Fantaspoa, the International Fantastic Film Festival of Porto Alegre, was created in 2005 as a trailblazing festival aimed at showcasing fantastic films in Brazil.

At Fantaspoa, we have three official sections: the International Feature Film Competition, the Short Film Competition (featuring live-action/animation and national/international categories), and the Ibero-American Feature Film Competition. Additionally, the festival features special programming sections that vary with each edition.

The festival awards 16 prizes in various competitive categories at each edition, including a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. This award has been bestowed upon renowned auteurs of the fantastic genre in the past, including Roger Corman, Christina Lindberg, Larry Wilson, Luigi Cozzi, Lamberto Bava, Ruggero Deodato, Claudio Simonetti, Stuart Gordon, David Schmoeller, Frank Henenlotter, Lloyd Kaufman, Simon Boswell, Richard Stanley, Bill Plympton, Katt Shea, Jeff Lieberman, IGG Nabwana, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Mark L. Lester and Takashi Shimizu.

The festival hosts over 50 guests annually, who attend in person and engage in Q&A sessions post-screenings, bridging the gap between the audience and filmmakers. Such initiatives, coupled with industry workshops and lectures, aid in promoting the study, dissemination, and production of cinema in Brazil.

Over Fantaspoa’s 19-year history, it has established itself as the biggest genre
festival in Latin America and as the main film event in the city of Porto Alegre.

For many filmmakers who've attended Fantaspoa in person, the festival has become a beacon of camaraderie, forging lasting friendships and connections that feel like family.

Fun fact: over 110 have the festival logo tattooed. (This is optional, of course.)

The festival is widely regarded as Brazil's finest platform for showcasing exceptional films in the fantastic genre. Fantaspoa is the only South American festival to become a member of the Méliès – European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation (EFFFF). The Méliès Federation brings together the 25 most significant fantastic genre film festivals worldwide.

Dread Central named Fantaspoa as one of the Best Horror Festivals in the World for both 2021 and 2022. In 2019 and 2021, Fantaspoa was listed in the MovieMaker's Bloody Best Genre Fests in the World. In 2023, MovieMaker named it one of the 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee and one of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World.

Mark your calendars for April 11-28, 2024, for the twentieth-anniversary edition of Fantaspoa.

We invite filmmakers that create in the fantastic cinema genre to submit their work on www.filmfreeway.com/fantaspoa

REGULATION – 20th EDITION of FANTASPOA

1 – The twentieth edition of FANTASPOA - INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL OF PORTO ALEGRE will take place from the 11th to the 28th of April, 2024.

2 – The primary goal of Fantaspoa is to provide opportunities for the exhibition and appreciation of films, and for rewarding their quality. The Festival aims to:
a) Create a multimedia cultural forum in the city of Porto Alegre.
b) Promote Brazilian Cinema and encourage film production in Brazil.

3 – For its main competition, the Festival Committee will only consider fantastic films such as horror, bizarre, thriller, science-fiction, and fantasy. Other genres will not be considered.

4 – Eligibility requirements for Feature Film and Short Film Competitions (Jury Award):
- Running time for all feature films must be 60 minutes or more
- Running time for all shorts must be less than 30 minutes
- Film submissions in a foreign language must be subtitled or spoken in English or Spanish
- The film must not have premiered in Porto Alegre
- All submitted films must have been completed after January 1st, 2021. The films must have Blu-Ray, or a digital file such as ProRes, H264, or MP4 as their screening format; exceptions to that requirement must be arranged in advance between the producer/director/distributor of the films and the Festival Organizing Committee.

5 – To submit a film for consideration by the Festival Organizing Committee you must send an online screener, exclusively through FilmFreeway, before January 31st.

6 – The delivery of materials is the sole responsibility of the filmmaker. The festival does not pay for or reimburse delivery fees of any kind.

7 – Submitting multiple films is allowed without any limit for companies and filmmakers. Please note that the festival does not refund any entry fees. This is regardless of whether the film meets the requirements outlined in item 4 of the regulations.

8 – The festival does not pay any screening fees.

9 – Films are programmed at the discretion of the Fantaspoa team. The Festival Organizing Committee reserves the right to select the films to be exhibited, as well as determine in which section they will participate.

10 – The Festival Organizing Committee will select the jury members for each section. Members of the jury cannot have any prior involvement or vested interest in the films that they will be judging in the competition.

11 – The official designation of FANTASPOA Festival is: FANTASPOA – INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL OF PORTO ALEGRE.

12 – All commercial/private property, including all trademark/copyrighted images and songs shown or recorded in the film, is the sole responsibility of the filmmaker. By submitting their entry, the filmmaker states that they are responsible as an agent to promote the film and that their film is an original work.

13 – The filmmakers agree that clips and images from their films may be used in the festival promotional material.

14 – No entry forms are required. Submission of your film to the festival implies your acknowledgment and agreement to comply with all festival regulations.