The PIFFF is also, and above all, an opportunity to discover rare fantastic films that don't always find their way to our big screens. Atypical, promising, sometimes disturbing works that promise never to leave you indifferent. Let us surprise you and devour genre cinema in all its guises!
Out of Competition: quite simply the crème de la crème of 2024 fantasy cinema, to the delight of our pupils.
What are we prepared to do to see a loved one again? In Daniela Forever (2024), Nacho Vigalondo, director of Colossal (2016), offers us a hallucinatory rereading of grief and love through the prism of lucid dreams. Sometimes, even our wildest wishes shouldn't come true...To be discovered in its French premiere!
In a retirement home, a paralyzed former judge must stop an elderly psychopath who is terrorizing the other residents... James Ashcroft's The Rule of Jenny Pen (2024) is THE horrific thriller you'd never want to experience in real life. Even if it is an opportunity to reunite with the iconic Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow! French premiere.
An eco-porn shoot. A cottage. A storm. A murderous alpine hunter resurrected. It's going to cut like a knife. The recipe for François Descraques' Mortelle Raclette (2024) is simple but effective, offering us a pure slasher film with a good taste of comedy, ideal for ending the year on a high note! The film's team will be on hand for the world premiere at Max Linder Panorama!
Dead Mail (2024) by Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy follows a postal investigator in the '80s to find a kidnapped person. But far from the flashy neon and yippee atmosphere, the filmmakers plunge us back into an uneasy, grayish Midwest. A nugget of atmospheric indie cinema, where the sinister becomes part of everyday life. You've been warned!
Rupert Russell's The Last Sacrifice (2024) reveals the true story behind the witchcraft murder of Charles Walton, the inspiration for the iconic The Wicker Man and the origin of the folk horror movement. An invaluable documentary on England in the 70's, where reality surpasses fiction. French premiere.
The Parallel Screenings: films that are often unclassifiable, but not thrilling, and that we want to show you, whatever the cost!
Barbara, a young seamstress, unknowingly steals a briefcase destined for a drug deal... and one thing leads to another, and nothing goes according to plan. Sew Torn (2024) by Freddy Macdonald is an inventive, tailor-made whodunit, brilliantly combining humor with the kind of over-the-top verve we love! A nod to the spirit of Cours, Lola, cours.
Looking for a feel-good adventure in sublime New Zealand? Bookworm (2024) by Ant Timpson is for you! A charming father-daughter buddy-movie that finds Elijah Wood back in top form as the cheesy father magician.
Ebony and Ivory (2024) by Jim Hosking is a quirky, absurd biopic about one of the most legendary musical collaborations ever, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. The story of how an unlikely meeting in a Scottish cottage provides us with great moments of cinematic bravada. And the film's team will be on hand to present its international premiere!
The Forbidden screening : For lovers of radicalism and memorable film evenings, look no further than La Séance Interdite!
In its French premiere, Get Away (2024) promises to be one of the most glorious screenings of this year's edition! A deviant version of Midsommar, it's a family's turn to discover the joys of an unrestful vacation on a Swedish island. The film is a pure product of Nick Frost's mind combined with the talent of director Steffen Haars, one of the halves of New Kids Turbo, who needs no introduction!