Fantasporto

40 YEARS OF FANTASPORTO IN PORTUGAL’S CAPITAL OF CINEMA

WILL BEGAN WITH THE WORLD OPENING OF ADVERSE WITH MICKEY ROURKE

The city of Porto, overlooking the River Douro and close to the Atlantic Ocean, and a World Heritage City, welcomes once again one of the most prestigious film festivals in Europe and in the World.  Fantasporto, Porto International Film Festival celebrates its 40^th Anniversary in 2020 and it will be held in 25^th February- 8^th March at the Rivoli Theatre, with the support of the Town City Hall.

Thirteen days of celebration of the Film World, where producers, director, actors, distributors and the audience mix together to watch films of all genres and coming from all over the world. So, no wonder that a horror film is followed by a drama or a documentary, or, maybe an experimental film.

2020 will be a celebration of the great names of cinema, some revealed for the first time in Fantasporto. Some famous names have also visited the festival such as Max von Sydow, Guillermo del Toro, Wim Wenders, John Hurt, Rosana Arquette, Danny Boyle, Ben Kingsley, Paul Schrader who came to introduce their films to the audience. The competitive structure remains the same- Fantasy, Directors Week, Orient Express, Fantasclassics. screenings, Q&A’s, book presentations, debates, art exhibitions, workshops.

The program, of the latest film production usually brings many International and World Premieres which attracts to Porto many cinema and media people who want to see them first hand. 

THE OPENING NIGHT

February 28^th, the opening night of the festival presents in competition in it´s Director´s week Oficial Section the thriller, Adverse of Brian A. Metcalf (EUA). Brian is an Asian-American writer, director, producer and actor. Previously, Metcalf worked as a creative director, writer, photographer, visual effects artist and supervisor working on games, DVDs, web, EPKs, music videos, film and documentaries for studios such as Warner Bros., Sony, Disney, FOX, Paramount, Lionsgate and more. His directorial debut was the award-winning short film "Sorrows Lost." Metcalf's first feature, “Fading of the Cries”, was a project that he produced and wrote the original screenplay.

It was followed by “The Lost Tree” and "Living Among Us," screened in Fantasporto and presented by the director himself, whose script was placed inside the permanent Core Collection in the Margaret Herrick Library by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

In this film, that will have in Porto its World Première, Brian brings us a ride-share driver that in order to save his sister, must infiltrate a dangerous crime syndicate. And his relationship with a major leader of a gang turns into a fantastic, action packed thriller, where a good guy finds an unexpected friend. With fabulous acting by Oscar nominees’ Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) and Sean Patrick Astin (Lord of the Rings), and also Lou Diamond Phillips and Thomas Ian Nicholas (who played Walt Disney)  as the uber driver. This is multi- disciplinary director Brian Metcalf’ s third feature, who visited Fantasporto in 2018 with his previous feature, the vampire comedy  “Living Among Us”.

Immediately after, Out of Competition, in the Official selection, Fantasporto presents the amusent A Night of Horror- Nightmare Radio of Oliver Park, Jason Bognacki, A.J. Briones, Joshua Long, Sergio Morcillo. Adam O’Brien, Luciano Onetti, Nicolás Onetti. Pablo S. Pastor and Matthew Richards a co-production between Argentine/ New Zealand and Great Britain.

Rod, radio DJ, hosts a popular horror-themed show packed with tales of terror for eager listeners. And while he recalls some of his favourite stories, frightened, or not so much, listeners are on the other side. When he receives alarming calls from a horrified child, things start to fell off. Presently, one of the best ways to promote fantasy shorts is to unite them around a single story. This is the case of this film, with excellent and very frightening shorts coming from well-known genre directors.

The Industry Screenings are also a means of connecting the festival with the distributors. In 2020, the festival pays a Tribute to British producer -director Julian Richards, who after working in Amblin, resumed a successful career and has played an important role as the head of Jinga Films. Also Taiwan is present as a special partner of Fantasporto.  And more to come.

Welcome to the World of the Visual Arts, to Porto, twice Best European Destination, to the 40^th Fantasporto