Fantastic Fest 2015 Reveals First Wave of Programming

Fantastic Fest 2015 takes place September 24 – October 1 in Austin, TX at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar

Fantastic Fest 2015 has today announced it’s first wave programming lineup for the 11th annual celebration of genre-bending films! This year’s highlights include the World Premiere of director by S. Craig Zahler Bone Tomahawk with Kurt Russell and Matthew Fox in attendance, a retrospective of Turkish Genre Cinema, and a special Mondo Gallery event and programming series curated by filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn to celebrate the release of his new book Nicolas Winding Refn: The Act of Seeing, which profiles Refn’s collection of vintage exploitation-era American movie posters.

“We’re very excited about this year’s mix of premieres, unique events and a retrospective theme unlike any other featuring audacious and otherworldly Turkish remakes of classic Hollywood films,” said Fantastic Fest founder Tim League. “…Bringing Kurt Russell back to the Alamo is something we’ve been trying to do for a long time. And to do it with ‘Bone Tomahawk,’ a quintessential Fantastic Fest film, means we’re in for one hell of a closer. Huge thanks to Caliber Media for making it all happen.”

Turkish genre cinema is at the heart of Fantastic Fest 2015, inspiring both feature programming and the festival theme. This relatively unknown school of ’70s renegade filmmaking is explored in Remix, Remake, Rip-Off, which will be receiving its U.S. Premiere with director Cem Kaya in attendance.

”We are delighted to be digging deep into Turkish cinema for a journey of discovery,” said Fantastic Fest 2015 Head Programmer, Evrim Ersoy. “With its ‘filmmaking-at-any-cost’ mentality, the sheer insanity of Turkish cinema is a perfect match for Fantastic Fest.”

As part of the Turkish celebration, Fantastic Fest 2015 will be screening three seminal films, Dunyayi Kurtaran Adam (aka The Man Who Saves the World, aka Turkish Star Wars), Yilmayan Seytan (aka The Deathless Devil) and Tarkan Viking Kani (aka Tarkan vs the Vikings). The screenings will be complemented by the attendance of iconic Turkish filmmaker Çetin İnanç and moviestar Kunt Tulgar.

“Due to the high cost of exhibiting American movies, Turkish filmmakers created their own versions of these classics, and with it a new universe of madcap cinema was born. I’m proud to say we’ve selected some of their wildest rides,” said Ersoy.

In keeping with the Turkish spirit, this year’s poster is comprised exclusively of elements from classic Turkish movie art, of which there will be over 60 original movie posters on display at the festival.

In the gallery viewer below, you can take a visual tour of the first wave of Fantastic Fest 2015 films and with brief synopses and other relavant information.

Fantastic Fest 2015

8 DIAGRAM POLE FIGHTER
ANOMALISA
Boy And The Beast
CAMINO
Come Drink With Me
DAG
DANIELS WORLD
DOGLEGS
EVILSPEAK
GLORIOUS WORKS
SON OF SAUL
SOUTHBOUND
SchneiderVSBax
TALE OF TALES 1
TREACHEROUS
THE WAVE
ZOOM
THE ASSASSIN 4
BABYLON

BABYLON
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Fantastic Fest 2015 Poster
Bone Tomahawk

United States, 2015
World Premiere, 133 min
Director - S. Craig Zahler
Kurt Russell stars in this character driven and at times horrific Western about a group of men (including Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox and Richard Jenkins) who set out to rescue a local woman and a young deputy who've been kidnapped by a tribe of cannibalistic troglodytes.
Darling

United States, 2015
World Premiere, 78 min
Director - Mickey Keating
A young woman slowly goes crazy after taking a job as the caretaker for an ancient New York home in the new film from writer/director Mickey Keating.
Der Bunker

Germany, 2015
North American Premiere, 85 min
Director - Nikias Chryssos
A student rents a room from a family in their converted army bunker, and ends up the tutor to the child and a virtual slave to the parents.
Der Bunker

Germany, 2015
North American Premiere, 85 min
Director - Nikias Chryssos
A student rents a room from a family in their converted army bunker, and ends up the tutor to the child and a virtual slave to the parents.
German Angst

Germany, 2015
US Premiere, 111 min
Directors - Jörg Buttgereit, Michal Kosakowski & Andreas Marschall
German directors Buttgereit, Kosakowski and Marschall unleash this brutal assault on the senses, a surreal three-part horror
Farewell Uncle Tom

Italy, 1971
Repertory Screening, 123 min
Directors - Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi
The first movie based on historical facts about the rise and revolt of slavery in America is one of the most brilliant, misunderstood and reviled of all time.
In Search of Ultra Sex

France, 2015
North American Premiere, 60 min
Directors - Nicolas Charlet and Bruno Lavaine
A pandemic infects people everywhere with infinite lust, and the only ones who can save us are a group of astronauts in space, desperately looking for a solution.
Liza the Fox Fairy

Hungary, 2015
Regional Premiere, 98 min
Director - Károly Ujj-Mészáros
Somewhere in 1970s Budapest, nurse Liza dreams of romance. But as all her suitors die in violent and extreme ways, she begins to fear the worst: maybe she is really a fox fairy, doomed to remain alone forever!
Love and Peace

Japan, 2015
US Premiere, 117 min
Director - Sion Sono
Fantastic Fest staple Shion Sono returns once again with a deeply personal (and expectedly odd) film about a lonely businessman with dreams of punk rock stardom and his best friend, a turtle.
Lovemilla

Finland, 2015
North American Premiere, 97 min
Director - Teemu Nikk
LOVEMILLA is a delightful peek at life and love in Finland, filled with all the usual zombies, black holes, giant pandas and superheros you'd expect from the land that gave us Renny Harlin.
Nicolas Winding Refn: The Act of Seeing

Filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn shares his unique collection of rare American exploitation movie posters in the lush new hardcover book Nicolas Winding Refn: The Act of Seeing. Three of the films featured in the book - FAREWELL UNCLE TOM, THE X-RATED SUPERMARKET and MY BODY HUNGERS - were selected by Refn to screen during the opening weekend of Fantastic Fest, followed by a Q&A and book signing.

