Can Evrenol to Receive FANT Bilbao’s Fantrobia Emerging Talent Award
Howard Gorman
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Further to the recently revealed eye-popping poster for the 22nd edition of the FANT Bilbao Fantasy Film Festival, the programmers have announced they’ll be honoring emerging Turkish filmmaker Can Evrenol with the coveted Fantrobia award.
Each year the festival presents said award to advocate the talents of an emerging genre filmmaker, and with Baskin (review) having garnered international praise from critics and audiences alike, Evrenol is the ideal addition to join the ranks alongside previous Fantrobia winners such as Jorge Dorado (Anna) and Macarena Gómez (Shrew’s Nest).
Whilst Evrenol’s debut is suited and booted for a March 25 theatrical and VOD release in the US, the film will be screening as part of this year’s FANT line-up and presented by the director himself.
From the Press Release:
Each year Bilbao’s FANT Film Festival recognizes an emerging figure with its FANTROBIA award, and 2016 will see Turkish filmmaker Can Evrenol (Istanbul, 1982) receive the honors with him in attendance to present his début film, BASKIN, as part of the festival’s line-up.
Evrenol’s directorial début takes audiences into a world of suffering and madness, having been praised across the board by audiences and critics alike. The film will be hitting theatres and VOD in the U.S. this 25th of March.
Baskin, Turkish for “police raid,” which stars Gorkem Kasal, Ergun Kuyucu, Mehmet Cerrahoglu, Sabahattin Yakut, Mehmet Fatih Dokgoz, and Muharrem Bayrakson, relates the tale of a five-man police squad who receive a peculiar call requesting backup out in the sticks. On entering an abandoned house, the squad splits up, and each member starts experiencing their own personal nightmares.
This year marks the first time a non-Spanish filmmaker has been selected to receive the coveted FANTROBIA award.
Following last Tuesday’s submission deadline (March 15), FANT revealed they had received 882 films for consideration this year from 47 different countries including Austria, the Philippines, Germany, Georgia, Iraq, Mexico, Turkey, Serbia, Venezuela, France, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Brazil, Ireland, Belgium, Romania, Cyprus, Russia, Iran, Portugal, Taiwan, Poland, Argentina, Nepal, Italy, India, Slovenia, and the UK.
The festival organizers will be selecting feature films for the Official Selection whilst others will also screen in other strands. The short films will be competing in the “Fant en corto” strand with € 3,000 prize winnings awarded to the Best Short, as voted by the audience and jury, and € 2,000 prize winnings awarded to the Best Basque Short, as voted by the jury.
This year the festival organizers are also giving literally anyone a chance to get their creations on the big screen with the launch of a cellphone short film contest (sponsored by Movistar +). To be in with a chance of winning, entries must consist of a sinister short film shot on a cellphone that runs under 10 minutes. The deadline for phone submissions has been extended until April 8 so there’s still plenty of time to get creative. All winning shorts will be played back-to-back at a special FANT screening with festival-goers deciding who takes home the 750 Euro prize winnings. And it doesn’t end there as the festival’s official jury will have their say and select their favorite, which will bag a 1,500 Euro cash prize.
Running May 6th through 13th in the Basque Country region of Spain, Bilbao’s FANT Festival is absolutely worth a visit if you get the chance, serving up all manner of horror and fantasy delicacies year in, year out… and never disappoints.
For further festival details head on over to the official website, Facebook page, or Twitter feed.
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