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 prestigious Melies D’Argent competition), 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, Bill Plympton, Katt Shea, Jeff Lieberman, IGG Nabwana, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Mark L. Lester and Takashi Shimizu.
The festival hosts over 70 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 20-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 120 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. In 2024, MovieMaker again named Fantaspoa one of the 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.
Mark your calendars for April 10-27, 2025, for the 21st edition of Fantaspoa.
We invite filmmakers that create in the fantastic cinema genre to submit their work on www.filmfreeway.com/fantaspoa

Short Films:
Best Brazilian Short Film
Best International Animated Short Film
Best International Live-Action Short Film

Ibero-American Selection:
Best Film
Best Direction
Best Screenplay
Best Actress
Best Actor

International Competition:
Best Film
Best Director
Best Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Actress
Best Actor
Best Art Direction
Best Special Effects

REGULATION – 21st EDITION of FANTASPOA

1 – The twenty first edition of FANTASPOA - INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL OF PORTO ALEGRE will take place from the 10th to the 27th of April, 2025.

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, 2022. 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.

Versão em português:
1 – A vigésima primeira edição do FANTASPOA – FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA FANTÁSTICO DE PORTO ALEGRE será realizada de 10 a 27 de abril de 2025.

2 – O principal objetivo do Fantaspoa é oportunizar a exibição e apreciação de filmes de gênero. O festival tem o objetivo de:
a) Criar um fórum cultural multimídia na cidade de Porto Alegre;
b) promover o cinema brasileiro e estimular a produção cinematográfica no Brasil;
c) ser um espaço de divulgação para filmes internacionais inéditos comercialmente.

3 – O comitê de seleção do festival considerará, para as mostras competitivas internacional, ibero-americana e de curtas-metragens do XXI Fantaspoa, exclusivamente, filmes de gênero (bizarro, fantasia, ficção científica, horror e thriller).

4 – Requisitos para inscrição de filmes em curta e longa-metragem nas mostras do XXI Fantaspoa:
- Os filmes longa-metragem devem ter no mínimo 60 minutos de duração;
- Os filmes curta-metragem devem ter no máximo 30 minutos de duração;
- Os filmes estrangeiros devem ser legendados ou falados em inglês ou espanhol;
- Os filmes devem ser inéditos nos cinemas da cidade de Porto Alegre.
- Os filmes devem ter sido concluídos após 1 de janeiro de 2022.

5 – A inscrição de um filme para o XXI Fantaspoa deve ser realizada mediante preenchimento e submissão de formulário específico na plataforma Filmfreeway.com até 31 de janeiro de 2025. Os valores para inscrições estão disponíveis no website www.filmfreeway.com/fantaspoa.

6 – Não há limitação de quantidade de obras submetidas por pessoa jurídica/física. Nenhum valor de inscrição será devolvido, mesmo se não atender os requisitos dispostos no item 4 deste regulamento.

7 – A comissão organizadora do festival não realiza pagamento de taxas de exibição para filmes selecionados.

8 – Os filmes serão exibidos conforme decisão da comissão organizadora do Fantaspoa. Esta se reserva o direito de selecionar os filmes que serão exibidos na programação do XXI Fantaspoa, bem como de determinar a seção na qual a obra será inserida.

9 – A comissão organizadora do festival selecionará os membros do júri de cada seção. Os membros não poderão ter participado dos filmes da competição de sua seção, ou ter especial interesse na produção e/ou exploração das obras constantes na competição.

10 – A denominação oficial do festival é: Fantaspoa – Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantástico de Porto Alegre.

11 – O responsável pela inscrição da obra, ao realizar a inscrição no XXI Fantaspoa, admite tacitamente ser responsável por todos os direitos autorais, de imagem, de trilha sonora e pelos demais direitos conexos gerados pela realização e exibição da obra inscrita. A comissão organizadora do Fantaspoa, portanto, não se responsabiliza por questões relativas ao direito autoral, direitos de uso de voz, imagem, trilha sonora ou locação no conteúdo dos trabalhos inscritos.

12 – Os responsáveis pelas submissões dos filmes concordam que extratos de vídeos e imagens das obras inscritas possam vir a ser utilizadas no material de divulgação do festival, para fins promocionais.

13 – A inscrição pressupõe a concordância com todas as condições citadas acima.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Um dos grandes festivais Fantásticos da América do Sul e do Mundo. Ainda assim, muito acessível e receptivo com todos os participantes.
    Experiência incrível de participar.

    November 2024
  • Armando Fonseca

    The best place to screen films, engage with audience and filmmakers all over the world.

    August 2024
  • Guile Branco

    It was fantastic to attend Fantaspoa! We had our World Premiere there and it didn't disappoint. Highly recommend!

    June 2024
  • Fantaspoa really knows how to treat filmmakers well. With an incredible staff, great venue and all inclusive perks, it was by far the best festival experience my team and I have had with our feature film Blind Cop 2! We were also honored to win Best Midnight Film at the fest!! I will definitely be coming back.

    May 2024
  • Alexander Steinhoff

    It was such a great experience to be part of Fantaspoa. We'd forever always want to come back in the future with any of the films we do. Thanks for all.

    May 2024