Page 243 - Alternative Europe Eurotrash and Exploitation Cinema Since 1945

provides local film maniacs with the stuff Hollywood studios cannot come up with, and the occasional
collection of third-world cinema showcases the best of the productions seldom seen in the West.
Espoo Cine also arranges special screenings for schools (high and elementary) plus kindergartens.
The spectacular outdoor screening is also one of the week's special treats worth mentioning. Variety
and abundance are the secrets of the Festival's success. We also did a major 3-D series in 2000,
including titles like Paul Morrisey's Flesh for Frankenstein (1973).
The audience of the festival is as wide as the variety of films been shown. During the six-day
period you can find bloodthirsty gore hounds as well as cultivated art-house fans under the same roof.
Espoo Cine attracts people from almost every age group imaginable, with the clearly uniting element
being love for the cinema, for its bright and darker visions.
The Festival has evolved towards more challenging, bolder and more ambitious directions each
year. Still the quality of the titles, interesting guests and love for the alternative, marginal side of
cinema, is the driving force behind the artistic vision of the event. As well as tempting our guests
with the 'official refreshments' of sauna and Koskenkorva, we deliver an enthusiastic but respectful
audience who loves to chat with the guests after the screenings of their films.
One of the main changes the Festival had the pleasure to cope with was becoming of a full
member of the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation (EFFFF). From 1999 Espoo Cine has
organised the Silver Melies (Melies d'Argent) competition for the best European fantastic feature of
the Festival. The winner thus takes part in the Golden Melies (Melies d'Ot) competition with the
other silver winners from the federation festivals. Finally the golden winner is officially declared as the
best European fantasy film of the year.
Espoo Cine has established itself as the most important event to see contemporary horror
and fantasy movies in Finland. The Festival has basically two main reasons for this. The most
influential one is of course the Silver Melies competition which has been organised now five times.
Espoo Cine's Silver Melies winners so far are: Zbogum na Dvadesetiot Vek (Goodbye 20th Century,
1998) by Aleksandar Popovski and Darko Mitrevski, Tuvalu (1999) by Veit Helmer, Thomas est
Amoureux (2000) by Pierre-Paul Renders (also Golden Melies), Fausto 5-0 (2001) by Isidro Ortiz and
Deathwatch (2002) by Michael J. Bassett.
Some other titles which have competed in our Silver Melies competitions include Perdita Durango
(1997) by Alex de la Iglesia, The Nine Lives ofTomas Katz (2000) by Ben Hopkins, El Celo (Presence of
Mind, 1999) by Anroni Aloy, Nonhosonno (Sleepless, 2001) by Dario Argento and Beyond Re-Animator
(2003) by Brian Yuzna. European directors who have appeared as guests at the Festival's Me'lies series
have included the British directot Ben Hopkins, the Spanish filmmaker Antoni Aloy and the living
legend of American (and now Spanish) horror, Brian Yuzna.
Beyond the centrality of the Silvet Melies competition, the other reason for the growth of the
Espoo Cine Festival can be found in our traditional Night Series. This strand basically works as a free-
screening platform for anything interesting, intriguing, bold and exceptional from fantasy/horror/
exploitation cinema around the world. Some of the respected titles shown in the series include Jim
Van Bebber's violence cult classic Deadbeat at Dawn (1988), Ole Bornedal's original Scandinavian
scare-fest Nattevagten (Nightwatch, 1997), Michele Soavi's poetic zombie tale Dellamorte Dellamore
(1994), Stuart Gordon's Castle Freak (1995), Julian Richards' award-winning Darklands (1997),

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