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NIFFF 2018

The NIFFF unveils a programme teeming with the best of genre cinema

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- From 6 to 14 July, Neuchâtel will fly the flag for genre cinema with yet another astonishing line-up at this fearless and unflinching 18th edition of the festival

The NIFFF unveils a programme teeming with the best of genre cinema
Cutterhead by Rasmus Kloster Bro

Steered by the brilliant David Cronenberg, who will be chairing the jury (read news), the international feature film section of the NIFFF (Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival) will treat audiences to a well-rounded panorama of the very best of fantasy films on the circuit today.

Featuring among the 16 tantalising films competing for the H.R. Giger Award are two intriguing world premieres: the debut film by Danish director Rasmus Kloster Bro, Cutterhead [+see also:
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interview: Rasmus Kloster Bro
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]
, not one for the claustrophobes among us, and Kasane by Japanese filmmaker, Satô Yûichi, an adaptation of the well-known manga, Kasane. Alongside the eagerly anticipated Under The Silver Lake by David Robert Mitchell, Hereditary by Ari Aster, Piercing by Nicolas Pesce, Pig by Mani Haghighi and Tigers Are Not Afraid by Issa López, a fierce little group of European films are jostling for position. The first of these is the US-Belgian co-production, Mandy [+see also:
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, by Panos Cosmatos, who directs a disturbing (and disturbed) Nicolas Cage, followed by Gaspar Noé’s latest amazing work, Climax [+see also:
film review
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interview: Souheila Yacoub
film profile
]
(presented at the Directors’ Fortnight), and, from the winner of Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival, Diamantino [+see also:
film review
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interview: Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Sc…
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by Gabriel Abrantes & Daniel Schmidt, coinciding perfectly with the football fever currently sweeping the globe. The supernatural thriller, Luz [+see also:
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, by German filmmaker Tilman Singer is likewise not to be missed, and the same goes for the intriguing picture, The Dark, the first by Justin Lange & Klemens Hufnagl, following the friendship of two rather special youngsters, and Ukranian Marysia Nikitiuk’s first film, When The Trees Fall [+see also:
film review
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interview: Marysia Nikitiuk
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]
, a journey through childhood memories tinged with romanticism. Co-productions An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn [+see also:
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by Jim Hosking, Murder Me, Monster [+see also:
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by Alejandro Fadel and Time Share [+see also:
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by Sebastián Hofmann complete the competition line-up.

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Undeniably the main event of the NIFFF, the New Cinema From Asia section will present the very best of genre film. Amongst which, we can’t fail to mention Lapace’s Witch, the latest labour of love by the master, Takashi Miike, which will travel to Neuchâtel for the film’s European premiere, Bhavesh Joshi Superhero by Vikramaditya Motwane, the big winner of last year’s edition of the NIFFF, and the Indonesian remake by Indonesian director, Joko Anwar, of the 1980 film, Satan’s Slaves, whose title tells you all you need to know.

Another eagerly anticipated section, Films of the Third Kind, shines a light on the most innovative and hybrid forms of fantasy genre cinema, in its showcasing of 14 films reflecting these values. The winner of the SACD Award at Cannes Critics’ Week, Woman At War [+see also:
film review
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interview: Benedikt Erlingsson
interview: Benedikt Erlingsson
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]
,by the Icelandic filmmaker, Benedikt Erlingsson, is essential viewing, as is The Most Assassinated Woman in the World [+see also:
interview: Franck Ribière
film profile
]
, by Franck Ribière,who will be attending the festival in person to promote his work, and Carnivores [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jérémie and Yannick Renier
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]
by the brilliant Renier brothers (Yannick and Jérémie), a delectable story about two carnivorous sisters caught up in the ruthless world of film.

Last but not least, lovers of high emotion will no doubt make a beeline for the boundary-pushing gems featuring in the Ultra Movies section. This year’s special guest is actress Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction, The Fisher King and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), who will present the latest film in which she stars, A Young Man With High Potential [+see also:
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]
,by the German director, Linus de Paoli (another world premiere).

New to the event this year, NIFFF audiences will enjoy a rich and first-of-its-kind retrospective of New Zealand fantasy cinema, an intriguing new world just waiting to be discovered! Meanwhile, the Eldorado section makes a welcome return to the festival, with its focus on fantasy films of Latin American descent.

And finally, closing what promises to be an explosive edition of the festival is a preview of the Swiss animation, Hotel Transylvania 3, by Genndy Tartakovsky, administering a healthy and raspberry-flavoured dose of fun to suit all tastes.

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(Translated from Italian)

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