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The Festival of Fantastic Films 2006
The 17th Annual Convention of the Society of Fantastic Films

was held at the
Day's Hotel, Sackville St., Manchester
(formerly the Manchester Business Center, site of the 2004
Festival, now the Manchester Conference Centre ).

Click here for Maps, Directions, Car Parking, etc.

Dates: 1st - 3rd September, 2006

Guests of Honour for 2006

It was obviously going to affect us somehow - but regrettably Ulli Lommel's insurers won't let him come to the festival until after he has delivered his new movie later in the month - He bitterly regrets not being able to come but has confirmed his attendance in 2007.

We are fortunate to be able to have a more than satisfactory replacement in Lamberto Bava, who is looking forward to coming over.

Final Confirmed Guests

Crispin Glover - Actor/Director
Willard, Back To The Future, The Doors, Nurse Betty,
Twister, Charlie's Angels 1 & 2, Rivers Edge.

Kenneth Cope & his wife Renny Lister - Actors
Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), Night of the Big Heat,
X The Unknown, Genghis Khan, Juggernaut

Lamberto Bava - Director/Actor/Producer
Demons, Prince of Terror, The Torturer, Body Puzzle, Dinner with a Vampire

Ken Foree - Actor
Appeared in both versions of Dawn of the Dead,
The Devil's Rejects and Knightriders

Burt Kwouk - Actor
Appeared in Yesterday's Enemy, Terror of the Tongs,
A Shot in the Dark (and several of the Pink Panther series),
Goldfinger, Curse of the Fly, Brides of Fu Manchu

Peter Graham Scott - Director
Directed Captain Clegg and numerous other Films & programmes,
and is returning this year to finish his sessions from 2005

Barrie Holland - Actor
Star Wars VI (as Lt Renz - Rebel"scum"officer in bunker),
Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Wicked Lady,
King Ralph, Hamlet, Reds, Bloodline.

William Franklyn regrets that he will be unable to make this year's festival due to having a serious operation which will necessitate a long period of convalescence. He has offered a raincheck for next year - and we have sent him the Festival's best wishes and hopes that we will see him next year.

Confirmed guests for 2007 are
Jean Rollin, Ulli Lommel & William Franklyn

Film Programme

What Is It (Directed by Crispin Glover). 35mm.

Blackwater Valley Exorcism Starring Jeffrey (Reanimator) Combs & James Russo

Twisted Sisters  (Directed by Wolfgang Buld)

Mortuary (Directed by Tobe Hooper)

2001 Maniacs (Starring Robert Englund & Peter Stormare). You are what They eat. 35mm

The Witches Hammer (Starring Stephanie Beacham). A Woman is transformed into a genetically engineered vampire

The Death of Poe (Attending Director & Star Mark Redfield). ***

Bad Brains (Directed by Ivan Zuccon). *** David & Alice aren't two simple serial killers

Zombie Honeymoon (Directed by Dave Gebroe). How Far will love go before reaching breaking point.

The iDol (Starring Takako Fuji (The Grudge 1 & 2 - US & Japan). (Directed by Norman England).

Venus Drowning (Directed by Andrew Parkinson). ***

Straight Into Darkness (Starring David Warner & Linda Thorson & directed by Jeff Burr). A new kind of war film

Wilderness (Starring Sean Pertwee) 35mm

The Devil's Rejects - A sequel to House of 1000 Corpses. (Starring & Introduced by Ken Foree) 35mm

Lie Still - "Welcome to the House .... Lie Still & Sleep Tight". (Directed by Sean Hogan)

33 Times around the Sun ( Starring Eileen Walsh)

Pervert (A Russ Meyer homage) (Starring Mary Carey)

Savage Spirit
(Directed by Cory Turner)

*** Indicates that these directors etc. have submitted movies to the Festival in previous years and have gone on to bigger things.

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 seventeenth 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!

Special Events

Festival Opening Ceremony. An introduction to the Festival and its guests.

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

Much more.

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

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!

