Fantasporto

Fantasporto – Oporto International Film Festival is back. Its 28th edition starts on the 25th February till 9th March at the Rivoli Theatre and the Sá da Bandeira Theatre, the main theatres of the 2008 event.

The Opening Night is on the 25th with the awarded feature “No Country for Old Men” by Joel e Ethan Coen. Before the Coen’s film, an Homage to Max von Sydow in the presence of the artist and in the year of Ingmar Bergman’s death, for whom he was one of his favourite actors.

The big marathon begins with over 357 features, (also in 10 Lusomundo Theatres with sidebar programmes in 7 other cities in Portugal), turning this festival into an unique event.
Over 527 screenings!

There are films for all tastes in the competitions and in the main retrospectives.

“Breath” by Kim Ki Duk, the well known director of “The Isle” or “The Bow” integrates the Directors Week competition, with Chan Wook Park’s “I’m a Cyborg, But That’s Ok” as highlight of the Fantasy competition.

The Fantasy Competitive Section also brings the Russian box-office hit “Wolfhound” by Nicolai Lebedev, the latest by the awarded director Jaume Balagueró, “REC”, Guillermo del Toro’s production “The Orphanage”, as well as “Mother of Tears” by Dario Argento, among many others . Some 20 shorts complete this official section, all running for the Meliès d’ Argent for the best European feature and short film.
Also in competition, but for general features, the Directors Week has many interesting titles such as Irwin Winkler’s “Home of the Brave”, “Interview” by Steve Buscemi, “The Band’s Visit” or the world première of “The Lovebirds” by Bruno de Almeida with Soprano’s Michael Imperioli and John Ventimiglia.
The winner of the Directors Week will also receive the recently created Manoel de Oliveira Award, celebrating the Oporto Director celebrity and the oldest director in the world still in activity.

Portuguese cinema receives full homours with 87 short and feature films and the Retrospective of director Fernando Lopes with some of his films, such as Belarmino” (1964), “Crónica dos Bons Malandros”, or the more recent “O Delfim” (2002) and “98 Octanas”.
Retrospectives of Danish Cinema and director Alejandro Jodorowski, the programme dedicated to Animation, the “Sauve Qui Peut” programme of new and old horror films, a Classics programme, complete the 28th edition of Portugal most international film festival.

The 25th February is also the date of the opening of the exhibition by celebrated painter Agostinho Santos, one of the best in Portugal contemporary art scene, and of the space Movietown at the square facing the Rivoli. And to finish the menu, the hugely popular Vampires Ball on the 8th March at the Sá da Bandeira.

Welcome to Portugal’s greatest Film Festival in the UNESCO World Heritage City of Portwine, the River Douro and the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean!

Welcome to Oporto! Welcome to Fantasporto!