closing night

vermin

Because of a glitch in the power supply, one of Kaleb's most venomous and aggressive spider species escapes. It spreads unnoticed at first, but then a strange death is recorded, triggering a cascade of events with a brutal outcome. Sébastien Vaniček's creature horror film with quick-witted lines, French rap music, and a talented young cast will not only test arachnophobes but will have you scratching you for quite some time.

fresh blood

birth/rebirth

Rose works as a pathologist in a hospital. Socially awkward, it is only science that awakens her interest in bodily processes. Celie works as a midwife in the same hospital. When her infant daughter suddenly dies and the body Rose was autopsying disappears, she discovers that Rose is secretly experimenting with reanimating the dead. A pig has already been successfully revived, and the girl is the first successful attempt on a human. The two women decide to make a pact, but the price is high.

Director Laura Moss manages to turn familiar genre tropes into a powerful vision of her own, a horror thriller that literally gets under your skin and makes you uncomfortable, yet remains stylish despite all the gore. As Rose, Marin Ireland is astonishing in her radical interpretation of the mad scientist.

„science fiction hinterfragt!“

archive

"Science Fiction Scrutinised" is the motto of an exciting and educational film evening organised in cooperation with the Stiftung Planetarium Berlin. ARCHIVE (2020) starring Theo James (White Lotus/Divirgent) will be shown in the cinema of the Zeiss Planetarium. After the screening, we will discuss with social scientist Dr. Dierk Spreen and Dr. Jürgen Rienow, Head of Production at the Planetarium Berlin Foundation, whether the content of the film is more "science" or "fiction".

About the film: George, a robotics engineer, has been given three years by his company to develop the next level of artificial intelligence in a strictly isolated laboratory. After two less than successful prototypes, which have been his only companions during the project, he is now on the verge of a breakthrough for J3: an android with real feelings, consciousness and memories.

special presentation

eisspin, der sehr schreckliche

In Sledwaya, the sickest city in all of Zamonia, the starving Kratze Echo makes a diabolical pact with the Scarecrow Master Eisspin: He will provide her with the most delicious food in his castle if she will allow him to slaughter her at the end of the month and use her precious fat for his experiments. Seeing no other way out, poor Kratze agrees to the perfidious contract.

Based on the novel "Der Schrecksenmeister" by Walter Moers, the team around Adrian Doll (director) and Lukas Koll (producer) combined state-of-the-art technology with traditional narrative methods of live-action film in an extremely elaborate production process lasting several years. For example, the scratching echo was created using an animatronic hand puppet on a real set and with Christoph Maria Herbst as Eisspin. The Fantasy Filmfest presents the 15-minute fantasy film as a world premiere.

fresh blood

what remains

A long-term inmate at a mental clinic in the far north abruptly confesses to a series of brutal murders. His therapist, a police officer, and he himself try thereupon to reconstruct the details of the case and to comprehend the murky reality that emerges. Extremely precise, dismal, and icy cold WHAT REMAINS marks Chinese filmmaker Ran Huang's feature film debut, starring Stellan Skarsgård, Gustaf Skarsgård, and Andrea Riseborough.

fresh blood

vincent must die

After two of his coworkers attack him for no apparent reason, Vincent is sent home, where he will work from now on. But also outside the office, people get mad at him very quickly; a single glance is enough to turn them against him. Stéphan Castang’s nerve-wrecking thriller with a dark sense of humor and with insane shock moments pulls consistently the rug out from under its grandiose lead actor (Karim Leklou) – and the audience.

director’s spotlight

the survival of kindness

BlackWoman is caught in a cage in the middle of the hot desert, left there to die. This is the beginning of a bizarre odyssey through a world dominated by decay and illness. Dream and reality mix ominously in Rolf de Heer's dystopian nightmare. Fantasy Filmfest dedicates to THE SURVIVAL OF KINDNESS this year's Director's Spotlight. This parable about the abysses of human nature burns deep into your memory with its dizzying shots and terrifying soundtrack, and feels like a punch in the gut that will leave you nauseous for a long time.

slotherhouse

Emily must gain the attention and admiration of her peers in order to be elected president of her students' fraternity. So why not adopt a lovely sloth as the new mascot? Alpha immediately gains everyone's sympathies, but suddenly a murder serial begins, and everything seems to point to Alpha as the perpetrator. It's hilarious how Matthew Goodhue transforms the less dangerous animal in the world into a vicious murderer.

Don't rush, die slow! This is the motto of Matthew Goodhue's madcap horror scenario, which not only turns the world's most harmless animal into a bloodthirsty killer, but also delivers wonderful references to creature classics like GREMLINS.

the seeding

Barnaby Clay’s debut is an ice-cold horror story set in the desert. A photographer attempting to take pictures of a solar eclipse gets tricked by a group of children and finds himself stuck at the bottom of a deep sinkhole. A mysterious woman happens to be there too. A sadistic co-dependence game starts, and the desolation grows bigger and bigger in this visually bewitching thriller.

robot dreams

Dog orders a robot online to keep him company. The two become best friends. Pablo Berger's (Fresh Blood winner 2012 for BLANCANIEVES) quirky animation film about the touching story of a friendship between Dog and his robot buddy, is an ode to old New York and recalls Stephen Spielberg’s A.I. It stuns us with a colorful and with much love for details vision that is enchanting in style and content.