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Brazil’s Fantaspoa film festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and the festival is breaking numerous records, presenting an impressive total of 114 feature films, 22 of these as World Premieres, marking the largest number of feature films in Fantaspoa’s long history.

The final selection of feature films for Fantaspoa’s highly-anticipated 20th edition has been exclusively presented to Bloody Disgusting, so read on for everything you need to know!

The festival tells us this week, “With a diverse selection, the feature films screening at Fantaspoa Xx have been divided into seven distinct competitive categories: International, Ibero-American, National, Documentary, Animation, All-Nighter, and Low Budget, Great Films. These categories promise audiences a variety of cinematic experiences, from the fringes of horror and fantasy to the depths of the human imagination.

“In addition to feature films, Fantaspoa will screen 123 short films, totaling 237 participating works, making this edition of the festival the largest in its history.

Nearly every culture in the world has contributed to the horror genre at one point or another, but it’s pretty clear that Hollywood is still the de facto capital of genre filmmaking. That’s why it makes sense that most popular horror tropes and monsters are based on traditional western mythology and religions, as these films are usually made by – and meant to appeal to – a certain demographic.

However, dealing with the same old ghouls and possessions can get old after a hundred and thirty years of cinema, and that’s why we’re lucky that some filmmakers decide to incorporate elements from lesser-known cultures into their scary stories. Whether it’s a foreign film daring to apply the “Hollywood” treatment to a local monster or a north American production taking inspiration from international legends (like Bishal Dutta’s recent It Lives Inside), some of the best horror experiences...

... after disappearing over fifty years ago, an ancient artifact known as the Mask of Anhangá resurfaces at an archaeological dig in the Amazon. It is brought to Sao Paulo to be exhibited at a museum, but before reaching its destination, the Mask starts to claim its victims as it possesses and forces them to carry out visceral sacrifices in gruesome fashion. With the body count increasing, it’s up to Officer Beatriz Obdias to find the Mask and put an end to the murder spree. Rlje Films is releasing Skull: The Mask on VOD, Digital HD and DVD on October 26th. We have 2 DVD copies of the horror flick from filmmakers Kapel Furman and Armando Fonseca to give away on the day of...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

“a gloriously carnage-fueled horror movie” – Bloody Disgusting​

Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has picked up select rights to the horror film Skull: The Mask from Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural. Rlje Films will release Skull: The Mask on VOD, Digital HD and DVD on October 26, 2021. Check out the trailer:

Now you can win the Win the DVD of Skull: The Mask. We Are Movie Geeks has two to give away. Just leave a comment below telling us what your favorite horror movie starting with the letter ‘S’ is. (I’d say Spider Button. It’s so easy!)

1. You Must Be A US Resident. Prize Will Only Be Shipped To US Addresses. No P.O. Boxes. No Duplicate Addresses.

2. Winner Will Be Chosen From All Qualifying Entries. No Purchase Necessary

Co-directed and co-written by Kapel Furman (Ghost Killers vs. Bloody Mary...

Skull: The Mask: "Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has picked up select rights to the horror film Skull: The Mask from Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural. Rlje Films will release Skull: The Mask on VOD, Digital HD and DVD on October 26, 2021.

Co-directed and co-written by Kapel Furman (Ghost Killers vs. Bloody Mary) and Armando Fonseca (“CineLab”), Skull: The Mask stars Natallia Rodrigues (Elis), Wilton Andrade (VIPs), Tristan Aronovich (Sem Fio), David Wendefilm (Sessão de Terapia) and Rurik Jr. as “Skull.” The DVD will be available for an Srp of $27.97.

In Skull: The Mask, after disappearing over fifty years ago, an ancient artifact known as the Mask of Anhangá resurfaces at an archaeological dig in the Amazon. It is brought to Sao Paulo to be exhibited at a museum, but before reaching its destination, the Mask starts to claim its...

