Class Year
2015
Document Type
Student Research Paper
Date of Creation
Spring 2015
Department 1
Cinema & Media Studies
Abstract
The Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Films (BIFFF) is a genre festival specializing in thriller, horror, science fiction and fantasy films. Started in 1983, with an initial audience of 32,650 for a festival of 60 films, by its most recent run in April 2015, 64,400 tickets were sold for a showing of 108 films (BIFFF Presentation 4-5; “Festival 2015” 2015). The almost doubling in audience attendance over the course of the BIFFF’s 33 year run emphasizes the manner in which the festival’s identity has become oriented towards a specific and passionate audience. Interestingly, as the festival’s audience engagement has increased, so too has its international identity, creating a unique place for the Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film in the global festival sphere. On a local level Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film can be seen as a cult event, differentiated from major festivals through its film selection and fandom focus; however, the festival’s proliferation of prizes and international networking demonstrates that even a genre festival is subject to the logic of proliferation described in James English’s landmark work The Economy of Prestige.
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Recommended Citation
Whiteley, Mila H., "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: The Complicated Identity of the Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Films" (2015). Student Publications. 336.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/336
Included in
Cultural History Commons, European History Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons
Comments
This paper was written for Professor Jim Udden's course, FILM 350- Film Festivals: Theory and Practice, Spring 2015.