A brief history of Fantasporto going into its 45th edition in Porto

Let' s hear this fantastic story from the words of its very own founder our friend Mario Dorminsky pictured here with Bruno Chatelin and Beatriz Pacheco Pereira

"The festival was born in 1980 at a table of a small coffee shop in the center of Oporto, heritage world town by UNESCO, in a conversation between the three founders, film critics Mário Dorminsky and Beatriz Pacheco Pereira and the painter José Manuel Pereira. It immediately presented in the first edition (1981) the structure of a festival although still non-competitive, which has happened in the following edition.

The name Fantasporto had its origin in the reference used in the first letters- Fantas, because the festival started with a fantasy competition, and Porto, the name of the city.

From the start, and due to the quality of its programming, the festival had access to the best productions from all over the world. In 1981, in its first edition, the festival screened the first Chinese animation feature, for example, and later on it discovered for Europe New Zealand and South Korean films.

It started with fantasy films, a hit in the eighties, when names such as Spielberg, George Lucas or Ridley Scott were new to the film business. Fantasy films have been a must all through the history of the cinema.

From Méliès to our own Manoel de Oliveira, from Murnau to Spielberg, all great classics of the imaginary have been screened in Fantasporto.

The festival grew to become a general film event with the introduction of the Directors Week in 1991 and the Orient Express (for Asian Films).

Fantasporto has been the beacon for many film festivals in the world and has received the acknowledgement of such publications as Variety and the International Film Guide.

Fantasporto was the first festival to cross the arts and sciences with the film world since its first edition in 1981.Concerts, art exhibitions, workshops, book presentations, theatre plays and street performances, all have been welcomed in festival. The Special Programme, existing as a parallel event within the film festival since 2009, has established this sector as a must for festival goers, with Architecture, Robotics, Holograms or the Fine Arts, science fiction and Literature as the highlights of the latest editions.

This Special Programme of crossing Cinema with sidebar Arts And Sciences  is still unique in the context of film festivals in the world as it brings professionals from the arts and sciences into a film event.

Fantasporto is a regular visit of the Cannes Film Markets with a stand in the premises, enlarging thus the international influence of the event, as it can clearly be seen in the use of the name and logo of Fantasporto in the official poster and site of the selected films. The coverage by the media is unprecedented in Portugal with numerous international references.

Fantasporto has a unique media coverage in Portugal, due to the presence of the many professionals, most of them repeating the visit. News agencies, newspapers and tv channels cover the festival on a daily basis, with many live reports. A professional meeting place for all.

The festival has screened first-hand the first films of the greatest film creators of all times, one of the top merits of the event. David Cronenberg, André Tarkovsky, Brian de Palma, John Carpenter, Alain Resnais, David Lynch, Andrezj Zulawski, Bigas Luna, Ridley Scott, Luc Besson, Peter Greenaway, Jean-Jacques Beinex, James Cameron, Neil Jordan, Joel and Ethan Coen ou Lars von Trier showed their first films in the first 5 years of Fantasporto. Also Pedro Almodóvar, Sam Raimi, Leos Carax, Vincent Ward, Peter Jackson, Hal Hartley, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, Anthony Minghella, Peter Weir, Quentin Tarantino, Tim Robbins, Guillermo del Toro, Roberto Rodriguez, Vincenzo Natali, Danny Boyle, Lee Tamahori, the Waschowski brothers (sisters), Nick Cassevetes, Scott Hicks, David Fincher screened their first films in Fantasporto, making it a special place for new talents. This year Oscar Winner Bong Joon Ho also stared at the Porto Festival. Among these are 7 Oscar Best Film Winners!

The festival is a place for the promotion of the most recent Portuguese cinema, with tributes to the most relevant personalities, working with Universities and Film Schools and screening for the new generations the greatest Classics as they were conceived, for a big screen.

Fantasporto has state and private sponsors, and is the only film festival in the world with a model of a car named after it (Toyota Fantas Aygo) in 2007.

The festival was granted the recognition of the Portuguese Government and the Town Halls of Oporto and Gaia with the greatest honours, the Gold Medals of Porto and Gaia, and the Medal of Cultural Merit given by the Portuguese Government.

Fantasporto celebrated its 44th anniversary in 2024"

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FANTASPORTO HAS THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS:

Competitive Sections:

1 - Official Competition for Fantasy Films – new feature and short films, unreleased in Portugal with fantasy as main genre. Both features and shorts (these maximum 15 minutes in length)  must have been produced the year before or the current year.

2 - Official Competition Directors Week – for new feature films in all subjects other than fantasy, unreleased in Portugal and produced the year before or the current year.

3 - Official Competition Orient Express - for Asiatic feature films, unreleased in Portugal and produced the year before or the current year.

4 - Official Competition Portuguese Cinema –

4.1 for the best feature and short films, unreleased in Portugal produced the year before or the current year.

4.2- for the best Film School – group of films selected by each school as the best of the year. And produced the year before or the current year

Non - Competitive Sections:

1 - Official Section Panorama & Première - for feature films in all subjects, unreleased in Portugal.

2 - Anima-te (Animation features and shorts)

3 - Fantas in Shorts - short films in all genres.

4 - FantasClassics

5 - Retrospectives

6 - Tributes

AWARDS

JURY OF THE OFFICIAL COMPETITIVE SECTION (FANTASY FILMS)

The International Jury of the Official Section for Fantasy Films will grant the following awards: a) FANTASPORTO Best Film Award b) Best Direction c) Best Actor d) Best Actress e) Best Screenplay f) Best Special Effects g) Special Award of the Jury This award will be given to a film whose artistic and technical aspects present a high level of originality. h) Best Fantasy Short Award

JURY OF THE OFFICIAL COMPETITIVE SECTION DIRECTORS’ WEEK

The International Jury of the Directors Week will grant the following awards: a) Directors Week Best Film Award b) Best Director c) Best Actor d) Best Actress

e) Best Screenplay

f) Special Award of the Directors Week – for a film with a high level of originality. JURY OF THE OFFICIAL COMPETITIVE SECTION ORIENT EXPRESS

The International Jury of the Orient Express official section will grant the following awards: a) Orient Express Best Film Award b) Orient Express Special Award of the Jury- for a film with a high level of originality

JURY FOR THE PORTUGUESE CINEMA AWARDS

This jury will grant the following awards:

a) Best Portuguese Film and a Mention

b) Best Portuguese Film School and a Mention