Fantastic Fest Brings the Festival to YOU!!!

I know what you're thinking: I'd love to attend Fantastic Fest next week, but I can't afford it. Or, I don't have the time; or, I have to attend a seance in the desert; or, I hate your fucking guts, Matt Kiernan. Everyone has their reasons for not attending Fantastic Fest, but in a stroke of genius that I admittedly first thought was a bit nuts, Fantastic Fest and our pals at AMD have teamed up to bring a little bit of Fantastic Fest to you, no matter where you are. And we do know where you are! (Insert maniacal laughter here.) Can your heart stand the shocking truth of Fantastic Fest Online!?!

For the next week, if you sign up to B-Side (the fine people who host the Fantastic Fest website), you will have the opportunity to view 5 features and 5 shorts all for free on the Fantastic Fest website. One of the features, the terrific French comedy LE CREME, is one of my absolute favorites of the festival, while one of the shorts, Jason Eisner's TREEVENGE, is a brilliantly funny gore masterpiece that damn near had me pissing in my pants. There's also the terrifying Tiffany stalker documentary I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW and a whole bunch of stuff that, to be honest, I haven't seen yet. It's only up there for a week, from September 14 to September 20, but this is a film festival first from what I'm aware of, so take this opportunity while you can to see some of the hottest selections of the coolest festival on Earth.

And now, for the record, the press release:


AMD Fantastic Fest Online

September 14-20

11 films from Fantastic Fest 2008 Streaming for Free!

http://www.fantasticfest.com/online

As 2008 Fantastic Fest badges are sold out and some folks don't have the money to travel to Austin for the festival in the first place, we have teamed up with two of our festival sponsors, AMD and BSide, to give everyone a taste of the fun for free. From September 14-20, AMD FANTASTIC FEST ONLINE will provide five feature films and six shorts from the official 2008 Fantastic Fest lineup to also be available for online viewing for free via the BSide network. All films will stream in low-resolution for slow connections and in beautiful high-resolution for those with blazing speed.

You must be a member of the BSide community to watch the films, but the good news is that it is quick, easy and free to join. We encourage those who participate in AMD FANTASTIC FEST ONLINE to also rate and review the films, as we will be awarding cash and technology prizes courtesy of AMD to the 'online audience favorite' short and feature films. Awards will be presented on Monday, September 22 as part of the official 2008 Fantastic Fest awards ceremony.

Go to http://www.fantasticfest.com/online and check out the 11 films in competition at this year's AMD Fantastic Fest Online. If you return to this site from September 14-20, 2008 and are logged into BSide you will be able to click and view all 11 of these amazing films, it's as easy as that.

"I am personally very excited to be working with these filmmakers, BSide and AMD to provide this unique new experience for genre film enthusiasts across the globe. Utilizing technology to provide simple and free access to great new film talent, Fantastic Fest Online may very well be paving the way to redefining what the term 'film festival' means in the future." - Tim League, director, Fantastic Fest and Fantastic Fest Online

The AMD Fantastic Fest Online Films

The following 11 films are the official selections of the 2008 AMD Fantastic Fest Online Features:

Dr. Infierno (Spain)
A demented gynecologist discovers a cure for all the world’s illnesses and uses it as leverage to become sole dictator of the earth. Jam-packed with monsters, kung fu, battling robots and deviant sexual practices, DR. INFIERNO doesn’t let budget get in the way of executing a mountain of crazy ideas.

I Think We're Alone Now (USA)
This fascinating and deeply disturbing documentary takes you deep into the worlds and obsessions of Kelly McCormick and Jeffery Deane Turner, who have been separately stalking 80s pop icon Tiffany for nearly 20 years.

La Creme (France)
Under the Christmas tree, unemployed loser François Margin mysteriously finds a jar of face cream that once applied, temporarily turns him into the most famous celebrity in France.

Rule of Three (USA)
Set in one night in a seedy hotel, cult Novelist Eric Shapiro’s debut feature intertwines two stories of sexual encounters gone horribly awry.

South of Heaven (USA)
Two brothers on the wrong side of everyone must face an endless array of torture, terrors and indignities in this darkly comic and visually striking noir.

Shorts:
Cam to Cam (France)
Technology and intimacy are at war. This movie is a genuinely creepy exploration of the casualties.

Fish (USA)
The filmmaking team behind last year's FF hit THE BIRD, THE MOUSE AND THE SAUSAGE are back with a new stop-motion food tale that reveals the secret nature of pescatorial reproduction.

Kingz (Germany)
A botched drug deal spirals out of control in a subterranean night club filled with unnameable evils. The action is furious and so are the villains, so be prepared for some whirlwind brutality!

Rojo Red (Colombia)
Some people complain about their life unraveling, but it's rarely as pronounced as in this whimsical, bizarre short from a young Colombian visualist already on par with mighty artists like Michel Gondry.

Treevenge (Canada)
HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN creators Jason Eisener and Rob Cotterill imagine a yuletide season where the Christmas trees finally evens the score for decades of living under the axe of mankind.