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(Graphic designed by Steve Kirkham)

The Festival of Fantastic Films 2004
The 15th Annual Convention of the Society of Fantastic Films

The UK's Celebration of a Century of Amazing Cinema

was held over the weekend of 20th - 22nd August 2004

at the

Day's Hotel - Manchester City

Click here for Festival Photo Album

Click here for special report on Concatenation Eurocon Award

Click here for Progress Report 2 - July 2004

Click here for Progress Report 1 - February 2004

Daryll Buxton's 2003 Festival Report

Comments or suggestions?
Please post to the Festival Guestbook

Add comment to the Festival Guestbook

View the Festival Guestbook

 

Introduction to the Festival

If you are a new visitor to The Festival of Fantastic Films web pages we invite you to climb aboard the greatest weekend a science fiction, fantasy or horror movie fan could ever find on the planet.

Based in MANCHESTER, ENGLAND (just two-and-a-half hours from LONDON by rail-link) we have THREE programme streams containing a terrific range of movie-related events that include Guest Interviews, Discussions, Panels, Special Events, Presentations, Auctions, Artshow and Poster Exhibition, Dealer Room, Themed Dinner, Parties and of course an AMAZING number of movies..... the old and the new run alongside each other throughout the festival.

Please scroll down our pages to get a taste of  this 3-Day UK Movie Convention (now in its fifteenth year) - and hop off on the various links should you want even more in-depth info! But DO COME BACK... we'll be updating frequently throughout the upcoming year!

Click here to view the 2003 Photo Album

Guests of Honour

Jeremy Bulloch is scheduled to be a guest at the Festival. Credits include STAR WARS 5 & 6 (as Boba Fett), OCTOPUSSY, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, andO LUCKY MAN.

We have invited Tudor Gates writer of such great screenplays as THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, LUST FOR A VAMPIRE and TWINS OF EVIL.

Due to circumstances beyond our control Dick Miller will not be attending the festival this year

Also invited is actress Yvonne Monlaur who starred in such films as Hammer's THE BRIDES OF DRACULA and THE TERROR OF THE TONGS.

Invited is Peter Graham Scott, director and writer, who directed most of the Prisoner TV series, as well as Danger Man, Children of the Stones (all on TV) and many others, plus the Hammer movie "Captain Clegg " with Peter Cushing.

Just confirmed is actress Madeline Smith, whose credits include FRANKENSTEIN & THE MONSTER FROM HELL and THE VAMPIRE LOVERS.

 

All guests are subject to confirmation and work commitments.

See Progress Report 1 for
more information on Festival Guests

 

Independent Films

In addition to the retrospective film programme that is the backbone of the event, the Festival of Fantastic Films has, within the past few years, become the premiere UK venue for new genre movies. We are pleased to showcase an amazing selection of Independently produced feature length and short films from all over the world. Films that you are unlikely to see anywhere else are screened alongside the new movies from major studios right through the weekend. Each year sees an increase in the number of young and highly creative film-makers, submitting their work into our International Competition and giving members of the Festival a unique opportunity to see a great range of movies. The Festival programme also screens new films outside the competition itself and although it is difficult to announce specific titles in advance, we expect to surprise members of the event with major premieres!

The Festival is also the place to meet with many of the creative people from behind and in front of the cameras. In 1998 we had director Jake West and actress Eileen Daly along with their new film RAZORBLADE SMILE. American director Tyler Tharpe came over from the USA to screen and discuss his horror film THE LAST ROADSTOP and from the UK, Jon Sorensen premiered his science fiction feature ALIEN BLOOD.  In 1999 delightful American director Joei Gharrity came from Los Angeles to screen her short film THE GRAIL and was sucked into the fannish activities and friendliness of the event

Most of the Independent movies screened at the Festival have a substantial budget behind them, whereas other equally creative genre movies are made each year by talented amateurs working on a shoestring. These films are enormously entertaining and often just as thought provoking as their Indie relatives.  The Amateur Contest entries are pre-judged by The Festival Committee with the top rated films going forward to the Festival for the final round. 1998 saw the Award going out of the UK for the first time ever, being won by Florida USA film-maker Shane Hannafey with his science fiction story THE GIFT.

The International Movie Competitions have become a very important section of the Festival of Fantastic Films.

Movie Competition Winners for 2003

Director Julian Richards, whose feature film 'THE LAST HORROR MOVIE' was judged as 'BEST FEATURE FILM', at the 2003 Festival of Fantastic Films.

