Fantastic Fest is thrilled to announce this year’s award winners, showcasing an exceptional selection of fantastic films from around the world. This year has been filled with surprising and wonderful features and shorts, making the task of honoring a select few quite challenging. Nevertheless, our esteemed jurors have achieved the remarkable feat of choosing the festival’s finest entries.

“Today, we celebrate the incredible diversity of talent showcased in this year’s films,” said Annick Mahnert, Director of Programming for Fantastic Fest. “Our jurors faced the formidable challenge of selecting winners from a remarkable array of stories, each representing different cultures and perspectives. Their task was not easy, but it truly reflects what Fantastic Fest is all about: embracing the richness of global cinema and the shared human experiences that unite us all.”

“Main Competition” Features
Best Picture: “Bring Them Down,” directed by Christopher Andrews
Best Director: James Ashcroft – “The Rule of Jenny Pen”
Best Actor: Geoffrey Rush – “The Rule of Jenny Pen”

“Next Wave” Features
Best Picture: “Sister Midnight,” directed by Karan Kandhari
Best Director: Emma Benestan – “Animale”
Honorable Mention: “Touched By Eternity,” directed by M?rcis L?cis

Horror Features
Best Picture: “Chainsaws Were Singing,” directed by Sander Maran
Best Director: John Hsu – “Dead Talent Society”
Honorable Mention: The Ensemble Cast of “Trizombie,” directed by Bob Colaers

Shorts With Legs
Best Picture: “She Stays,” directed by Marinthia Gutiérrez
Honorable Mention: “Duck,” directed by Rachel Maclean

Short Fuse
Best Picture: “Be Right Back,” directed by Lucas Paulino & Gabe Ibañez
Honorable Mention: “The Night Practice,” directed by Bogdan Alecsandru

Fantastic Shorts
Best Picture: “The Meaningless Daydreams of Augie & Celeste,” directed by Pernell Marsden
Honorable Mention: “Atom & Void,” directed by Gonçalo Almeida

Drawn and Quartered
Best Picture: “Mira,” directed by Eva Louise Hall
Honorable Mention: “The Night Boots,” directed by Pierre-Luc Granjon

Audience Award
“Dead Talents Society,” directed by John Hsu

About Fantastic Fest
Fantastic Fest is the largest genre film festival in the U.S., specializing in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world. In years past, the festival has been home to the world and US premieres of “Parasite,” “Smile,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “The Black Phone,” “John Wick,” “Frankenweenie,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Apocalypto,” “Zombieland,” “Red,” “Split,” “Halloween,” “Bad Times at the El Royale,” “Mid 90s,” and “Suspiria” while the guest roster has included such talent as Tim Burton, Nicolas Winding-Refn, Lilly and Lana Wachowski, Bong Joon-Ho, Taika Waititi, Robert Rodriguez, Rian Johnson, Bill Murray, Keanu Reeves, Martin Landau, Winona Ryder, Edward Norton, Ryan Reynolds, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Karl Urban, Josh Hartnett, The RZA, Dolph Lundgren, Paul Rudd, Bill Pullman, Paul Thomas Anderson, Kevin Smith, Jon Favreau, George Romero, Darren Aronofsky, Mike Judge, Karyn Kusama, M. Night Shyamalan, James McAvoy, Vince Vaughn, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jonah Hill, Barbara Crampton and Jessica Harper. Fantastic Fest also features world, national, and regional premieres of new, up-and-coming genre films. Fantastic Fest has seen the acquisition of many titles, including “Bullhead,” “Kill List,” “Monsters,” “Klown,” “The FP,” “Penumbra,” “Here Comes the Devil,” “No Rest for the Wicked,” “Vanishing Waves,” “Combat Girls,” “I Declare War,” “The Perfection,” and “Tigers Are Not Afraid.” Fantastic Fest is held each year at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas. Alamo Drafthouse has been named the best theater in the country by Entertainment Weekly, Wired, and TIME.

In March 2023, Fantastic Fest joined the FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers’ Associations) as a Competitive Specialized Feature Film Festival alongside Cannes, Berlin and Venice.