Now that’s what you call a flying start: Imagine’s opening weekend is packed with highlights right from the off. We’re kicking off our theme programme, Ghost in the Feed, and welcoming, amongst others, our guest of honour Kiyoshi Kurosawa, our special guest Julie Corman and audio wizards Darkfield. And there are a few massive hits on the programme straight away, such as Colony (from the team behind Train to Busan) on Friday evening and Hope(the new film from the director of The Wailing) on Sunday. You can also come and belt out a tune and dance at our annual Halloween Drag Karaoke, on Saturday evening at OT301 with tickets available at the door. So don’t miss out on these first few days. Here’s a list of tips to help you get started.
Focus on Darkfield – Friday 30 October – Sunday 8 November in Hal West
How do you create a totally immersive, sometimes magical, sometimes terrifying experience in pitch darkness, with only sound coming through your headphones? The British audio wizards at Darkfield immerse you in your own imagination with this retrospective of three of their most famous/notorious productions: DOUBLE, ETERNAL en VISITORS. You can experience them from the first Friday right through to the last Sunday as part of our Imagine Expanded programme in Hal West. Book your slots quickly – they’re going fast!
Straight to Video: Remote Control – Friday 30 October at 21:30 in LAB111
A video tape with a history of gruesome murders: in 1988, long before Ringu, director Jeff Lieberman turned this absurd premise into the delightfully camp Remote Control. Our VHS friends at Straight to Video are making the most of it on this first Friday. Alien Ghosts in the Feed!
Nieuw Nederlands Peil 3 & 4 + Q&As – 3 & 4 November in LAB111
Previous editions of Imagine have proven it: Dutch short fantasy films no longer need any introduction. From science fiction, horror and apocalyptic animation to topical media satire: that’s Nieuw Nederlands Peil. Spread across the week in four programme blocks, with the added bonus that (most of) the filmmakers will be there in person! Two of the blocks are already fully booked, but tickets are still available for the NNPs on 3 November and 4 November. Hurry!
No Rest for the Wicked ism Roze Filmdagen – 31 October at 19:10 in Filmhallen
The love between two men on the remote island of Fårö in 1862 provokes not only resistance but also supernatural forces. In No Rest for the Wicked, a queer love story forms an intense connection with folk horror. This remarkable film will be introduced on 31 October by our friends at the Roze Filmdagen. It will be screened again on 7 November.
Halloween Drag Karaoke Party – Saturday 31 October from 22:00 in OT301, 5 Euro’s
Give us your best growl at our Halloween Drag Karaoke Party, and you might win the prize for the best costume of the night (do you remember last year?). We’ll be partying well past midnight to the weird floor-fillers from DJ Mr and Mrs Koot’s record collection. Awoooo!
Kiyoshi Kurosawa Career Talk – Sunday 1 November om 14:00 in Filmhallen
This year’s guest of honour is the Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa. It would be a disservice to his body of work to simply label it ‘J-horror’ – though that is not to say he hasn’t created some of the scariest scenes in the history of the genre. The director will be taking to the stage in the main auditorium of the Filmhallen on 1 November for an in-depth Career Talk. Alongside three of his earlier films (Cure, Pulse and Creepy) and a selected film (Richard Fleischer’s The Boston Strangler ), Kurosawa’s latest, The Samurai en the Prisoner, will also be screened at Imagine. Some of these screenings are already sold out, but tickets are still available for screenings later in the week and for a few screenings with Q&A sessions this weekend.
Julie Corman: A Life in Independent Cinema – Sunday 1 November at 17:00 in LAB111
To mark the centenary of the birth of Roger Corman (1926–2024), the ‘king of B-movies’, his wife Julie Corman will be visiting Imagine on 1 November to give a talk about her work and their joint projects. Julie is much more than ‘the wife of’: since 1972, she has produced more than forty films (!) and passed on her experience to subsequent generations of filmmakers. To mark the Roger Corman Centennial, Imagine will be screening three films from his catalogue (X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes, Death Race 2000 and The St Valentine’s Day Massacre), which can be seen later in the week. In the run-up to the event, we spoke to Julie about her career and her tips for budding filmmakers. Read that interview here.
Macario 4K + introduction – 1 November at 16:30 in Filmhallen
A classic magical-realist fairy tale in which a poor Mexican woodcutter receives a visit from the Devil, God and Death on the eve of the Day of the Dead. Macario was the first Latin-American film to be nominated for an Oscar. On 1 November, the 4K restoration will be introduced by the Mexican Embassy and Imagine programmer Kiko Morah (whom we spoke to in the run-up to the event about the Magic Realism programme, here). Following the screening, there will be a reception at Café Belcampo – everyone is welcome!
Freaks Part II + Q&A – 1 november om 18:40 in Filmhallen
Freaks Part II is the sequel to Freaks, the closing film of Imagine 2019. And the hunting season has reopened: freak hunters are once again on the hunt for supermutants. The filmmakers seem to be alluding to today’s reality; aren’t those hunters simply stand-ins for ICE? Ask co-director Zach Lipovsky himself on Sunday 1 November. The film will be screened again on 4 November, but without him in attendance.
In This Darkness I See You + Q&A – 1 november om 18:55 in LAB111
A Syrian construction worker is confronted with old wounds in a Lebanese village. And with the ghost of a murdered woman. Historical reality and supernatural menace merge into a toxic cocktail in In This Darkness I See You. Lebanese director Nadim Tabet will be talking about it on 1 November. The film will be screened again later this week.
The Lost Internet – 1 november om 19:00 in LAB111
You don’t actually need to go to the cinema for a bit of a scare anymore. For nearly three decades now, horror has been creeping right into your living room and your mind via your laptop. The compilation programme The Lost Internet, which you can watch once only on 1 November, explores the online alternatives. Flash games, creepypasta, jump scares, analogue horror and chain emails. Scary but addictive.
