As always I tremendously enjoyed the festival. Yes, there were changes, no, not all of them for the better. But between the list containing this year's positive points and those of AFFF's gone by there would be enough overlap to confidently state; again, it was a wonderful festival.
So, what were the differences? Visiting the festival with the four of us, though not necessarily all watching the same film at the same time, was a fun experience. Particularly the discussions afterwards and sometimes wildly differing reviews added some wonderful spice. As a footnote, the way we set up the blog this year appealed to me. Previous years' static items started to become a bit of a nuisance; one had to remember a quote, one had to count the bodies and remember the most creative weapons... Fun as it was at the time, I enjoyed the freestyle writing this blog allowed.
The lack of anime. Yada yada. I hope this AFFF will be remembered as the AFFF which failed in the anime department, for that assumes they will have learned their lesson next year... Particularly the last two years I have become an avid anime watcher. Mostly series and OVA's, truth be told, but they all guided me to an even better appreciation of the art of not just storytelling and its visual shape in film, but the sometimes deceptively simple animation that can be so extremely effective. Shinshi, reconsider...
A shorter NoT, but a more evenly spread programme allowing almost every film to be seen. The shorts, always a big favourite, were less impressive this year, but did contain some tiny diamonds in the rough.
Freestyle this may be, some order has to exist. A mini-roundup of my most memorable films. I'll keep it short, this isn't the place to extend my review. My opinion is just one of many: follow links for comparison with the other 3 opinions.
Martyrs: judging from the last week this might probably be the most memorable film for me. Haunting thoughts and images.
From Inside. Highly poetic, somewhere deep down inside it struck a sensitive note. I wonder what I'll think of it when I watch it again.
Let the right one in: everything clicked. "I don't like to see blood on a young girl's face" a friend wrote me. Isn't that what good films are about? Seeming contradictions, triggering impressions, conflicting emotions...
The clone returns home: meta-physical questions in slow-motion.
Stingray Sam: wonderful; black-and-white, space cowboy. A little gem.
Showing posts with label AFFF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AFFF. Show all posts
It's been a week since the 25th Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival / imagine 2009 came to an end. I have seen a record breaking 51 feature films in ten days time. For posterity and/or convenience all my posts can be found on this blog under the label "joost". But which ones stand out? The following films belong to the best I've seen:
On the plus side:
10 out of 10 days bright and sunny weather,
9 short nights causing a nice festival blur,
8 cans of red bull to mix with the vodka to keep our Eyes Wide Open,
7 deadly sins seen in plenty of the films,
6 (,04) average score for a film,
5 films a day,
4 festival freaks who were crazy enough to see practically all films,
3 doors down the street a fantastic coffee place,
2 talk-of-the-day selfmade T-shirts, and
1 magnum size air bed in a spacious apartment.
On that note I'd like to thank my hosts for letting me crash at their new humble abode!
AFFF25 / imagine 2009 - FADE OUT.
- The clone returns home
A slow-paced visually strong philosophical contemplation on cloning, the soul, and what makes us human. - Martyrs
A very violent and gruesome film about physical abuse and how to create victims. A study into the strength and the fathomless depths of the human spirit. Difficult to watch, but hard not to recommend. "Handle with care". - Stingray Sam
With a sweet spot for The American Astronaut (screened during the 20th AFFF in 2005), it should come as no surprise that I severely enjoyed Stingray Sam. Cory McAbee transports us to a black and white retro sci-fi world with musical interludes. - Let the right one in
It can be hard to live up to expectation with all the prior buzz and awards. Luckily the film is as good as people say. Great mix of the "coming of teenage" and vampire genres. One of those films where things click - story, cast, cinematography, music. - Fear me not
Another Scandinavian gem, a psychological portrait of a man in his forties who decides to reassess his life and "change some things". A new untested kind of drug is the catalyst, but not all it what it seems. The "normalness" of the protagonist and how he changes is creepier than other monster and gore films we've seen during this festival. - Not quite Hollywood
What a pleasant surprise to see a whole documentary on how the Australians added a significant chapter to the exploitation genre. Key players reflect upon their adventures and plenty of clips make the whole industry and their achievements come to live. A must-see for lovers of cult films! - I sell the dead
A fluent life story of two grave robbers and their encounters with the dead - and undead. In a way not very special, but the acting and ridiculous situations made this film a guilty pleasure to me.
- Edison and Leo - Canada's first stop-motion film, ever, and what a dark treat.
- 11 minutes ago - Ingenious concept to shoot an entire film in just one day, with an interesting mix of the sci-fi and romantic genre.
- Eden Lake - Social horror like only the Brits can pull off.
- Sleep dealer - Imaginative story with realistic glimpses and critical remarks on a near future.
- From inside - Bleak but wonderfully animated post-apocalyptic film.
- Tamami: The Baby's Curse - A really bad film, but I have the sneaky suspicion this will be one of those films that we will refer to in years to come.
On the plus side:
10 out of 10 days bright and sunny weather,
9 short nights causing a nice festival blur,
8 cans of red bull to mix with the vodka to keep our Eyes Wide Open,
7 deadly sins seen in plenty of the films,
6 (,04) average score for a film,
5 films a day,
4 festival freaks who were crazy enough to see practically all films,
3 doors down the street a fantastic coffee place,
2 talk-of-the-day selfmade T-shirts, and
1 magnum size air bed in a spacious apartment.
On that note I'd like to thank my hosts for letting me crash at their new humble abode!
AFFF25 / imagine 2009 - FADE OUT.
- "But that means you have quite a lot."
- "Yes, correct. A hundred, to be precise."
It is silent in the lobby of Pathé Arthouse. Some volunteers - all familiar by face - are hanging around. A girl speaks quietly into her mic. A little white van in front of the doors and the red carpet (all 2 meters of it) sports an "imagine:" sign. Everything seems in control.
2 passes, 100 tickets. The usual confusion about the amount, followed by the just as common amused look when the computer starts to spit out a 4meter long snake of white tickets.
All went well. The codes have been secured. All that is left is opening the safe.
- "Yes, correct. A hundred, to be precise."
It is silent in the lobby of Pathé Arthouse. Some volunteers - all familiar by face - are hanging around. A girl speaks quietly into her mic. A little white van in front of the doors and the red carpet (all 2 meters of it) sports an "imagine:" sign. Everything seems in control.
2 passes, 100 tickets. The usual confusion about the amount, followed by the just as common amused look when the computer starts to spit out a 4meter long snake of white tickets.
All went well. The codes have been secured. All that is left is opening the safe.
The 25th edition of the Amsterdam Fantastic Festival is rapidly approaching. This year the festival has been renamed to "imagine:", because according to the festival organization "the term 'fantastic' is too often confused with the more limited term 'fantasy', because we think that IMAGINE: not only sounds better, but also implies an invitation to the audience: 'Just imagine that...', but above all, because IMAGINE: explicitly emphasizes the adventurous, free-thinking direction of the festival, much more so than the old name."
Duly noted. But since the moniker AFFF over the years has left an imprint on our brains and speech patterns, we will probably keep referring to it as AFFF. Besides, the European Federation of Fantastic Film Festivals and most of its member festivals still stick with the "FFF" in their name :-P
Duly noted. But since the moniker AFFF over the years has left an imprint on our brains and speech patterns, we will probably keep referring to it as AFFF. Besides, the European Federation of Fantastic Film Festivals and most of its member festivals still stick with the "FFF" in their name :-P