COMPETITION BEGINS AT THE ALBÉNIZ WITH THE SCREENING OF ‘PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND’ AND ‘TIDES’

The UMA Rectorate hosts the first CineAsia cycle session and the drive-in premieres as a venue with the preview of ‘Till Death’

After a full house and José Corbacho hosting the opening gala in the role of a mad scientist, the Fantastic Film Festival of the University of Málaga opened this Thursday its schedule of screenings, which will run until November 18th, with the two films in charge of inaugurating the official section competition. The competition of the 31st Fancine kicked off during the first afternoon showtime in room 1 with ‘Prisoners of the Ghostland’, the crazy film by Japanese director Sion Sono starring Nicolas Cage. In this film, the charismatic actor dons a curious leather suit to play an ex-convict commissioned to rescue a kidnapped young woman, and, during his mission, he will go through dangerous terrains ruled by criminals. At 7:30 p.m., action and profligacy gave way to the purest science-fiction in ‘Tides’, a post-apocalyptic story in which an astronaut must save the survivors remaining on planet Earth.

Both showtimes were attended by the official jury, and the attendees also participated as they were able to cast their votes via a QR code, votes which will be used to grant the audience award at the closing ceremony next week. The billboard was completed with the screening of titles belonging to other sections of the festival, such as Anima Zone, which featured the national premiere of the Korean film ‘Climbing’.

Beyond the screens at Alcazabilla street, the other venues of the event also began their programme, such as the UMA Rectorate, which hosted the first presentation of the Fantastic Asia cycle coordinated by CineAsia, which will conclude the online course developed during the days prior to the event. The opening film was the Indian blockbuster ‘Enthiran’, a screening followed by a film forum. In the meantime, Autocines Málaga — the recently inaugurated festival venue — held the screening of ‘Till Death’, a thriller starring Megan Fox that parked at Fancine a day before its commercial release in theaters, scheduled for Friday, November 12th.

Lastly, the Contenedor Cultural held the escape room ‘La Invasión’, created by Cristian Alcaraz and Anjara Morgado. The participating teams had to complete a series of logic and wit tests and games in order to discover the fictitious identity of an evil scientist who had released a virus capable of transforming the population into zombies. Using locks, codes, and code words, the groups had to figure out how to uncover the story.

Friday programme

The eve of the weekend will bring to Fancine a full schedule of parallel activities. Tomorrow, Friday, music will play again at the festival with the traditional film score concert, an event that, once again this year, will be broadcast on its YouTube channel and that this time will also recover the in-person audience. In addition, the Contenedor Cultural will host a double feature in the afternoon: first, the book presentation of ‘La música de Basil Poledouris’, by Sergio Hardasmal; and then, a conference with the Bloody Girls, who will address the role of women in genre cinema and their relationship with the devil.

At the Albéniz cinema, screenings will begin in the morning and the theatre will welcome the first festival guests, such as Frenchman Baptiste Drapeau, director of ‘The Lodger’.