2006 Independent Film Award Results

Winner - Independent Feature
"The Toybox" UK - Director Paolo Sedazzali

Highly Commended - Independent Feature
"Dark Night"UK - Director - Daniel Grant
& "The Slaughter"US - Director Jay Lee

Winner - Independent Short
"Oculus" US - Director Mike Flanagan

Highly Commended - Independent Shorts
"Tell Tale Art" US"- Director Jeremy Dylan Lanni
& "Psychiatric Channel"UK - Director Louis Segal

Commended
"Survivor" UK - Director Christoph Warrack
& "Purgatory"UK - Christopher Chow

The other finalists were:

Features
"Intergalactic Combat" ( Dir Ray Brady UK 92 Mins )
"Night Wolf" ( Dir Kristen Gibson UK 86 Mins)

Shorts
"Sucker" ( Dir Mark Steensland USA 7 Mins )
"Itchy Love" ( Dir Katie Bryer UK 10 Mins )
"Audition" ( Dir Megan Ehrhart USA 8 Mins )

Many thanks to the judges for their assistance.

Detailed listings of the finalists.


"Intergalactic Combat" ( dir Ray Brady UK 92 mins )
Aliens arrive and invite Earth to join the Galactic Federation but there is a catch,
we have to send a team of unarmed warriors to the Galactic Combat Games.

"Night Wolf " ( dir Kristen Gibson UK 86 mins )
A Crime Fighter is asked to take part in a documentary about his life and thinks"Yes I've got a lot to give - lets let the public into the life of a full time costumed crime fighter" - however he is not quite prepared for exactly what was involved.

"The Slaughter" ( dir Jay Lee USA 95 mins )
When six college students take a job cleaning up an abandoned house their plans are to work hard by day, and play hard by night. However, their careful planning is disrupted when they discover an ancient tome and ( wouldn't you know it ) awaken Cthulha, an ancient female demon.

"The Toybox" ( dir Paolo Sedazzali UK 81 mins )
It all began so innocently for two children growing up in England's bulging rump - the deep countryside of East Anglia. Their imaginations set ablaze by a book on local myths & legends.

"Dark Night" ( dir Daniel Grant UK 90 mins )
A group of teenagers gets more than they bargained for at a secret party held in a long abandoned house, pitting their wits against monsters, the undead & each other.

"Sucker" ( dir Mark Steensland USA 7 mins )
A child abductor gets more than he bargained for when he takes a little girl....

"The Survivor" ( dir Christoph Warrack UK 25 mins )
In 1956, a meteor destroyed a village outside Oxford, leaving one survivor - A woman with incredible powers. As government scientists experiment on her and shady outfits try to reach her, a psychologist on the case had a radical plan in mind.

"Psychiatric Channel" ( dir Louis Segal UK 11 mins )
A film about a man in his dwelling watching television late at night alone. A new channel appears called"The Psychiatric Channel".... Twilight zone style things start to occur.

"Oculus" ( dir Mike Flanagan USA 32 mins )
A man locks himself in a room with three video cameras and a haunted mirror.

"Itchy Love" ( dir Katie Bryer UK 10 mins )
Cyril has a new neighbour, Stephanie, and change is in the air. Cyril would like to talk to her but how can he when his flat is being taken over by fleas... lots of them.... and they're growing.

"Tell Tale Art" ( dir Jeremy Dylan Lanni USA 6 mins )
A surreal black comedy inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's classic horror story"The Tell Tale Heart "

"Audition" ( dir Megan Ehrhart USA 8 mins )
Tuscar's quiet determination & unlikely success is revealed as he nervously performs a painful three act audition in front of an unusual audience.

"Purgatory" ( dir Christopher Chow" UK 8 mins )
"If a man depart this life with lighter faults, he is condemned to fire and prepares the soul for the Kingdom of God where nothing defiled may enter." Corinthians Chap 3 - 445 / 448.

2006 Delta Film Award
Steve Green, administrator

The results of easily the closest-ever competition for best amateur film shown at the Festival were as follows:

Overall Winner: Eddie Loves You (dir. Karl Holt ; UK , 26 mins)
Special Commendation: The Call of Cthulhu (dir. Andrew Leman; USA, 47 mins)
Special Commendation: Guy’s Guide to Zombies (dir. Daniel Austin ; UK, 3.5 mins)
Special Commendation: The Spell (dir. Pablo Millán; Spain , 6.5 mins)
 

Many thanks to this year’s judges – Darrell Buxton, Ray Holloway and Mike Simpson – as well as Bill Burns, Ann Green, Joel Lane and Lucasfilms for their assistance.

