The night films programme strides into its third year at the festival with one thing in mind – to offer a nightcap after a difficult day. To people who are tempted to call it a day after a day at the festival, note that these won’t strike terror in your hearts or go bump in the night. The idea is to serve up tales with a twist – cool and unusual flicks that you might not go see during the day.
So what’s on tap? We start off with a maniacal American parody of the blaxploitation genre that made waves at Sundance in January and has rocked the boat of every festival since then – “Black Dynamite”, buoyed by a soundtrack of ultra-cool groove. The Austrian “Contact High” should be a cinch to win the title of strangest drug film, which combines every conceivable genre from stoner comedy to road movie. Also with a claim to bizarro horror movie is “Sexykiller”, produced in Spain, where the lead character looks like a cross between Hannibal Lecter and Paris Hilton.
Animations have not been left out. The Japanese anime “First Squad: The Moment of Truth”, produced as a Russian-Canadian joint (quite a pairing!) stands out from other animations of its kind due to the fact that piles of money were not parked in this project. Every penny was spent wisely and the premise pitting WWII-era Soviet pioneers against demons resurrected by the Nazis is a worthwhile one.
And finally, last but emphatically not least, the stylish “Thirst” by Korean pride and joy Park Chan-wook – this film, about a priest who turns into a vampire after being infected by an unknown virus, was ten years in the making.
If you have time and energy, come out at night. You may find yourself flying without having to get up from your seat!

Helmut Jänes
Programme host