie walk in Europe. Usually the walk is followed by the Bal des Zombies during which bands such as Daemonia and Mine Power Cosmic perform.
Since the 5th Edition of the festival a "Nuit des Nanars" (English: Night of the
Z Movies
) is organized. During this event 3 to 4 old Z movies are screened from midnight to the morning after. Some of the "Nanars" shown included:
King Kong vs. Godzilla
, Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century,
The Mighty Peking Man
,
Rats: Night of Terror
,
Atomic Cyborg
, etc. During the seventh edition of the festival, the "Nuit des Nanars" was exceptionally replaced by the "Cannon TestosteroneFest" during which three action movies of the late independent production company
The Cannon Group
were screened.
Moreover, a few exhibitors as well as a bar form the Village Fantastique where visitors can meet other fans as well as film crews, members of the jury and some of the festival organizers.
References
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]
External links
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]