Detailed listing of the finalists:

Anamnesis (dir. Jonathan Farr & Richard Fisher; UK, 129 mins): This character-driven thriller tells the story of Joe, a young medical student whose life is turned upside down when a university research project into the properties of memory goes horribly wrong, forcing Joe to relive the last nine years of his life. As Joe struggles to differentiate between reality and memory, he starts to understand the true nature of the project. But that doesn’t answer the question that everyone seems to be asking, just where is Dr Robertson?
 
The Call of Cthulhu (dir. Andrew Leman; USA, 47 mins): A dying professor’s bequest to his nephew leads him on a globe-spanning quest to unravel a twisted knot of fear, madness, nameless cults and horrors best left unknown. H.P. Lovecraft’s celebrated story explodes on the screen as a new silent film – shot in the style of the 1920s, when Lovecraft wrote the story.
 
Confederate Zombie Massacre! (dir. Devi Snively ; USA , 16 mins): It’s love and gore in the Civil War in this very true story of a fictitious battle during which the use of chemical weapons results in mayhem of zombie-astic proportions! Heads fly, breasts heave and love is in the polluted green air.
 
Doodled (dir. Sam Rogers; UK, 4.5 mins): Harking back to the Golden Age of the B-Movie, Doodled is a celebration of the Monster Movie. Jenny’s stuck in her call-centre, making up for lost hours, but when she runs out of paper, she sets off a series of events that could polish off the world once and for all.
 
Dragon (dir. Troy Morgan; USA, 7 mins): After her parents die in a tragic fire, a young girl is sent to an orphanage, where she begins sketching fiery visions. When the head of the orphanage sees her talent, he exploits her art for profit. After he demands more work, the girl unleashes a fire-breathing creation that takes on a life of its own.
 
Eddie Loves You (dir. Karl Holt ; UK, 26 mins): A man pays the price for discarding the one he used to love.
 
El Vida es un Sueño [Life’s a Dream] (dir. Pablo Olmos Arrayales ; Spain, 4 mins): Every night, while Jorge sleeps, he wakes up inside a dream next to Margarita. The love of his life…
 
The Grab (dir. Kelly Holmes & Joe Barcham ; UK, 2 mins): A man. A house. A bed. All he wants to do is get some sleep.
 
Guy’s Guide to Zombies (dir. Daniel Austin ; UK, 3.5 mins): Zombies. Shambling scourge of the modern world? Or just a little misunderstood? If in doubt, check out Guy’s Guide to Zombies, the definitive A to Z guide to living with the dead! Peaceful coexistence is just a handshake away!
 
The Harmion Tale (dir. Richard Swingle ; UK, 19 mins): The Harmion Tale tells the story of one man’s journey to Oridin in search of the legendary Maldus tree. With his son at home, sick and dying, Tritan, an ex-captain in the Harmion army, hopes to retrieve a cutting from the tree which some may be all that can save his son’s life. With initially only his horse Diablo as a companion, Tritan now faces a new kind of battle – that with his mind. The further from home he ventures, the more he must come to terms with his own frailty as a husband, a father and as a human being.
 
Return of Pink Five, Part One (dir. Trey Stokes; USA , 13 mins): The third instalment in the award-winning series of Star Wars parodies featuring Jedi-trained valley girl Stacey. (The first two, Pink Five and Pink Five Strikes Back, will be shown on Friday by special arrangement with Lucasfilms.)
 
Solipsism (dir. Greg Butler ; UK, 9 mins): As a young boy, Andy comes to the conclusion he has the only mind that exists. He grows up still believing it’s the truth, his life having become dictated by this notion. The thing is, he doesn’t have any proof… does he?
 
The Spell (dir. Pablo Millán; Spain, 6.5 mins): An artist prepares everything to have a creative day. Alcohol was an indispensable element in the ritual.
 
Two Old Bachelors (dir. Doug Wilson ; UK, 3 mins): Based on the nonsense poem by Edward Lear, Two Old Bachelors tells the story of two characters on the search for a good meal.
 