INDEPENDENT FILM COMPETITION RESULTS
Feature Films Title and Director
Best Feature Film The Last Horror Movie. Julian Richards.
Best Animated Feature Dominator. Tony Luke
Best Documentary Frazetta - Painting with fire. Lance Laspina
Highly Commended Ghost of the Needle. Brian Avenet Bradley
Highly Commended The Late Twentieth. Hadi Hajaig
Highly Commended 13 Seconds. Jeff Thomas
Highly Commended Requiem. Mitchell Morgan and Jon Kirby
Commended Numb. Michael Ferris Gibson
Short Films Title and Director
Best Short Film Mrs. Meitlemeihr. Graham Rose
Best Animated Short Glitch. Damien Slevin
Highly Commended Toss of the Coin. Patrick Steele
Highly Commended Gabriel's Word. David Bjerre
Highly Commended Another Flush. Sam Hurwitz
Highly Commended Project Gamma. Jean Christophre Radin
Highly Commended Treasure. Neasa Hardiman
Highly Commended Red Lines. Frazer Lee
Commended Beneath the Frost Line. Andy Davis
Commended Crosstalk. Stsampani P Kolkovalis
Commended Hallucinations in Croissant Sauce. Jude Talmor
Commended Eskimo Hill. Max Evry
AMATEUR FILM COMPETITION
Best Amateur Film Tilted Love. Robin Burke
Highly Commended Blinkers. Jake Major
Highly Commended In the Dark. Tristan Goligher

 

Featured Events

Big retrospective Science Fiction and Fantasy
movie programme on 16mm and 35mm.  Films to be announced.

3-D!

CinemaScope!

Discussions, Panels

Film Fair, Auctions

Low-price Convention Bar!

Guest of Honour Signing Sessions

Amateur and Independent Short Film Contests


Film Programme

To be announced

Special Events

FESTIVAL OPENING CEREMONY
A humorous introduction to the Festival with Horror novelist
STEPHEN LAWS and writer, director STEPHEN GALLAGHER,
both of whom will be conducting Guest interviews throughout the weekend.


plus many other Q&A sessions with directors and producers of a number of
the films we shall be screening throughout the weekend.

The Auction

RAMSEY CAMPBELL puts a multitude of movie related items
under his infamous gavel... and we'll guarantee he'll keep you amused and
penniless!

 

Festival e-mail may be sent to Gil Lane-Young: [email protected]

or to Tony Edwards
[email protected]

The Society of Fantastic Films is a member of the British Federation of Film Societies

 

Your help is requested

Email contact information

We would like to have current and prior Festival attendees' email addresses on file so that we can send you news and announcements about the Festival.

Please email Gil ([email protected]) or Tony ([email protected]) and let them know your preferred email address.

Suggestions for future Guests

We are also looking for suggestions for guests for the upcoming Festival. If there is someone you feel would make a good guest, and you are in personal touch with them, please email Gil and give him their contact information.

 

Festival Guest and Contributor Websites

Harry Nadler Memorial Website

Widescreen Movies Magazine
a new web and print magazine by John Hayes

Janina Faye - The Official Website

Ramsey Campbell - The Official Website

Stephen Laws - The Midnight Man

John Harden
(writer/director, "Breakfast With The Colonel")

Festival Artist Harry Hamill's Another World Productions Site
(and click here to see Harry's artwork for the 1998 Festival)

Steve Ellison's Movie Store

Gil Lane-Young's Festival Page

Festival Information on the Concatenation Website

 

Other Sites of Interest

Matinee Today - Lots of 3D Posters!

"The Tingler" - the Horror Films of William Castle

3DTV - LCD Glasses, 3D Movies, & More!

Concatenation Convention Reviews

Stuart Mitchell's Ghoul Britannia Site

3D Movies in North Carolina

The Hammer Films Society

HammerWeb - Hammer Films Official Site

Film & TV Connection:
an entertainment industry school with 5,000 students worldwide
who train on-site at major film studios, video production companies,
radio and TV stations, recording studios and record labels.

 

Virtual Manchester
Virtual Manchester

everything you need to know
about the Festival's home city

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Site created 4 June 1997 by Bill Burns [FTL Design : Long Island : NY : USA].  Last updated: 5 October, 2004
All pages copyright © 2003 by the Society of Fantastic Films.