Time flies when you’re watching movies!
We have experienced ten incredibly cool festival days, and today we celebrate the very last day with The Best of Imagine. The Best of Imagine is a showcase of best-selling and popular films during the festival. These gems (including Silver Scream Award winner The Boy and the Heron) will be shown all day, with the last performance at 9:30 PM.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the wonderful audience. Your enthusiasm, support and love for cinema have made this festival a spectacular journey. As we say goodbye, we wish you a lot of fun and a great cinematic experience during this grand finale. We are already looking forward to welcoming you again next year at the Imagine Fantastic Film Festival 2024!
Awards!
Sea Devil – Tiger Stripes
The Sea Devil is the festival’s top prize for the best fantastic feature film. This prize was previously called the Black Tulip, but was renamed to the new festival icon in 2022. This year’s Sea Devil jury consists of Cineville editor Maan Meelker, journalist, composer and musician Kevin Toma and Fauve de Ruiter, production manager at Make Way Film. They were unanimous and crowned Tiger Stripes by Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu, about a rebellious teenager who rebels against the strict rules imposed on her, as the winner of the Sea Devil.
Tiger Stripes was co-produced by Amsterdam’s PRPL and received a contribution from the Film Fund and the Hubert Bal Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
From the jury report: “As a jury, we have nothing but praise for the way in which the film takes the subject matter extremely seriously and at the same time is not ashamed of a comic element or its low budget character. The enormous charm, the strong script, the surprising music and great social relevance make this brave film debut an unforgettable experience.”
Méliès d’Agent
The Méliès d’Argent is awarded on behalf of the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF) to the best European fantastic feature film and short film.
Short film – A Kind of Testament
The jury for the best European fantastic short film consists of programmer Stefan Schoorl and filmmakers Justus van den Elsen and Ruwan Heggelman (last year’s winner in this category).
From the jury report: “What is special is the free but careful mix of various style elements, which results in a unique experience. The film offers an uncompromising reflection on both the world we live in and the approaching future. That is why the Melies d’Argent for best short film goes to A Kind of Testament by Stephen Vuillemin.”
Feature film – Vermin
This year’s feature film jury consists of Roffa Mon Amour director Lisa Smith, writer and director Zainab Goelaman and researcher, teacher and producer Emiel Martens.
From the jury report: “This film has all the ingredients that a good genre film needs and we believe that the film also has a lot of commercial potential. A deserved and unanimous winner.”
SILVER SCREAM 2023 – The Boy and the Heron
And last night at midnight the time had come, the last screenings were over, the last votes were counted and we proudly present Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron as the winner of our audience award, the Silver Scream Award.
For the full count you can find the overview on our website next week.
PROGRAMME THE BEST OF IMAGINE
On Saturday, November 4, we will present The Best of Imagine in LAB 1, with the five most visited and appreciated films.
This is the program:
- Halfway Home – 12:00
- Vincent Must Die – 14:30
- Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person – 16:45 Dream Scenario – 19:15
- The Boy and the Heron – 21:30
Tickets can be purchased via the site.
