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Festival coverage

Fantaspoa

13 May – 29 May 2024

The International Fantastic Film Festival of Porto Alegre delivers another two week event packed with local talent, exciting new international productions and classics from the archives. It's a great chance to find out about the innovative genre work currently being done in South America, and to get a flavour of an industry which is increasingly coming into its own.

The festival runs from 13 to 29 April.

View complete schedule

Other years (4)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • Ba
    Review preview for Ba

    It’s not a particularly sophisticated parable, but it doesn’t need to be. The central performances are strong and the bond between father and daughter feels real even when other elements do not.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    A single father is deceived into a treacherous career as the Grim Reaper, while his precocious daughter grows increasingly suspicious of his whereabouts.
  • Azrael
    Review preview for Azrael

    We get demonstrations of skill, from the weaving of a bracelet to the use of herbs to treat a wound, and these elements reinforce the idea that this is a real society which has developed organically over time.

    Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
    Many years following the apocalypse, a devout cult of mute zealots hunts down a young woman who has escaped her imprisonment.
  • Things Will Be Different
    Review preview for Things Will Be Different

    Where other such tales have become overly enmeshed in their own structural entanglements, Felker has the good sense to focus on character.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    In order to escape police after a robbery, two estranged siblings lay low in a metaphysical farmhouse that hides them away in a different time. There they reckon with a mysterious force that pushes their familial bonds to unnatural breaking points.
  • The Wait
    Review preview for The Wait

    Clavijo’s tightly wound performance keeps the story feeling taut and personal as its larger themes develop.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A gamekeeper seeks revenge on the rich man who persuaded him to agree to a compromise on hunting safety rules which had devastating consequences.
  • Children Of The Wicker Man
    Review preview for Children Of The Wicker Man

    The popular concept of genius is thoroughly subverted here.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A documentary about The Wicker Man and its legacy.
  • Satranic Panic
    Review preview for Satranic Panic

    This playful approach is an effective one, making the film very watchable and enabling Mackay to direct viewers’ sympathies with ease.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    Following the death of a loved one, best friends embark on a demon-killing spree, but there are stranger things going on than they ever imagined.
  • Self Driver
    Review preview for Self Driver

    It’s well handled throughout and effectively shows off Pierro’s talent for creating tension.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    Facing mounting expenses and the unrelenting pressure of modern living, a down-on-his-luck cab driver is lured onto a mysterious new app that promises fast, easy money.
  • The Tenants
    Review preview for The Tenants

    An unusually confident first film, stylishly shot in black and white, The Tenants may explore some familiar ideas but it is very much its own thing.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    In a dystopian South Korean city, a soon-to-be-evicted tenant decides to complicate the process by renting his toilet out to an eccentric couple, but their strange behaviours soon become unbearable.
  • Listen Carefully
    Review preview for Listen Carefully

    This would require serious work from any actor, and Barton-Grimley is not up to the task, with even his parental terror failing to convince.

    Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
    When troubled assistant bank manager Andy McNeary's baby daughter goes missing, he must follow the instructions of a mysterious voice on the other end of a baby monitor to save her before she disappears forever.
  • Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge
    Review preview for Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge

    Thankfully the spectacular ending – all done with life size sets, which left Lang and his team no option but to pull it off in one take – remains intact.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Princess Kriemhild vows to avenge her husband's murder but must overcome her brothers who swore allegiance to Hagen. She marries Attila the Hun and persuades his army to attack Hagen, but there will be a terrible price to pay.

A–Z of Fantaspoa 2024 reviews

Features

  • Clocking in
    Michael Felker on how he learned to time travel and Things Will Be Different
  • Making magic
    Austin Andrews and Andrew Holmes on shooting in remote locations for The Island Between Tides
  • A place out of time
    Austin Andrews and Andrew Holmes on Paloma Kwiatkowski, Donal Logue, David Mazouz and The Island Between Tides
  • A Northern tale
    Chris Cronin on the ancient legacy behind The Moor
  • All fun and games
    Megan Seely on play and making Puddysticks
  • A gran plan
    Karl R Hearne on The G's inspiration, those who target the old and the portrayal of female sexuality as a radical act
  • Putting The G in Vengeance
    Dale Dickey on her role as a gran bent on revenge and the resolution of the actors' strike
  • Heart to heart
    Kim Albright and Anna Maguire discuss With Love And A Major Organ
  • Roads that lead you to roam
    Laura Citrella on the mysteries and winding pathways of Trenque Lauquen
  • Hell to pay
    Ellie Foumbi on child soldiers, second chances and Our Father, The Devil