‘PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND’, ‘TIDES’ AND ‘MAYDAY’, FIRST TO JOIN 31st FANCINE

The festival announces a total of five titles, among which is Japanese director Sion Sono’s new film, starring Nicolas Cage

First sneak peak of the Fancine program. Before summer vacation, this university festival announced five films that will be screened during its 31st edition, celebrated from the 10th to the 18th of November in the Albéniz theater and other UMA locations. One of them will be the much awaited ‘Prisoners of the Ghostland’, the new movie by Japanese director Sion Sono, who was part of this Málaga festival in 2015 with ‘Tag’, which won on that 25th anniversary. On this occasion, the experienced filmmaker will come back to Fancine with an extravagant and unhinged action film starring Nicolas Cage, who has become an icon within the festival. In it, the popular actor plays a bank robber who must recover a missing girl in less than five days, before the leather suit he’s wearing is self-destructed. Kidnappings, bloody fights, and supernatural events will take place in a plot characterized by impactful imagery and a frantic rhythm.

Next up is science fiction project ‘Tides’, a co-production between Switzerland and Germany directed by Tim Fehlbaum, who returns to Fancine after ‘Hell’ in 2012. His new work is a futuristic dystopia where an astronaut is trapped in a long-decimated Earth who must decide the destiny of the surviving population of this inhospitable expanse. This fantasy film featuring Iain Glen (‘Game of Thrones’) in the cast, a post-apocalyptic setting and somber tone, had its premiere in Berlinale and has been in other festivals such as Neuchâtel.

Animation is also present in this announcement with ‘The Spine of Night’, a colorful and ultraviolet story written and directed by the duo formed by Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King with 2D rotoscoping animation. With a polished aesthetic and a retro fantasy style, the project tells an epic tale set in a magic world of heroes from different time periods fighting against an evil force.

Two more films complete this quintet: ‘Mayday’, a teenage drama and US director Karen Cinorre’s feature debut, which premiered in Sundance. Via a young female protagonist who enters a dreamy and dangerous world, the author tackles themes such as gender, suicide and coming of age through a feminist lens, aided by intrigue, fantasy and horror. Lastly, the Irish film ‘Son’, by award-winning Ivan Kavanagh about a child with a strange illness and an obsessive mother willing to do anything to save him.

Other announcements

As well releasing the first films to join the festival, Fancine has opened several opportunities to promote participation and interaction on social media while encouraging creative thought. With this objective, Fancine has presented the new edition of the ‘Fantasy and Horror Short Story Contest’, an activity organized in collaboration with the Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities that awards the literary talent of the university community with up to 350 euros.

Those interested must write their text before the 28th of October, and a jury composed of members related to the arts and humanities world will give their verdict during during the development of the festival. The contest rules are available on fancine.org

And once again, Fancine will announce the #Fancineslogan contest in its social media profiles, offering their followers the possibility to propose a slogan for this next edition, which must sum up and promote its alternative and ground-breaking quality. Wit, originality, and brevity will be highly valued.

Participants can opt for a 100-euro prize per social media platform (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) where the slogan is sent, with a maximum of 5 words and must be accompanied by the hashtag #31Fancineslogan.

The contest is open until the 20th of September. The rules can be looked up in the festival’s webpage.