"Thank you very much for honoring me with the opportunity to make this small contribution to such an important initiative for the city of Rome. Today we are here in the Laudato Si Hall, one of the most prestigious venues, where initiatives of national and international relevance are presented, just like this festival, now in its seventh edition. The city of Rome should be proud to host a festival of this kind and to have had the chance to present it in an institutional setting. A glorious tradition with extraordinary excellence, which has brought luster to our Italian cinema, not just directors but all those who work in cinema."
With this blessing from Honorable Fabrizio Santori, Secretary Counselor of the Capitoline Assembly, the program for the 2024 edition of the Italian Horror Fantasy Fest was presented at the Capitoline Hill. The festival will take place from June 13 to 16 at the Stardust Village, located at the center of the four Roman districts of Eur, Torrino, Mostacciano, and Spinaceto, surrounded by a large green area of about 33,000 square meters.
The official host of the event—conceived in 2010 by artistic director, producer, and director Luigi Pastore as a summer event on the Roman coast with the aim of celebrating the masters of Italian genre cinema and discovering new emerging talents and artists who continue this glorious tradition—will be this year the actor and filmmaker Paolo Ruffini, who, not present at the press conference, sent a video message in which he pointed out that today there are many more fanatics than enthusiasts and that it is important to have festivals like this, where there are no judgments but favors, comments, and much gratitude for a wonderful cinema that has made our country great abroad.
A festival whose goal, as shown in the promotional video, is to make horror embrace fantasy, featuring shorts, feature films, cosplayers, and exhibitions; such as the one that combines Franco Bellomo's shots from Dario Argento's sets with the works of concept artist Luca Musk, present at the Capitoline Hill alongside Daniele Luxardo, cousin of the author of Deep Red, and that of special effects wizard Sergio Stivaletti, who also created the new logo of the event and the official prize, both depicting a particular dragon.
Stivaletti—whose films as a director, MDC – Mask of Wax and Dogman – will be shown on the screens of Stardust Village for the occasion—was also present at the event, accompanied by musicians Claudio Simonetti—who composed the soundtrack for the promotional video—and Fabio Frizzi, who will hold masterclasses during the festival, screenwriter Antonio Tentori, young filmmakers Brando De Sica and Luna Gualano, who will see their films Mimì – The Prince of Darkness and The War of Tiburtino III, produced by the Manetti Bros (who will open the festival), re-projected, the comedy legend Alvaro Vitali, who will star in the show Pierino against the monsters, the master of Italian thriller Antonio Bido, who will present the national preview of Funérailles – I Don't Want You, his return to the genre over forty years after The Bloodstained Shadow, and Luigi Cozzi, artistic consultant of the event, who will be involved with his Cozzilla, a recoloring and re-editing of the kaiju eiga classic Godzilla by Ishiro Honda.
Films in competition include Cabin by Nancy O’Brien, 13 notes en rouge by François Gaillard, I want to be a plastic chair by Ao Ieong Weng Fo, Lesbian psycho? by Nicola Vitale Matei, The activated man by Nicholas Gyeney, and Unlucky to love you by Mauro J. Capece, all judged by a quality jury chaired by director Eros Puglielli; while the previews will include the documentary The Dream Time, directed by Claudio Lattanzi and preceded by the music video Suspiria 45, and The Long Night of the Living Dead by Dario Germani.
A retrospective will be dedicated to Germani, featuring his films Anthropophagous II, The Slaughter, No Way Out, and the short film Don't Eat Hamill; there will also be space for a collaboration with Fantafestival, for the legendary Uncle Tibia, and for the restored versions of Contamination, The New York Ripper, and Two Evil Eyes.
The artistic direction of the festival will then award the Bruno Mattei Prize—dedicated to the late director of Virus – Hell of the Living Dead and Rats – Night of Terror—as recognition to an author or artist who has particularly distinguished themselves.
The technical sponsor Flat Parioli (www.flatparioli.com) will award the Flat Parioli Award to the author who has most distinguished themselves in innovating the grammar of their reference genre and the Flat Parioli plaque, which includes covering the costs necessary for the video post-production of a work that the same author will direct in the following years, carried out within their laboratory.
Since May 13, the official promo of the Italian Horror Fantasy Fest 2024 has been airing on GoldTv, LazioTv, and Teleregione Canale 74, among whose technical sponsors are Cooperativa Radio Taxi 3570, which will also make it possible for a historic yellow taxi similar to the ghost one that was the focus of the 1980s TV series Turno di notte to be present at the event, Neonflow, which will illuminate the Stardust Village, Chin8 Neri, Rustblade, Profondo Rosso Store and the Dario Argento Horror Museum, and 4L Collection Hotels, which are linked to the conventions for the public needing accommodation at the Hotel Cristoforo Colombo or the American Palace Hotel.
There will be social media contests involving the public, special prizes awarded by the festival's partners and sponsors, and many other surprises... including a masterclass with Federico Zampaglione, soon to release his fierce The Well!
Globo Vintage is the official radio of the Italian Horror Fantasy Fest.
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