Stars: Tristan Aronovich, Ivo Müller, Micas Carvalho, Guta Ruiz, Natallia Rodrigues, Beatriz Severo, Elder Fraga, Eduardo Semerjian, Gilda Nomacce, Greta Antoine, Lívia Inhudes | Written and Directed by Armando Fonseca, Kapel Furman

Horror fans will never get bored of eighties slasher films will they? I don’t mean this as a bad thing though. I am one of those horror fans that could happily watch eighties slasher films on repeat for the rest of my life. So it’s no surprise that modern filmmakers continue to make movies that a highly influenced by the era. Skull: The Mask is the latest film to give it a go.

Skull: The Mask shows a supernatural serial killer based on pre-Columbian mythology and Brazilian folklore out for revenge in a killing spree while a police officer and a musuem worker try to save the day. In truth, like many of the movies it was influenced by,...

The UK’s most popular horror and fantasy film festival celebrates its 21st bloody year with a special Digital edition, showcasing twenty-five films, from Thursday 27th August to Monday 31st August, including seven world premieres and sixteen UK premieres! Ten countries are represented from four continents in a deadly, daring and diverse programme exclusively presented to UK audiences.

Passes and tickets will go on sale Saturday 1st August and details on how to access the event and choose which films to watch are on the FrightFest website – www.frightfest.co.uk. All film screenings will be geo-locked to UK audiences and only accessible from within the United Kingdom.

From the press release:

The menu of sinister treats and gory delights kicks off on the Thursday night with a Live Streamed Quiz, hosted by Mike Muncer, host and producer of ‘Evolution of Horror’ – the UK’s #1 horror movie podcast. Mike will...

‘Sky Sharks’ to open horror and fantasy film festival.

Seven world premieres will screen as part of the UK’s Frightfest virtual edition running from August 27-31.

A total of 25 films have been selected for the horror and fantasy film festival. All virtual screenings will be geo-locked to UK audiences, which means the London-based festival will be accessible nationwide for the first time.

Frightfest is also planning a physical event for October which will feature an entirely different line-up.

Now in its 21st year, Frightfest 2020 will open with the UK premiere of Marc Fehse’s Sky Sharks, in which flying...

FrightFest, the UK horror festival that was forced to move online this year because of pandemic disruption, has unveiled a lineup for its 21st edition (August 27-31) including seven world premieres.

The event opens with the UK premiere of Sky Sharks, which features Nazi zombie-piloted airborne killer sharks.

World premieres include Logan Thomas’s There’s No Such Thing As Vampires, Patrick Rea’s I Am Lisa, Ruben Pla’s The Horror Crowd, G-Hey Kim’s Don’t Click, Toby Watts’ Playhouse, Airell Anthony Hayles and Sam Casserly’s They’re Outside, and Francesco Giannini’s Hall.

Industry-focused events will include a panel hosted by Den Of Geek’s UK editor Rosie Fletcher about how the horror genre has been affected by the pandemic.

All online film screenings will be geo-locked to UK audiences and available through FrightFest’s website.

“We will desperately miss seeing all of you in person...

We're back with an extra-packed edition of Horror Highlights! In today's installment, we have a look at the Parallax trailer, details on Fantaspoa' 2020 online festival, a preview of Cult of Dracula, details on Max Brook's online Wizard World event, info on Followed's drive-in release, details on Ha-Ha! Horror Collector’s Edition, an announcement for My Favorite Horror Movie's fundraiser, and the trailer for The Oak Room:

Parallax: "Michael W.Bachochin’s highly-anticipated Psychodrama/science-fiction feature Parallax releases in theaters this summer.

A young artist wakes up in a life that she doesn't recognize, spending her time asleep haunted by nightmares of drowning in a black abysmal void. As she begins to uncover the truths of the life that she's found herself in, the gravity of her failing reality weighs heavily on her psychological identity and the reliability of her sanity is called into question.

Naomi Prentice, Nelson Ritthaler, Hattie Smith and Ted Gianopulos star.

Exclusive: Brazil’s Fantaspoa Fantastic Film Festival, which is the largest genre event in South America, has locked a partnership with local streaming service Darkflix to allow it to host its 16th edition online, and free for local audiences.

