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Festival coverage

Fantaspoa

13 April – 30 April 2023

South America's biggest genre festival opens its doors once again with a stellar line-up of fantasy, science fiction, horror and action titles from around the world. It makes Porto Alegre the go-to destination for genre fans this spring, but if you can't attend and you want to know what to look out for over the coming months, we're bringing you coverage right here at Eye For Film.

The festival runs from 13 to 30 April.

View complete schedule

Other years (4)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • The Coffee Table
    Review preview for The Coffee Table

    It’s cleverly written, beautifully performed and quite unforgettable, and yet I hesitate to recommend that anybody watch it.

    Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
    Black comedy about a couple facing a tricky moment in their relationship.
  • The Elderly
    Review preview for The Elderly

    Cerezo and Gómez remind us that we are living through some of the strangest days our world has known right now.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    An octogenarian, who enters into a state of dementia after the sudden suicide of his wife, sparks a series of paranormal events that will put his family's lives at risk.
  • Minore
    Review preview for Minore

    Warm-hearted, atmospheric and joyously, ridiculously gory when occasion calls for it.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    When mysterious creatures invade a Greek seaside port, a misfit band of musicians, tourists, bodybuilders and grandmothers unite to save the city.
  • Mad Cats
    Review preview for Mad Cats

    As engaging as it is ridiculous.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    Taka, a shiftless young man, sets off on a quest to find his brother Mune. Teaming up with a quirky new friend and an edgy, mysterious young girl along the way, Taka finds himself taking on a pack of vicious monster cats determined to execute unscrupulous pet shop owners.
  • Hundreds Of Beavers
    Review preview for Hundreds Of Beavers

    What’s remarkable is that director Mike Cheslik manages to sustain this for so long.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America's greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.
  • Give Me An A
    Review preview for Give Me An A

    Give Me An A is a vital piece of filmmaking.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    16 women filmmakers make their voices heard with this anthology of genre-themed short films, all made in direct response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
  • The Bystanders
    Review preview for The Bystanders

    A small scale triumph.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    Invisible immortals watch over their human subjects and intervene in (or interfere with) their lives.
  • Moon Garden
    Review preview for Moon Garden

    Ryan Stevens Harris’ Moon Garden invites viewers to explore not only another world but a very different perspective.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A comatose five-year-old girl journeys through a dark industrial dreamscape, following her mother’s voice on a transistor radio to find her way back to consciousness.
  • Abruptio
    Review preview for Abruptio

    Abruptio...stands out because of its format but has a strong narrative and smart ideas behind it.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A man who is down on his luck wakes up one day to find that an explosive device has been implanted in his neck.
  • Irati
    Review preview for Irati

    A tale that has a textured solidity, a mythological weight.

    Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
    Christian nobleman Eneko must fulfil the promise he made to his late father, to protect and lead his people into the new era. To do so, he must recover his father’s body, buried next to Charlemagne's treasure. However, despite his faith, he needs the help of his childhood friend, the pagan Irati.

A–Z of Fantaspoa 2023 reviews

Features

  • Off the beaten path
    Rodrigo Gudiño on special effects, scoring with Slash, and The Breach
  • Homecoming
    Elise Finnerty on finding magic in the elements for The Ones You Didn’t Burn
  • Particle men
    Gabriel Foster Prior on the story behind The Bystanders
  • Pulling the strings
    Evan Marlowe on the holes in cinema, working with puppets, and Abruptio
  • A different way of seeing
    Paul Urkijo Alijo on Basque perspectives in Irati
  • A timeless tale
    Colin West on space, science, emotion and Linoleum
  • A world off kilter
    Ted Geoghegan on casting, design and the supernatural in Brooklyn 45
  • Strange bedfellows
    Marie Alice Wolfszahn on hidden history and Mother Superior
  • Out of control
    Timothée Hochet and Lucas Pastor on found footage, stunts and Stéphane
  • Love me, love my dog
    Viljar Bøe on putting a news spin on Beauty And The Beast in Good Boy
  • A unexpected turning
    Rahul Kohli on working with Mali Elfman and Katie Parker on Next Exit
  • A flame of hope
    Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper on looking beyond collapse, and Vesper
  • Between life and death
    Keishi Kondo on eternity, the loss of boundaries, and New Religion
  • Getting the bug
    Carter Smith on queering horror in Swallowed
  • Diet of worms
    Alex Phillips and Ben Gojer on psychosis, special effects and All Jacked Up And Full Of Worms
  • Mind and matter
    Franklin Ritch on artificial intelligence, ethics and The Artifice Girl