Calendar Estepona

The International Fantastic Film Week of the Costa del Sol celebrates its 25th anniversary with a review of its history

The festival, which will celebrate its last edition this year, will take place from 7 to 14 September in Estepona, with parallel activities in Benahavís, Marbella and Málaga.

The godfather will be the Malaga actor and comedian Miguel Ángel Martín, and the 'Honorary Unicorn' will be awarded to Claudio Fragasso, an Italian screenwriter and one of the cult directors of international fantasy-horror.

The contest will also recognize Alex O'Dogherty, Salva Reina, Elia Galera, Jose Pastor, Agustin Padilla, the sponsors, and the television series 'Iron Hands'

The International Fantastic Film Week of the Costa del Sol, which will take place from 7 to 14 September, celebrates its silver anniversary with a farewell, as it will be its last edition. The event will review its 25 years of history with a complete programme that will take place in the Felipe VI Auditorium in Estepona, and with parallel activities in Benahavís, Marbella and Málaga city.

The opening of the film festival will take place on Saturday 7 September at 9:00 pm in the Plaza del Ajedrez, sponsored by the Malaga actor Miguel Ángel Martín. During the opening gala there will be the premiere of the short film 'El Tiempo Airado', a thriller shot this year under the direction of Manuel Vera, starring Ramón Langa, Candela Vergara and Julio Peces San Román, and produced by the Cultural and Cinematographic Association 'Unicornio', in collaboration with the City Council of Arenas de San Pedro (Ávila). In addition, the ASFAAN award will be presented to the comedian, actor, presenter and musician Álex O'Dogherty, and the Tim Burton film, 'Beetlechus' (1988) will be screened.

The festival will continue on Sunday 8th, at 9:00 pm, in the Plaza del Reloj, with a gala in honour of the festival's sponsors, companies and public bodies that have made a quality cultural offering possible.

The screenings of the 25th International Week of Fantastic Film on the Costa del Sol will take place in Rooms 1 and 2 of the Felipe VI Auditorium, and will be divided into several categories. Ten films will compete in the Official Section: 'Brujas: ellas cruzan el umbral', 'Green Grass', 'Hanky Panky', 'Scalper', 'Desenfrenado', 'Opal', 'Los turísticos', 'Balas y katanas', 'El escuerzo' and 'Os reviento', from Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, Japan, the USA, Ukraine, France and Spain. The Parallel Section '25 Years of Fantasy' will screen 'Psycho' (1960), 'The Exorcist' (1974), 'The Lord of the Rings' (1978), 'An American Werewolf in London' (1981), 'Blade Runner' (1982) and 'Calles de Fuego' (1984).

In the 'Family Fantasy' category, you can see 'A World of Fantasy' (1971), 'Clash of the Titans' (1981), 'Ghostbusters' (1984), 'Beetlechus' (1988), 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' (2023) and 'Spiderman. Crossing the Multiverse' (2023). The '50th Anniversary' section will pay tribute with the 1974 films 'Skin on Asphalt', 'Young Frankenstein', 'Defense' and 'Phantom of Paradise'.

The jury for this 2024 edition will be chaired by Ramón Langa, accompanied by Javier Quintas and Miguel Carrillo.

As for exhibitions, after its passage through the Felipe VI Auditorium, the 25th Fantasy Film Week will present at the San Pedro Alcántara Cultural and Youth Centre, from 7 to 15 September, the exhibition '25 Years of Fantasy', composed of a collection of posters from the festival since its creation in November 2000 until this latest edition, in 2024, as well as panels with photographs of the award-winning characters, films in competition and those honoured in these 25 years.

Under the same title, '25 Years of Fantasy', on Monday 9 September at 8:00 pm, a documentary by Manuel Vera will be presented at the Felipe VI Auditorium, in which its director, Julio Peces, narrates everything that happened in this period, from the first year with Paul Naschy, Chicho Ibáñez Serrador and Jesús Franco, to the last 'Unicorn of Honor', Mick Garris, passing through names such as Christopher Lee, Dolph Lundgren, Michael Paré, Álex de la Iglesia and a long etcetera. It also includes photographs and recordings of personalities, now deceased, who attended the festival such as Alfonso Azpiri, Paul Naschy, Carlos Pacheco, Ray Harryhausen or Terele Pávez.

Over the course of the 24 editions of the International Fantastic Film Week, more than thirty literary works related to genre cinema and its works, myths and legends have been published. In this edition, you can enjoy the presentation of the commemorative book 'We will see each other on the hidden face of the moon', a detailed compendium of the uninterrupted quarter of a century of this festival, written by its director, Julio Peces San Román; and the book 'Cinema and Mental Health', by the psychiatrist José Ignacio del Pino. Both publications will be presented on Tuesday 10th, at 8:00 p.m., in the Felipe VI Auditorium.

The activities parallel to the festival will be completed with the '15th Gastronomic Days 2024', an original initiative that combines cinema and gastronomy in the kitchen. The restaurants LaLaLa, from Puerto Banús, and Don Juan (El Paraíso), Take a Wine and La Boquerona, from Estepona, will participate as hosts.

The closing gala of the 25th Costa del Sol Fantastic Film Week will take place on Saturday 14th at 8:00 pm in the Felipe VI Auditorium, presented by the multi-talented Álex O'Dogherty, and will be enlivened by performances by pianist Joaquín Castellano, the pop group 'Malpaso' and the voices of the trio 'BlackSheep'. At this gala, the 'Unicorn Awards' will be presented to the award-winning films in the Official Section, in the categories of Best Film, Direction, Acting, Screenplay, Special Effects, Photography and the David Geary Award for Best Music.

Among this year's honorees, the jury has decided to award the 'Honorary Unicorn' to the Italian screenwriter and one of the cult directors of international fantasy-horror, Claudio Fragasso. Before collecting the award, Fragasso will attend the screening of 'Monster Dog'.

'Leviathan' (1984), on Thursday 12th, at 8.30pm, at the Cortijo Miraflores in Marbella, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the film.

During the closing gala, the following awards will also be presented in a special way: the Special Jury Prize, which will go to the actress Elia Galera ('The Ugliest Woman in the World', 'Hospital Central', 'Frágiles', 'El Príncipe', 'Amar es para siempre'); the Special Jury Prize 'Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Costa del Sol Occidental', to the Malaga actor José Pastor ('Acacias 38', 'Cerdita', 'Bosé', 'La latina', or 'El Marqués'); and the Award for the Best TV Series 2024, to the Spanish series 'Mano de Hierro'. The award will be collected by one of its actors, the Malaga-born Salva Reina, also successful as a businessman, producer and cultural manager.

Comic artist Agustín Padilla will receive the 'Azpiri' Award for Best Graphic Illustrator 2024, in homage to the immortal genius Alfonso Azpiri. Since the late 2000s he has worked almost exclusively for the North American market for publishers DC, Marvel, IDW Publishing and Dark Horse, among others.

Tickets for the closing gala, which are completely free of charge, can be collected from Monday 9 September at the Padre Manuel Cultural Centre in Estepona.

The International Fantastic Film Week of the Costa del Sol is organized by the Cultural and Cinematographic Association of the Costa del Sol 'Unicornio', with the sponsorship of Estepona Town Hall, Benahavís Town Hall, Association of Municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol, Provincial Council of Malaga, Achedosol-Montes Torres, Casino Marbella and Ona Group.

Attendance at all film screenings, publications and other festival activities will be free of charge, subject to full capacity.

The official 2024 catalogue can be downloaded at www.cinefantasticocostadelsol.com