The 2020 edition of the fest was originally scheduled to take place in May this year, but had to be postponed due to the pandemic. As the virus is far from being contained in Brazil (the country now has both the second-highest number of infections and deaths in the world), organizers have ultimately decided that a physical edition will not be possible this year, and instead will pivot online.

Running July 24 – August 2, Fantaspoa will see Darkflix host a number of Latin American premieres of new genre films, and will feature a total of 110 features and shorts from 35 countries. Each title will have a cap of 5,000 viewers and will be geo-blocked for viewers in Brazil.

If you know anything about me, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that whenever a film can offer up a new perspective and/or a buffet of mind-blowingly cool special effects, I’m totally and completely on board, which was absolutely the case for Skull (which also goes by Skull: The Mask). A Brazilian horror/police thriller mashup that truly left my jaw on the proverbial floor numerous times, Skull is one of those films that needs to be seen to be believed, and my hope is that genre fans will get an opportunity to catch up with it sooner than later.

Skull kicks off with a prologue that takes us back to the February 1944, where we watch as a rare and dangerous artifact—a skull—is being utilized by a military group for nefarious reasons deep in the Amazon forest. We watch on as a blood-soaked, violent ritual is carried out,...

Armando Fonseca and Kapel Furman’s Skull is a bloody-brutal, bloody-barbaric, blood-bloody-bloody Brazilian midnighter that emphasizes over-the-top deaths. A simple concept and to-the-point execution anchors focus on an ancient berzerker summoned by those who should not harness such monstrous powers. Scene after scene is slathered in Maniac-grade sleaziness, as innocents feed a bloodlust that frequently results in kills that’ll have you mouthing “what the f*ck” after another victim’s tailbone stabs into the next poor clubgoer’s cranium. Awaken the devil? You get the horns, alright.

In 1944, Nazis did some bad Nazi stuff and attempted to use the Mask of Anhangá for evil…as Nazis do. Skip ahead to modern times, and the mask arrives in Sao Paulo after being unearthed by archeologists. There are still some believers in the purest race, and Anhangá is still an object of attention, which gets a lot of bystanders killed. The mask possesses a random body,...

We're back with another edition of Horror Highlights! In today's installment: Brazilian horror at Cff, details on quarantine-filmed The Dark Offerings, and first word on an upcoming Christmas-themed slasher:

Skull: The Mask and The Pandemic Anthology at Cff: "Brazil's Fantaspoa Fantastic Film Festival not only celebrates the boldest and best in weird world cinema, they also produce it! That's right, South America's biggest genre festival makes movies, too!

And a double-header of Fantaspoa Productions' latest will be celebrating their World Premieres at this weekend's digital edition of The Chattanooga Film Festival - happening Friday, May 22nd through Monday, May 25th. These films, as well as dozens of others, will be available to watch at any time while the festival is happening.

Additional details, ticket info, and more can be found at www.chattfilmfest.org

First up is the creature feature/slasher hybrid Skull: The Mask, from directors Armando Fonseca and Kapel Furman.

To Kill A Dragon, Skull: The Mask Of Anhanga, Penance Lane join sales roster.

Toronto-based genre label Raven Banner has acquired worldwide sales rights to several titles as it rounds out its Efm sales slate and has picked up Argentinian dark fairy tale To Kill A Dragon, among others.

Jimena Monteoliva directed the film about Elena, a young woman who is reunited with her older brother 25 years after being kidnapped. She tries to adapt to her newfound freedom but remains shackled by the terrors of her past.

To Kill A Dragon premiered at the Morbido Film Festival in Mexico and...

Tagline: "A Killer Hunt for Revenge." Skull: The Mask is a Brazilian, horror production. Slated to show at this year's European Film Market, this feature focuses on a supernatural-infused serial killer. Based on ancient Colombian mythology, an worn artifact births a violent executioner. Skull: The Mask was developed by filmmakers: Armando Fonseca (Uptake Fear) and Kapel Furman. And, the film centrally stars: Natallia Rodrigues (The Awakener), Wilton Andrade and Rurik Jr. Raven Banner Entertainment will represent this title for potential European and North American distribution. As well, a new poster has been released (found here), along with a new trailer (linked below). The official synopsis mentions an 1940s artifact and a military experiment. Now, the artifact resides in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Enlivened, this mask takes the shape of an ancient god and demands sacrifices. A true slasher feature, Skull: The Mask infuses a supernatural element, in its story. The European Film Market.