The Mondo Gallery, located at 4115 Guadalupe Street, will be hosting a special exhibit showcasing 15 of the original posters featured in Nicolas Winding Refn: The Act of Seeing, plus a brand new limited edition poster by artist Jay Shaw inspired by the book and created specifically for the gallery show. Refn will be on hand to sign copies of the book at the gallery during the opening reception on Friday, September 25th. The exhibit will run September 25th - September 27th.

"Being a massive fan of Austin, Texas, I consider it a great privilege to join forces with Fantastic Fest and the Mondo gallery to host the exclusive U.S. debut of Nicolas Winding Refn: The Act of Seeing," said filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn. "I'm excited to show the world this odyssey of rare and exclusive poster art at the festival alongside screenings of some of the films that inspired it."
Office

Korea, 2015
US Premiere, 111 min
Director - HONG Won-Chan
OFFICE is the story of Kim, the salaryman who one day brutally murders his entire family with a hammer, and Lee, the put-upon intern at his workplace. It's dark-as-night corporate satire hiding behind a slasher veneer with scares so well timed, you'll jump out of your seat non-stop.
Remake, Remix, Rip-Off

Turkey/Germany, 2014
US Premiere, 96 min
Director - Cam Kaya
Welcome to Turkey. It's home to Yesilcam, the Turkish Hollywood where, in the late '70s, dreams were built on nothing more than a dime. Both a loving tribute to the burgeoning cinema of this young country and a trip into history, REMAKE, REMIX, RIP-OFF brings you the most outlandish story you've never heard, about filmmaking so dangerous that you need a safety harness just for watching.
Ruined Heart

Phillipines-Germany, 2015
Regional Premiere, 73 min
Director - Khavn de la Cruz
Filipino iconoclast Khavn De La Cruz teams with famed cinematographer Christopher Doyle and Japanese mega star Tadanobu Asano to create a self-described "punk noir opera."
Sensoria

Sweden, 2015
World Premiere, 82 min
Director - Christian Hallman
Caroline Menard is a woman in her thirties who has lost everything. As she moves into a new apartment searching for a new start, she's unaware that something ancient is waiting for her.
Speed

South Korea, 2015
North American Premiere, 104 min
Director - Lee Sang-woo
Four friends navigate sex, love and life in a heart-breaking new film from Korean director Lee Sang-woo.
Stand By for Tape Backup

United Kingdom, 2015
US Premiere, 65 min
Director - Ross Sutherland
Hypnotically scanning the contents of a VHS tape, this experimental essay-film eulogizes the former custodian of the analog artifact, transforming its recordings of GHOSTBUSTERS and FRESH PRINCE (among others) through rap-infused anecdotal narration, and inscribing both profound and hilarious associations to the tracking-lined images. STAND BY FOR TAPE BACK-UP will be presented as both a traditional screening as well as a live performance by creator Ross Sutherland.
Tarkan vs the Vikings

Turkey, 1971
Repertory Screening, 86 min
Director - Mehmet Aslan
Based on one of the most popular comic strips in Turkey. this rip-roaring adventure sees Tarkan and his trusty wolf companion Kurt take on the despicable Viking invaders after they leave him for dead!
The Deathless Devil

Turkey, 1972
Repertory Screening, 84 min
Director - Yilmaz Atadeniz
The mysterious Dr. Satan's nefarious plans threaten the future of everyone on the planet, and the only men who can stop him are the brilliant Copperhead and his assistant Sherlock Holmes!
The Invitation

United States, 2015
Special Screening, 97 min
Director - Karyn Kusama
A haunted man attends a dinner party at the house he once called home, and becomes gripped with paranoia that his ex-wife and her new husband are harboring an insidious agenda.
The Man who Saved the World

Turkey, 1982
Repertory Screening, 91 min
Director - Çetin İnanç
There has never been and will never be another film like THE MAN WHO SAVES THE WORLD, and your only chance to discover why is at this special Fantastic Fest screening!
The Similars

Mexico, 2015
World Premiere, 89 min
Director - Isaac Ezban
On a dark and stormy night, eight strangers are stuck in a small bus station waiting for a bus to Mexico City. When strange things start happening, they find themselves trapped in a struggle for sanity and survival.
Victoria

Germany, 2015
Regional Premiere, 138 min
Director - Sebastian Schipper
Sebastian Schipper's fourth directorial work is a single-shot tour-de-force that follows a Spanish barista through a dance club, the streets of Berlin, a coffee shop, a bank robbery and her destiny.
My Body Hungers

United States, 1967
Repertory Screening, 80 min
Director - Joseph W. Sarno
A roadhouse hostess goes undercover to investigate the murder of her sister in a little-seen sexploiter from grindhouse rebel and master of erotica Joe Sarno.