Darren Potter is the man in charge of Fanomenon, the horror, sci-fi and fantasy strand of the festival, he says: "Traditionally there has always been an audience for all horror stories and the cinema in particular suits the genre. It is a chance to get away from everyday life and be scared out of your seat. "Throughout history mankind has been scared by the unreal, the unseen and the mysterious. That desire to have a fright has always been there and it has been taken on by cinema as an art form. "When you go to the cinema, you sit in the dark, the sound is all around you in a way you can't escape and it is almost a masochistic thrill. The popularity of a good horror movie has been recognised by festival organisers and they have pulled out all the stops to screen a wide variety of Fanomenon films. "In this strand at Leeds we show films covering a broad range, from gentle ghost films - often with a lurking, unseen presence in suburbia - to the more gory slasher/serial killer style. And if Fanomenon is your kind of thing there are several opportunities to get a real sensory overload, and even a chance to dress up ,because close behind the shock and tension comes the laughter. "Our 'Horrorthon' has really built up a following, it's at the Hyde Park picture house and we've called it Night of the Dead VI. It is a great fun event and some people come dressed up to really have a laugh. "And if you have the stamina we have a full 48-hr Horror Weekend at the Carriageworks too." It is hard to do justice in a short article to the full range of the Leeds festival, even the official guide stretches to 128 pages. It is claimed as the biggest progamme of any UK film festival and there will be 270 prints to be shown in total Darren says that the Fanomenon strand plays a big part in the success of the overall festival and proves once again there is a big and enthusiastic fan-base for action, sci-fi and horror films.
The 20th Leeds International Film Festival, 2 - 12 November 2006 | 
