Fantastic Fest Announces First Wave of 2019 Lineup, Including ‘Jojo Rabbit’ and Takashi Miike’s ‘First Love’
The annual genre festival takes place in Austin, Texas this September, right in the thick of fall festival season.
via Indiewire • By Christian Zilko
Now in its fifteenth year, the Alamo Drafthouse-created Fantastic Fest is showing no signs of relinquishing its title as America’s premiere genre film festival. The first wave of its 2019 lineup includes premieres from around the world, restorations of classic horror flicks, and an eclectic assortment of documentaries.
Taika Waititi’s “Jojo Rabbit” will open the festival, marking the film’s American premiere with an appearance from the filmmaker. Legendary director Takashi Miike will also be in attendance, promoting his Cannes favorite “First Love.” Other highlights include Stephen King adaptation “In the Tall Grass” and the Elijah Wood-led “Come to Daddy.”
“Our fifteenth year is a one-of-a-kind of celebration of the cinema we champion: brilliant and out-there,” said the festival’s Creative Director Evrim Ersoy in an official statement. “It’s a 15-year-long love letter to the wide spectrum of daring, crazy films, filmmakers, and audience members whom we host in Austin each September. It’s an ode to the independent spirit of cinema that allows us to showcase the diversity of the world at large and helps us to understand it better!”
There’s something for every genre film fan to love on this list, which will be expanded in the coming months with the addition of further announcements. This year’s festival will take place in Austin, Texas from September 19 – 26.
“The Wave”
United States, 2019
World Premiere, 87 min
Director – Gille Klabin
Frank (Justin Long), a bored corporate lawyer, decides to shake it up with a wild night out. In the process, he takes a mysterious drug that launches him into a mind-bending time travel adventure.