Once again it's time for genre film fans and fine wine lovers to gather in the idyllic town of Ljutomer, the birthplace of Slovenian cinema,for the jubilee 10th edition of Grossmann Fantastic Film and Wine Festival, recently voted one of the "Top 5 Coolest Horror/Sci-Fi Festivals in the World" by the readers of MovieMaker magazine. The festival will take place from the 15th to the 19th of July 2014.
Over the course of five days, Grossmann Festival brings the most exciting recent fantastic films, as well as a special selection of genre classics, along with master classes and Q&A sessions with our film guests from all around the world. Screenings take place at four locations, including the Open Air Cinema at Ljutomer's historical main square, where the first meters of Slovenian film were shot in 1905 by Dr. Karol Grossmann. Since the festival takes place in the middle of a famous winegrowing region, cinematic delights are complemented by numerous wine tasting events. Rich accompanying program features art exhibitions, live concerts, book presentations, lectures and workshops, with the world's first Zombie Quadrille taking place on the last day of the festival.
The festival will show around 30 feature and 40 short films from all around the world. Apart from the main award, Vicious Cat for best feature film, and the Vicious Cat Wine Champion for the best wine, Grossmann gives out the following awards: Slak's Vicious Cat for best short film (named after the late Slovenian film director Franci Slak, great supporter of the festival and Slovenian independent film scene in general), Noisy Cat for best music documentary (the only Slovenian film festival with such an award), and Honorary Vicious Cat for lifetime achievement. European fantastic short films also compete for the Melies d'Argent award, given by the European Fantastic Film Festival Federation. The winner is nominated for the prestigious Melies d'Or, award for the best European fantastic short film.
Besides the films in competition programs, Grossmann also features the traditional Grossmann Grindhouse section, containing the most fierce and irreverent new genre titles, retrospectives section showing various cult classics, and the always popular Torture Garden, B-marathon of weirdness, guts and laughs.
Our Little Workshop of Horrors will once again have guerrilla film crews trying to make their genre shorts in two days and one night, upcoming actors will perfect their skills in acting workshops, while our brand new Little Workshop of Animation will reveal the secrets of making an animated film.
Highlights of this year's music program include live appearances by Slovenian punk legends Niet, US psychobilly trio Koffin Kats and Ljutomer's own hardcore veterans Odpisani. Art gallery in the Ljutomer Cinema will host exhibitions by Serbian artist Arpad Slančik and legendary Slovenian comic book artist Zoran Smiljanić.
The astounding graphic design for the 10th Grossmann was done by brilliant illustrator Blaž Porenta, currently one of most prominent young Slovenian artists, whose works received numerous international awards and were also noticed by Marvel Comics.
Since 2010, Grossmann Festival is an adherent member of the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation, world's largest genre film festival network, currently uniting 22 festivals from 14 countries with a global attendance of over 450 000 visitors.
Detailed information on program, schedule, guests and much more coming soon!
During the past 9 editions, Grossmann Festival was visited by more than 80 film guests from around the world, such as Sir Christopher Lee, Franco Nero, Roger Corman, Menahem Golan, Ruggero Deodato, Enzo G. Castellari, Jose Mojica Marins, Lloyd Kaufman, Brian Yuzna, Joerg Buttgereit, Jaume Balaguero, Alex Chandon, Uwe Boll, Krsto Papić, Slobodan Šijan, Goran Marković, Jane Kavčič, Franci Slak, Tom Six, Carlos Areces, Lee Hardcastle and many others.
www.grossmann.si