The Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival is a major French platform for fantastic cinema, and one of Europe’s most comprehensive genre events. The Festival’s main focus is on new productions of international fantastic films, but also included are sections for thrillers, noir films and black comedies, and for video games and virtual-reality cinema. The Festival also hosts multiple film revivals, a sign of its firm commitment to cinema heritage.

As an affiliated member of the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF), Strasbourg is unique in France in organising the Silver Méliès competition for European films. Winners of this award automatically compete for the coveted Golden Méliès, which is presented every year at a designated MIFF festival. Learn how this works at www.melies.org.

Strasbourg’s eclectic programming of independent, studio, auteur and niche cinema, plus its broad range of side events, draws large and varied audiences each year. In 2019, overall attendance reached more than 33 000 and the festival showed a total of 46 features, 22 retrospectives and 18 short films (see sections and awards).

Annual side-events include: master classes with outstanding directors and industry experts, museum happenings, conferences, workshops, exhibits, zombie walks, and a fantastic village with activities for all ages. The Festival’s open-air screenings draw 4 000 fans each year and Strasbourg also hosts a number of innovative and fun film events, such as 2016’s projection of Jaws at the city’s Art Nouveau municipal bathhouse pool, complete with floating armchairs.

In 2012, the Festival organisers introduced a complementary strand at the city’s digital arts centre with the focus on video games, digital creation and virtual reality experiences. In 2020, the video games and virtual reality section has a new name: Connexions. Its highlights are the Indie Game Contest for independent video-game developers; installations by digital creators from our artist-in-residency programme; and a VR film corner, showcasing the latest trends in the 360° world of virtual-reality cinema.

There’s something for everyone at this convivial festival, bringing together cinephiles, geeks, fan boys and girls and traditionalists, for ten celebratory days of cinematic discovery in one of the most beautiful and cinephile cities in France.

Who comes to Strasbourg?