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Neuchatel Fantastic Fest Champions Genre Cinema’s Ascent from Shadow to Spotlight
Neuchâtel Intl. Fantastic Film Festival has grown alongside the wider genre industry, breaking barriers with a buzzy 24th edition.
If those titles make up but a fraction of the 87 films selected and spread across five feature sections – with the festival spotlighting another 40 shorts, with several as world premieres – Neuchâtel’s international competition nevertheless showcases many recent standouts from Sundance, Berlin and Cannes, among them Addison Heimann’s “Touch Me,” Bruno Forzani and Hélène Cattet’s “Reflections in a Dead Diamond,” Johanna Moder’s “Mother’s Baby,” and Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s Critics’ Week winner “A Useful Ghost.” To wit, when Walder and his team came across the Aussie horror flick “Dangerous Animals” at the European Film Market earlier this year, they immediately pegged the sharks-and-serial-killer thriller as a perfect fit for their festival’s Ultra Movies showcase – a section devoted to gonzo midnight fare that trades auteurist elegance for visceral extremes. With inclusivity in mind, Neuchâtel has also introduced a new label called “Frissons sans frousse” (“Thrills Without Chills”), offering even the most squeamish festival-goers a safe path through the selection, all while looking far beyond the film world when assembling an international jury that welcomes author Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, illustrator Emil Ferris, philosopher Hélène Frappat, fashion designer Olivier Theyskens and director John Hsu.
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