Fantastic7 Totally Owns The Marché du Film
At its 6th edition, the Fantastic 7 initiative, spearheaded by the SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, HAS reaffirmed its status as an essential event in the increasingly busy agenda of the Cannes Film Festival's Marché du Film.
Today, Sunday May 19, at 12:00 noon, and as is customary, we packed Hall K of the Palais des Festivals, with a full house which was so resounding that once it was at maximum capacity, bringing together producers, programmers, journalists and other industry players, there was still a long line of people waiting outside to get in.
With more than a lustrum under its belt, there's no doubt that this initiative is one of the hottest moments of a Marché that also shows its devotion to the new trends in fantastic genre films, and that consequently looks to us to start embracing all the good news that is yet to come.
And the first item of that news was the privilege of receiving the mastery of Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who as the Godfather of Fantastic 7, and together with Mònica Garcia i Massagué and Ángel Sala (and, of course, with Pat Salvatierra, Head of our Industry Department in the engine room) kicked off a pitching session that left our agenda abuzz. In the words of the acclaimed filmmaker from Tenerife (who is convinced that the fantastic genre is a key tool to better understand the human condition), new auteurs need to cultivate their hypnotic skills precisely in order to hypnotize the audience with their stories.
And that's precisely what happened next. The first “illusionist” in charge of breaking the ice was none other than the always brilliant Nacho Vigalondo who, with his new and eagerly awaited production, 'Daniela Forever', promises to “take us to the place where lucid dreams converge with ChatGPT; where heroes do the same with villains”.
Next, the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival presented 'Esper's Light', directed by Jae-hoon Jung, an episodic film about the new fantasies and communication channels used by young people to, perhaps, reach and conquer new territories.
After that, the Cairo International Film Festival offered a first contact with Ahmed El-Hawarey's 'A Tale of a Feather & a Fish', a family drama about disease somatized as an unbearable burden of guilt, and seasoned with touches of magical realism.
The Guadalajara International Film Festival opted for 'Maleficarum', directed by Antonio Gäehd, a very promising tale where the fantastic touch is a dangerously open gateway leading to revenge.
Meanwhile, Austin's SXSW South by Southwest Film & TV Festival presented James Morosini's 'Mommy's Home', a madcap family comedy where mother-child bonding is turned upside down to the point of making us dizzy.
From the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival we welcomed 'Dog of God', directed by Raitis & Lauris Abele, an outrageous display of animated filmmaking capable of producing images that are equally ecstatic and terrifying.
Finally, New Zealand's Whanau Marama International Film Festival revealed the mischievousness and passion of Tom Sainsbury, who with 'Foreign Body' promises to create “diplomatic incidents” between his home country and Europe.
Later on, at 5:00 pm, and back at the Fantastic Pavilion base camp, the icing was put on the cake with "Meet the Fantastic 7", a more relaxed but equally fruitful meeting between the artists behind these future hits and the industry agents that will make them possible.
