STA, 13 November 2018 - MovieMaker, a US magazine focussing on filmmaking, has listed Slovenia's Grossmann Festival of Fantastic Film and Wine as one of the world's 30 best genre festivals.
Listed alongside the Slovenian horror film festival are much larger festivals, such as Fantasia in Canada, Fantastic Fest in Austin, Midnight Madness in Toronto, Sitges in Spain and Frightfest in London, its organisers said on Tuesday.
In selecting the best genre festivals, MovieMaker's jury assessed their film programmes, guest appearances and accompanying events. Only seven festivals from Europe have made it to the list, according to the Grossmann Festival organisers.
The organisers consider the honour a great achievement since the number of film festivals, especially genre film festivals, around the globe is growing rapidly.
The recognition is ever greater, according to festival programme director Tomaž Horvat, because "this boutique festival" is working in difficult conditions.
Ljutomer, a town in the north-east of the country, is already getting ready for the 15th edition of the festival, which will be held in July 2019.
This year, the festival featured as many as 29 feature films, ten documentaries and 53 short films from 29 countries, with Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil, a Gothic horror film directed by Basque Paul Urkijo Alijo, emerging as the big winner.
Related: Days of Wine and Horror at the Grossmann Fantastic Film & Wine Festival
