The Alamo’s Tim League tells us why he thinks Fantastic Fest reigns supreme.
Austin’s Fantastic Fest (September 22-29), the country’s largest genre film festival, is a weeklong celebration of the weird and wild, with celebrities and fans reveling in the best new horror, sci-fi, and fantasy flicks. Its creator, Tim League, CEO and founder of the Alamo Drafthouse, gives eight reasons—in his own words—why Fantastic Fest rules.
The Parties: Opening and closing night (and most nights between) feature earth-shaking parties themed to the year’s films.
Fantastic Feud: A chaos-soaked “game show”/war of movie knowledge and nuclear insults.
Fantastic Food: From high-end barbecue to insect-eating contests, no stomach escapes unscathed.
Explosives: Visiting filmmakers are treated to high-caliber target-shooting outings. Welcome to Texas, wimps!
Karaoke Insanity: FF consistently one-ups itself in the supreme forum of human expression/embarrassment, the karaoke stage.
Fantastic Debates: A battle of wits n’ fists, as everyone from movie bloggers to celebrity guests express their opinions and physical power in the boxing ring.
The Filmmakers: An ever-expanding global family of creative visionaries and true cinema obsessives.
The Community: All the activity at Fantastic Fest is confined to one venue: Alamo South Lamar. Filmmakers, stars, fans, and press all mix together in one wild and wonderful stew.