Vampire (dir. Ian J Simpson; UK, 3.5 mins): One night in the late 18th century, a man is seduced by a cloaked female into becoming like her.  A Vampire.  A century later, he finds an old beggar, or so it seems, who changes his unearthly existence. This gothic film-to-record captures the style of the early silent movies.
 
We Three (dir. Matt Bloom ; UK, 8 mins): Fantasy fairytale We Three follows six year-old Amirra as she tries to write the perfect story, whilst facing the influences of her father and her restless imagination. She finds that she is not satisfied with drawing and writing about policemen like her father wishes, so she creates a new character, a decision which leads her to her greatest adventure yet.

Meeting Notice

The Society of Fantastic Films, organizer of the Festival, also has regular meetings in Manchester city centre. Held at the Unicorn Hotel, High Street, on the last Friday of each month, the meetings feature movie showings and lively discussions in a convivial atmosphere.
For more information, email
[email protected].

Membership Information

Full Attending Membership is £70 (UK pounds), or $140 (US dollars) which entitles you to Progress Reports, Programme Booklet, Badge, and Attendance to all of the events over the three days of the convention. A single day membership is available for £30 (UK pounds).

Children: Attending Membership £20 up to 12 years of age and £30 up to 16 years of age.

Supporting Membership £30, entitles you to three Progress Reports, Programme Booklet, Badge, and Attendance to any of the events on any SINGLE day of the convention. (Supporting membership can be upgraded to FULL by paying the balance at any time up to the week before the Festival).

Register now by printing the form (click below) and mailing to the Festival address!

Click here for a membership form you can print and mail

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

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

 

Comments or suggestions?
Please post to the Festival Guestbook

Add comment to the Festival Guestbook

View the Festival Guestbook

Independent & Amateur Films

Call for Entries - now closed

Click here for the Independent Film Competition entry form

Click here for the Amateur Film Competition entry form

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.

2005 Delta Film Award

The winner of the 2005 Delta Film Award for best amateur entry screened at the Festival of Fantastic Films in Manchester was the fantasy The Kingdom of Shadows, directed by British film-maker Ross Shepherd.

Also commended were: Feathers (dir. Sam Rogers, UK), Alexander (dir. Rafa Dengra, Spain), Inside (dir. Brian Philip Davis, UK).

The judges for 2005 were publisher David Kerekes, film director Norman J Warren, author Mike Simpson and award administrator Steve Green.

The Delta is named for the 1960s film-making group whose other fan activities included organising the 1972 Eastercon. Two of its founder members, Harry Nadler and Tony Edwards, later helped set up the Society of Fantastic Films and its annual festival, now in its seventeenth year.

2005 Independent Film Competition Winners

Independent Features

Winner
A Year in the Death of Jack Richards
Canada - Director Benjamin Paquette

Second
The Naked Monster
U S A - Director Ted Newsome

Third
Experiment
UK / Czech - Director Daniel Turner

Independent Shorts

Winner
Der Beste
Germany - Director Arne Jysch & Rasmus Borowski

Second
Las Viandas
Spain - Director Jose-Antonio Bonet

Third
Don't Look in the Attic
UK / NI - Director Andrew Harrison

All submissions for the 2006 competition should be forwarded to G R Lane-Young soonest for pre-judging as to relevance. Deadline for submissions for 2006 is 25th July 2006.

Website Special Features

Archives and Reviews of Past Festivals
from 1997 to 2005

Eurocon Award to Concatenation

2004 Festival Photo Album

2003 Festival Photo Album

Harry Nadler Photo Album,
assembled by Tony Edwards

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]) and let us know your preferred email address.

Suggestions for future Guests

We are also looking for suggestions for guests for upcoming Festivals. 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")

Harry Hamill's artwork for the 1998 Festival

Gil Lane-Young's Festival Page

Festival Information on the Concatenation Website

Other Sites of Interest

Monstrous Movie Music
World-Premiere Recordings Of Music From
Classic Science Fiction, Fantasy, And Horror Films!

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

Concatenation Convention Reviews

3D Movies in North Carolina

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

Science Fiction Conventions Webring

This Science Fiction Conventions Webring site is administered by Bill Burns.

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