Editor

Imagine: 27th Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival
13 – 23 April 2011 – Filmtheater Kriterion

Approx. 45 long and 25 short films,
The Night of Terror, symposium, master class and Q&A’s.
Theme programmes: Cine Latino Fantástico and Power to the People.

Imagine, taking place from the 13th until the 23rd of April for its 27th edition this year, is the ultimate sanctuary for films within the fantasy, horror, science fiction and animation categories. And although these genre descriptions may seem convenient, they conceal more than they reveal. Year after year, the Imagine programme shows that ‘the’ fantastic film has so much more to offer than just a sum of genres.

2011 will be yet another year full of surprising crossovers, big names as well as films that are just waiting to be discovered, arthouse as well as mainstream, crowd pleasers as well as films that will provoke heated debate. But Imagine is more than just the approx. 45 long and 25 shorts films that are being screened. The festival is also about talking to domestic and foreign guests, presenting a master class, uncovering interesting common threads in the theme programmes, and giving hardcore horror fans exactly what they want in The Night of Terror.

Theme programme Cine Latino Fantástico focuses its attention on the fantastic film production in South America and Mexico. After years of dictatorship and civil war, a new generation of filmmakers has emerged in this region, who, having grown up with democratic governments, lavishly celebrate their freedom with a colourful, uninhibited view on the fantastic.

The second theme programme, Power to the People, highlights a relatively new and, thanks to the internet, increasingly important phenomenon. Film is no longer a sacred final product, but instead it’s the starting point for various mutations. Remixes, alternative trailers, unofficial sequels to The Lord of the Rings, Lego-versions of Star Wars, it’s all out there on the internet. And legally too, as long as the makers abstain from commercial exploitation. The industrious consumer has become part of the film culture, and films turn out to be variable processes. An exciting new development, which will be examined from all angles during Imagine.

The Imagine main programme, theme programmes, symposium and master class, have all found a home in Filmtheater Kriterion on the Roetersstraat 170 in Amsterdam. Last year the festival also took place in this attractive location with three screens and a pleasant cafe. The Night of Terror will once again be held in Tuschinski 1, Amsterdam.

Just like last year, the poster was designed by Iris van der Eijken.

Further information and updates about films, guests and special events can be found on our website from the beginning of February: http://www.imaginefilmfestival.nl. The artwork can soon be downloaded from the site in high res or requested from MVSP.