Many exciting new features await at the 2024 edition of the Italian Horror Fantasy Fest, happening from June 13th to June 16th at Stardust Village, located at the heart of Rome's four neighborhoods: Eur, Torrino, Mostacciano, and Spinaceto, surrounded by a vast green area spanning approximately 33,000 square meters. This year, actor and filmmaker Paolo Ruffini will serve as the official host of the event.
The festival, conceived in 2010 by artistic director, producer, and film director Luigi Pastore as a summer event along the Roman coast, aims to celebrate Italian genre cinema masters and discover emerging talents and artists continuing this illustrious tradition.
Notably, Paolo Ruffini's passion for horror cinema isn't new, given his past role as artistic director of the Joe D’Amato Horror Festival and his participation in the 2014 Italian Horror Fantasy Fest, where he presented Dario Argento on the occasion of the home video release of Four Flies on Grey Velvet.
Speaking of Dario Argento, special effects wizard Sergio Stivaletti, known for his work on most of the Maestro's thrilling films, will not only craft the new IHFF 2024 award but also showcase a collection of his creations, including some never-before-exhibited pieces. Additionally, through his school, Fantastic Forge, Stivaletti will engage the festival audience in makeup and prosthetic tricks.
Among the scheduled events, Luigi Cozzi, artistic consultant of the festival and director of cult films like Contamination and Starcrash, will lead a masterclass on the making of his Cozzilla, also featured in the festival's screenings over the four days.
In the presence of Antonio Bido, director of Only Blackness and Watch Me When I Kill, his new work Funérailles will be premiered. Furthermore, alongside his wife Stefania Corona, iconic figure of Italian comedy Alvaro Vitali will tackle a series of monstrous and fantastical creatures in the live show Pierino against the Monsters.
Acclaimed filmmaker Eros Puglielli will preside over the Quality Jury, awarding prizes for the best feature and short films in competition. Additionally, the Festival's artistic direction will present the Bruno Mattei Award, dedicated to the late director of "Hell of the Living Dead" and "Rats: Night of Terror", as recognition for an outstanding author or artist.
Technical sponsor Flat Parioli (www.flatparioli.com) will grant the Flat Parioli Award to the author who has most innovated within their genre, along with covering the post-production costs of a work directed by the same author in the following years.
From May 13th to June 13th, 2024, the official promo - featuring a soundtrack composed by Maestro Claudio Simonetti - will broadcast on GoldTv, LazioTv, and Teleregione Channel 74. Among the technical sponsors are Cooperative Radio Taxi 3570, Chin8 Neri, Rustblade, Profondo Rosso Store, and Dario Argento's Museum of Horrors.
Social media contests engaging the audience are planned, with special prizes to be awarded by festival partners and sponsors.
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