The Festival of Fantastic Films is an annual non-profit celebration of ''cinema fantastique'', held annually in central

Manchester, England Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. It was created by Tony Edwards and the late Harry Nadler (both members of the Delta Film Group, an amateur film-making society active in the 1960s and both past organisers of an

Eastercon Eastercon is the common name for the annual British national science fiction convention. The convention is organised by voluntary self-organising committees, rather than a permanent entity. Organisation Groups of fans (typically 5–8 in n ...

), together with their fellow enthusiast Gil Lane-Young. Past guests have included: the producer

Tony Tenser Samuel Anthony Tenser (10 August 1920 – 5 December 2007)Gavin Gaugha"Obituary: Tony Tenser" ''The Guardian'', 13 March 2008 was an English-born film producer of Lithuanian-Jewish descent. He began as the producer of low budget exploitation f ...

; the producer/director

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

; directors

Robert Fuest Robert Fuest (30 September 1927 – 21 March 2012) was an English film director, screenwriter, and production designer who worked mostly in the horror, fantasy and suspense genres. Biography Born in London, Fuest served his national ser ...

Val Guest Val Guest (born Valmond Maurice Grossman; 11 December 1911 – 10 May 2006) was an English film director and screenwriter. Beginning as a writer (and later director) of comedy films, he is best known for his work for Hammer, for whom he direct ...

, Robin Hardy,

Jorge Grau Jorge Grau (born Jorge Grau Solá, 27 October 1930 – 26 December 2018) was a Spanish director, scriptwriter, playwright and painter. His 1965 film '' Acteón'' was entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1973, he directed ...

; actors

Andrew Keir Andrew Keir (né Buggy, 3 April 19265 October 1997) was a Scottish actor who appeared in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especially in the theatre, in a professional career t ...

Robin Askwith Robin Mark Askwith (born 12 October 1950) is an English actor and singer who has appeared in a number of film, television and stage productions. Making his film debut as Keating in the film '' if....'' (1968), a role he would reprise in ''Brita ...

David Warbeck David Warbeck (born David Mitchell; 17 November 1941 – 23 July 1997) was a New Zealand actor and model best known for his roles in European exploitation and horror films. A native of Christchurch, New Zealand, Warbeck became involved in local ...

Ken Foree Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...

David Hess David Alexander Hess (September 19, 1936 – October 7, 2011) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and director. He came to prominence for his portrayals of murderous villains and gruff characters in several films in the 1970s and 198 ...

Norman Rossington Norman Rossington (24 December 1928 – 21 May 1999) was an English actor best remembered for his roles in ''The Army Game'', the ''Carry On'' films and the Beatles' film '' A Hard Day's Night''. Early life Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, ...

; actresses

Caroline Munro Caroline Munro (born 16 January 1949)McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. p. 538; is an English actress, model and singer known for her many appearances in horror, ...

Barbara Shelley Barbara Shelley (born Barbara Teresa Kowin; 13 February 1932 – 3 January 2021) was an English film and television actress. She appeared in more than a hundred films and television series. She was particularly known for her work in horror film ...

Anne Robinson Anne Josephine Robinson (born 26 September 1944) is an English television presenter and journalist. She was the host of BBC game show ''The Weakest Link'' (2000–2017). She presented the Channel 4 game show ''Countdown'' from June 2021 to July ...

Catriona MacColl Catriona MacColl (born 3 October 1954) is an English actress who has worked extensively in both film and television across Europe. She is best known for her work in Italian horror films, as she has appeared in Lucio Fulci's '' City of the Living ...

Ingrid Pitt Ingrid Pitt (born Ingoushka Petrov; 21 November 193723 November 2010) was a Polish-British actress and writer best known for her work in horror films of the 1970s. Early life Ingoushka Petrov was born in Warsaw, Poland, one of two daughters ...

. Two prizes are presented each year: for the best amateur film screened (see entry for the Delta Film Award) and the best independent entry. The 19th Festival of Fantastic Films was held on 17–19 October 2008 with

Jess Conrad Jess Conrad (born Gerald Arthur James; 24 February 1936) is an English stage and screen actor and singer. As a boy he was nicknamed "Jesse" after American outlaw Jesse James; as there was already an actor named "Gerald James" in Actors' Equity, a ...

and

Lamberto Bava Lamberto Bava (born 3 April 1944) is an Italian film director. Born in Rome, Bava began working as an assistant director for his director father Mario Bava. Lamberto co-directed the 1979 television film ''La Venere d'Ille'' with his father and in ...

among the guests appearing. The 20th Festival was held on the 16–18 October 2009 with

Emily Booth Emily Katherine Booth (born 26 April 1976), also known by her stage name Emily "Bouff" Bouffante, is an English actress and television presenter. Early life Booth was born 26 April 1976 in Chester, Cheshire, growing up in Hastings, East Su ...

, John Carson,

Jenny Hanley Jenny Hanley (born 15 August 1947) is an English actress. She remains best known for being one of the presenters of the ITV children's magazine programme ''Magpie''. Early life and education Hanley is the daughter of actors Dinah Sheridan and ...

, John Hough, Ian McCulloch,

Derren Nesbitt Derren Nesbitt (born Derren Michael Horwitz; 19 June 1935) is a British actor. Nesbitt's film career began in the late 1950s, and he also appeared in many television series in the late 1960s into the 1970s. He is known for his role as Major von ...

and

Peter Sasdy Peter Sasdy (born 27 May 1935 in Budapest, Hungary) is a British film and television director. In addition to his numerous TV credits, notable among which is the Nigel Kneale-scripted ''The Stone Tape'' (1972), he directed several horror films ...

appearing. The winner of the best Independent Feature film at the 20th International Festival was ''Kirk'', a community project film by the Strathendrick Film Society, directed by Michael Ferns and produced by Joan Macpherson. The Festival continues to be held every year; the latest event in the series is planned for October 2022 in Manchester.

External links

Festival of Fantastic Films website
* ttp://www.concatenation.org/conrev/fanfilmfest2006.html Review by Jonathan Cowie of the 17th Festival of Fantastic Films, 2006br>Review by Darrel Buxton of the 20th Festival of Fantastic Films, 2009
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930161759/http://www.darklineonline.co.uk/ely.html Darkline Entertainment website, acknowledging its receipt of the 2006 Delta Film Award at the 17th Festival of Fantastic Films]
website, Strathendrick Film Society acknowledging its receipt of the 2009 Winner of the Independent Feature Film at the 20th Festival of Fantastic Films
Film festivals in Greater Manchester Fantasy and horror film festivals in the United Kingdom {{UK-festival-stub