Comienza el Festival de Cine Fantástico de Bilbao-FANT con la proyección de «Hallow Road» y premios honoríficos para Eva Llorach y Daniel Monzón.

The 31st edition of the Bilbao Fantastic Film Festival – FANT, organized by the City Council of Bilbao, kicks off today on Friday, May 2nd, with the film “Hallow Road”, directed by British-Iranian filmmaker Babak Anvari, which will be screened this afternoon after the Opening Gala at the Campos Elíseos Theater.

Before its official screening at the Festival, the film was presented to the media in a press conference attended by the Councilor for Culture and Governance, Gonzalo Olabarria; the director of FANT, Amaia Domingo; and the film’s director, Babak Anvari.

Both Gonzalo Olabarria and Amaia Domingo expressed their gratitude for the presence in Bilbao and at FANT of this prestigious director, screenwriter, and producer known for films such as “Under the Shadow” (2016), “Wounds” (2019), and “I Was Just Passing By” (2022). His projects have received several BAFTA nominations, two awards from the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) for “Under the Shadow,” a film that was also awarded at the Sitges Film Festival, among other events.

“Hallow Road” arrives in Bilbao as a European premiere, after its screening at the SXSW festival in Austin (Texas). It is a psychological thriller starring, among others, Rosamund Pike, Matthew Rhys, Paul Tylak, Megan McDonnell, and Stephen Jones.

The story begins when two parents receive a distressing late-night call from their teenage daughter, who has just accidentally hit a pedestrian. They rush to their car to arrive before anyone else stumbles upon the scene. As the night progresses, disturbing revelations threaten to tear the family apart, as they soon realize they may not be the only ones driving on Hallow Road.

FANT DE HONOR FOR EVA LLORACH

Additionally, Eva Llorach, who is awarded this year’s FANT de Honor along with Daniel Monzón and Saturnino García, has appeared before the media. She will also take the stage at the Campos Elíseos this evening during the opening gala to receive her award.

The Councilor for Culture and Governance, who accompanied the actress, expressed his satisfaction that “the Festival can count this year on three great names in cinema as FANT de Honor, recognizing in this way their professional careers in a world, such as in cinema, where it is sometimes difficult to stay at the forefront”.

On the other hand, Amaia Domingo recalled that the actress from Murcia is participating in the Festival “as part of two works in competition in the Official Section: with “El instinto,” a film directed by Juan Albarracín, and the short film “Ángulo muerto,” by Cristian Beteta”.

In “El instinto,” Abel, an agoraphobic architect in desperate need of a cure, undergoes experimental therapy with José, a hunting dog trainer.

“Ángulo muerto” tells the story of Estela and Ramón, a couple who have gone through a separation and the suicide of Hugo, their only 13-year-old son, after suffering bullying at school. Estela obtains a video recorded by her son’s aggressors.

An actress trained at the ESAD of Murcia, at the studio of Juan Carlos Corazza and with John Strasberg, Eva Llorach has received the most relevant awards in Spanish cinema, including the Goya for Best New Actress in 2019, for her character Violeta in the feature film “Who You Will Sing To” (2018) by Carlos Vermut, and for the same role at the Feroz Awards.

She has a solid career with feature films such as “El instinto” (2024), “A Common Place” (2024), “Disco, Ibiza, Locomía” (2024), “Cage” (2022), “The Warning” (2017), “Magical Girl” (2014), or “People in Places” (2013); television series such as “The Burning Body,” “Mothers,” “The Ministry of Time,” “Elite,” or “Doctor García’s Patients”; and theater with productions like “Robbery, Beating, and Death in Agbanaspäch” or “Taxi girl,” for the National Dramatic Center, “An Oak,” “The Family,” “Whatever You Want,” etc.

FANT DE HONOR FOR DANIEL MONZÓN

Similarly, director Daniel Monzón will receive the FANT DE HONOR award this evening at the Opening Gala. His debut was in 1999 with “The Warrior’s Heart,” which will be screened on Saturday, May 3rd at 12:00 pm at the Azkuna zentroa- Alhóndiga Bilbao auditorium. In 2009, he directed “Cell 211,” perhaps his best-known work, which won eight Goya Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Another of his films, “The Boy,” received sixteen Goya Award nominations, while his latest work, “The Laws of the Border,” was nominated in six categories at the highest awards in Spanish cinema.

► The press kit is available at this link

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