Ventana Sur’s Blood Window sidebar for projects and films in progress has been a standout event on the Latin horror calendar since its launch in 2013, and is one of the Buenos Aires market’s most popular sections.

In the following years, it has become a key two-way conduit between Latin American and international festivals and box offices.

To that end, one of coordinator Javier Fernández’s primary focuses for this year’s seventh edition is to “continue promoting our collaboration with fantastic international film festivals and industry events,” he explained to Variety ahead of the December event.

This year’s Blood Window Spotlight on International Projects includes five works brought to Buenos Aires by the Bucheon Korea International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifan), Sitges Catalunya Fantastic Film Festival and Bif-Market from the Brussels Fantastic Film Festival and Nordic Genre Invasion.

Three of the selected projects are features: Norway’s “Alpha...

Blood Window, Argentina’s most important Latin American genre film market, launched by Argentina’s Incaa film-tv agency as part of Buenos Aires’ Ventana Sur meet-mart, will host a showcase of Ibero-American genre films and works in progress at the Cannes Festival Film Market, running May 17-20.

The showcase includes three screenings sponsored by three of the world’s leading genre festivals: the U.K.’s Fright Fest, Mexico’s Morbido Fest and the Sitges Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia.

Additionally, the Upcoming Fantastic Films section for Ibero-American works in progress facilitates representatives from eight nearly-finished films to screen clips and pitch to buyers, sales agents and representatives from other festivals from around the world. This year eight works in progress will present, up from seven last year.

The Argentine films participating in the works in progress pitches include Pablo Parés’ “I am Toxic,” a post-apocalyptic tale in a world torn asunder by biological warfare.

In addition to the bevy of films screening at this year's Fantaspoa, the festival has some really rad events planned, including an Alice in Wonderland-themed costume party. Also in today's Horror Highlights: production and release details for Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire and a trailer for Acid Pit Stop.

Fantaspoa Announces Final Wave of Films: "Brazil's Fantaspoa, the largest genre film festival in Latin America, is proud to unveil its final wave of films selected for their upcoming fifteenth edition, running from May 16th through June 2nd. This announcement completes the fest's full 2019 line-up, consisting of more than 100 films.

The festival's live events will kick-off with an Alice in Wonderland-themed costume party, followed by a concert featuring, among others, Demian Rugna's band, Pasco 637. As they did last year, the festival will celebrate its closing night party, a masquerade ball, aboard a boat on the Guaiba River,...

Previewing the annual Latin American sales jamboree

Glance at the current profile of foreign-language Oscar contenders and the winners’ roster at major international festivals this year and the march of Latin American cinema in 2015 is clear for all to see.

César Augusto Acevedo’s Land And Shade and Ciro Guerra’s The Embrace Of The Serpent, the newly minted Indie Spirit nominee, earned four awards in Cannes, while Jayro Bustamante’s Guatemala-France drama Ixcanul took honours in Berlin.

Add to that list El Clan, the Argentinian thriller that earned Pablo Trapero a Silver Lion in Venice, and producers, sale agents and festival programmers heading to Buenos Aires for Ventana Sur (November 30-December 4) have reason to be cheerful.

“What we have seen is more and more attention for Latin American films,” says Jerome Paillard, executive co-director of Ventana Sur, a collaboration between Argentina’s Incaa film promotion body and Cannes (Paillard also serves as executive director of the...

Organisers at the Buenos Aires-based genre sidebar have announced the Bloody Work In Progress entrants.

The filmmakers and their projects chosen by San Sebastian director-general José Luis Rebordinos are: Terror 5 (Argentina) from Sebastian Rotstein and Federico Roststien; Verónica (Mexico) from Carlos Algara and Alejandro Martinez Beltrán; A Percepçao De Medo (Uptake Fear, Brazil) from Kapel Furman and Armando Fonseca.

