It’s safe to say that Fantastic Fest has been an important part of my life. One of many elements that drew me to Austin, TX as a place to live way back in 2010, I’ve attended every year outside of one really weird COVID year, including the 2010 edition where I attended mere weeks after moving here and knew absolutely no one.
Enormous amounts of change have come in those years to the world, to the film industry, and to the Alamo Drafthouse. Quite recently, massive mega-corporation Sony has taken ownership of the Alamo Drafthouse as a whole, and that includes ownership over the festival. Of course, this is an arrangement that wouldn’t have been possible for most of our lifetimes, as rules known as the “Paramount Decrees” had previously banned studios from owning theaters due to potential monopoly concerns. Those decrees were overturned in 2020, which set us on a new course that is fairly Uncharted™. How is the average moviegoer or festival attendee to know how much mega-corporation Sony is weighing on, say, the programming decisions of a film festival, not to mention the theater as a whole? What if Sony one day decides it doesn’t want other studios’ movies playing in THEIR theater chain?
We’ve seen Sony make some misguided at best, disastrous at worst decisions lately. I’m of the mind that switching to a QR code based food ordering system is a genuinely tragic blunder. “Tragic” may feel dramatic for a movie theater ordering system, but the word applies because the system has hurt the human workers at Alamo Drafthouse and cut jobs and dehumanizes the Drafthouse experience. It’s also exemplary of corporate thinking and spreadsheet mindset that betrays the sacred experience of a phone-free theatrical environment. Using phones to order and report bad behavior misreads what built the Alamo culture from the beginning and I hope the extremely loud public outcry will make Sony rethink this strategy.
I bring all this up because, in the close knit Fantastic Fest community, there’s always been a tradition of hand-wringing over the various changes in leadership and ownership and concerns about the old days being far superior. Sure, we’ve come a long way from Alamo Drafthouse CEO Tim League actively fighting game opponents in a boxing ring, and I’ve got many concerns about the corporatization of this beloved festival that means a lot to so many of us.
But I’m here today to share a few signs of hope and joy that I’ve experienced on the ground at Fantastic Fest 2026 that indicate to me that the festival still has The Juice.
5: Primetime CTV Live Feed
This may be the smallest example I’ll provide in this piece; but it may also be the inspiration for the piece as a whole. Fantastic Fest has traditionally been edgy and cheeky, championing its programmed films in a variety of clever ways. Upcoming A24 release Primetime, which dramatizes events around Chris Hansen and his hit show To Catch A Predator, recently rocked the festival. Those familiar with the aesthetics of that show will recall a lot of hidden cameras and CTV footage giving it a “you’re being watched” vibe. I was absolutely chuffed to find, upon entering my theater for Primetime, that the fest was pumping live CTV footage of the festival directly into theaters! This little detail showed so much awareness of the movie they were about to show, and also felt a little dangerous… pulling back the veil that we’re always on camera when we’re at the fest ourselves. It felt like exactly the kind of small detail that wouldn’t have likely made it through corporate committee, but made it onto our big screens.
4: Fantastic Feud 20th Anniversary
Celebrating its 20th year (remarkable), Fantastic Feud concluded late last night and has become an absolutely beloved tradition of mine. Led by a man I’d consider a friend, Maxim Pozderic is the epitome of the spirit of Fantastic Fest. The Feud brings a diverse panel of notable film geeks (and professionals) in to compete against each other in trivia and Family Feud style antics. Loaded with trivia perfectly attuned to the Fantastic Fest audience, filled with hilarious banter, rife with audience participation, this is a truly singular experience that’s about as charmingly DIY as something like this can possibly be. I don’t detect an ounce of corporate interference in Maxim’s hilarious, deeply knowledgeable trivia game. My favorite round this year? Each team had to guess how many times any variation of “game” was uttered in the entire Saw franchise. And you better believe Maxim brought receipts and generated a clip video that I believe brought us to a grand total of ONE HUNDRED FORTY SEVEN utterances. A fabulous tradition, alive and well thanks to Maxim and his team.
3: AGFA & Hell House
Repertory screenings have long been an incredible tradition of Fantastic Fest, and this year is no different. In my opinion, corporate thinking would prioritize “newest, latest, best”, but genuine cinephilia is about discovery and discussion, and the new hotness doesn’t always matter when it comes to art. I love that non profit organization American Genre Film Archive has always been given a spotlight at the festival to showcase older, more obscure, or weirder fare. One of my very best experiences at the festival this year has been Hell House, which wasn’t simply shown at the festival, but which is being given a re-release for its 25th anniversary through AGFA. Fantastic Fest even flew in the filmmakers of this 25 year old doc to share their fascinating experience in making the film. A 25 year old doc isn’t probably going to be covered by any influencers, but it has enriched and impacted me and it means a lot that films like that still have a home at Fantastic Fest.
2: GWAR
As I write this, I haven’t yet experienced a Gwar show… but it’s always been on my bucket list to witness a live show that features a splatter zone. Traditionally a very tight lipped affair, the Fantastic Fest closing night party is an absolute blast and truly kept under wraps. Generally we don’t know the location or the theme until the day before. This year felt different. This year feels like a flex. Sure, maybe it was Sony money that even allowed this to be possible, but some time ago Fantastic Fest announced that Gwar would be playing the closing night party! As of this writing, the location still isn’t confirmed. But Gwar is about the least mainstream/acceptable band that could close out a festival like this, and I can’t wait to cross the splatter zone off my bucket list before I wade back into real life.
1: Walter Hill Lifetime Achievement Award & Extreme Prejudice 35mm Screening
There’s maybe nothing more sacred about the “old Alamo” than its programming. Alamo Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest have made the impact that they have on our culture because at the core of the company, I believe, there was always a genuine love for actual cinema that you never quite feel at a Regal or an AMC. Those are businesses where the product is “movies”. That’s always been true at the Alamo as well, but there has always been an understanding that the love of the artform comes first. From traditions like Terror Tuesday and Weird Wednesday to Caged Marathons, the love of cinema has been paramount.
Which is why I was genuinely touched that this year, Fantastic Fest chose to honor Walter Hill with a lifetime achievement award. One of my very favorite filmmakers of all time, I can’t even describe how full my heart was when I got to shout and cheer and clap for one of my greatest cinematic heroes as he not only attended and received his award (which he was clearly moved to receive), but also sat and watched one of his uncontested bangers, Extreme Prejudice, right there with us in the theater! He hadn’t seen the film in 40 years and sat with Alamo programmer Jake Isgar for a Q&A after the movie.
Sure, there’s a business angle here in that Alamo announced they’ll be showcasing and programming a wide array of Walter Hill films in their early 2027 programming slate. But this is exactly the spirit that I want to see! Let’s share the great works from some of our most celebrated storytellers, “newest, latest” be damned.
I don’t know what the future holds, and I don’t think the corporatization of our society that we are seeing happen all around us is a good thing. Sure, I worry what the future may hold for a festival that has become a culture at the same time it has become an asset on a corporate ledger. But right here, and right now, under the current leadership team and programming team, there still beats a cinephile heart.
And I’m Out.
