About us

FANCINE’S PREHISTORY

In 1990, the University of Malaga decided to celebrate a fantastic genre film exhibition. Even though it was not called Fancine at the time, it was not the event we know today. Nor was it even supposed to continue. But an enthusiastic response from the public led organizers to consider another one the following year.

And thus started what at the time was called “The University of Malaga Fantastic Film Week” until 1997.

It was in that year when they decided to put the word “international” into the title. This resulted in an increase in quality, allowing the event to gain visibility among film festivals in Europe, thus joining the European Fantastic Film Festivals (known today as the Méliès International Festivals Federation). The number of films in the program has increased and included a competition element. Little by little, it began to take shape as a genuine film festival. Only it wasn’t called that yet.

FANCINE’S HISTORY

All that changed in 2008. A new name, Fantastic Film Festival of the University of Málaga, and its hallmark, Fancine, represented a dramatic milestone. It was more than just a name change. The addition of the word “festival” reinforced, on the one hand, a competition element and the search for quality screenings and, on the other hand, the parallel activities became an essential addition to the film fixture.

Today, FANCINE is simply the Fantastic Film Festival of Málaga. One of the most important fantasy and horror film festivals of all taking place in Spain, with a growing presence outside its national borders, and positioning itself as a benchmark of excellence for films of its genre.

FANCINE’S INTRA-HISTORY

The decisions that were taken, and which marked the historical evolution of the festival, started bottom-up. A team of enthusiastic people, fans of the seventh art in a broad sense and especially of this cinema genre. Most of them passionate university students who every day show their eagerness and dedication, so every year the miracle takes place: a public university supports a festival like Fancine.