Rounding out the Bwip selections are Camaleón (Chamaleon, Chile) from Jorge Riquelme Serrano; La Valija De Benavidez (Argentina) from Laura Casabe; and Downhill (Chile) from Patricio Valladares.

The Ffip – Fantastic Films In Progress selections are: 3 Linea: Sanskara (Trinidad & Tobago) from Christopher Din Chong; Estrategia De Una Venganza (Colombia-Panama) from Carlo Carela; Dengue Alien – Noite De “Terror” (Mosquitoid, Brazil) from Marcos de Castro; Vida (Life, Colombia) from Carlos Santiago Amézquita Villamizar; and Ataúd Blanco (Argentina) from Daniel de la Vega.

Blood Window will run from November 30-December 4.

It was just last year that the Fantaspoa Festival in Brazil took their first step in to not just screening films but producing them as well with their debut producing effort Jorge And Alberto Versus The Neoliberal Demons and with that film still doing the rounds on the international festival circuit the festival is about to unveil their second effort.Due to premiere at the festival May 31st, the directing trio of Kapel Furman, Armando Fonseca and Gurcius Gewdner team up for Uptake Fear, a descent into their own personal fears of urban living. The first trailer for the film has just arrived and we're proud to present it here. Furman has become one of the most in demand SFX artists in Brazil over the past...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Heavy metal horror, a Lovecraftian love story, party-crashing mutant wasps, and relentless New England ghosts will grace the silver screen at this year's Fantaspoa film festival in Brazil.

Press Release -- "Porto Alegre, April 27, 2015 - Brazil's Fantaspoa is proud to reveal the first wave of films selected for their upcoming eleventh edition, running from May 15th through the 31st. Latin America's largest genre film festival, which takes place annually in Porto Alegre, will announce their full line-up, consisting of more than 100 films, next weekend.

Fourteen titles have been confirmed, aside of the previously-announced opening night film, Jason Lei Howden's Deathgasm, and closing night features Uptake Fear (from Kapel Furman, Armando Fonseca and Gurcius Gewdner) and Toda La Noche (directed by Tamae Garateguy and Jimena Monteoliva).

Honored guests include Dennis Paoli, American screenwriter of Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator, From Beyond, and Dagon; and Italian composer Fabio Frizzi, best known for...

Brazil's Fantaspoa Film Fest has revealed the first wave of films selected for their upcoming eleventh edition, running from May 15th through the 31st. Latin America's largest genre film festival, which takes place annually in Porto Alegre, will announce their full line-up, consisting of more than 100 films, next weekend.

Fourteen titles have been confirmed, aside of the previously-announced opening night film, Jason Lei Howden's Deathgasm, and closing night features Uptake Fear (from Kapel Furman, Armando Fonseca and Gurcius Gewdner) and Toda La Noche (directed by Tamae Garateguy and Jimena Monteoliva).

Honored guests include Dennis Paoli, American screenwriter of Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator, From Beyond, and Dagon; and Italian [Continued ...]...

As the Latin American film market came to a close in Buenos Aires at the weekend (December 5), market organisers unveiled a number of award winners.Primer Corte

Primer Corte honours went to Luis Zorraquín’s Guaraní (Paraguay-Argentina) for the European Vision Award, while Clever from Uruguay’s Federico Borgia and Guillermo Madeiro won the Haciendo Cine Awards.

Clever also took honours from the Habanero Company jury in the LatAm Vision Awards section as California (Brazil) by Marina Person won the prize from the Wild Fox and Assimilate juries.

California also prevailed in the Incaa TV Award and the Primer Corte Variety Award.

Blood Window

Turning to the Blood Window programme, the Beyond The Window section saw Daniel de la Vega’s Punto Muerto win the Divicom Rental award and Habana Territorio de Vampiros by Carlos Lechuga win the Roma Lazio Film Commission prize.

Two films have been invited to take part in the Fantastic Fest’s Fantastic...