This year’s guest of honour will be legendary American director John McTiernan who has reinvented action cinema in the 80s and 90s with worldwide hit films such as Predator, Die Hard, Die Hard with a Vengeance and The Hunt for Red October.
The 19th edition of Grossmann Fantastic Film and Wine Festival starts on the 19th and 20th of June in Ormož and then continues from the 21st to 124h of June in Ljutomer. Once again you will be able to enjoy a special selection of feature, short and documentary films, competing for the festival awards – Vicious Cats. Our accompanying program will also offer numerous fun and educational features.
After his first feature, atmospheric horror Nomads (1986), starring Pierce Brosnan, John McTiernan achieved worldwide fame with his next film Predator (1987), a unique blend of action, science fiction and horror, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Predator turned into a huge franchise, comprised of four sequels and a prequel, as well as numerous novels, comic books and videogames, not to mention the additional Alien vs. Predator franchise.
In 1988, McTiernan directed even bigger hit film, action blockbuster Die Hard that turned Bruce Willis into an international superstar and spawned four sequels. Die Hard was pronounced one of the best action films of all time by numerous magazines, such as Empire, Entertainment Weekly and The Guardian. In 2017, it was selected by the United States Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 1995, McTiernan also directed the third film in the series, Die Hard with a Vengeance, another highly successful action masterpiece.
Among his more prominent films are also spy thriller The Hunt for Red October (1990) with Sean Connery, action comedy Last Action Hero (1993) with Arnold Schwarzenegger, action adventure The 13th Warrior (1999) with Antonio Banderas, and crime thriller The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) with Pierce Brosnan.
On this year's Grossmann, we will honour him with a special retrospective of his films. He will also hold a Master Class and will be presiding the jury for the Vicious Cat, our best feature film award. At the closing ceremony, he will receive our honorary award.
This year's poster and visuals are once again contributed by the magic fingers of Serbian illustrator and comic artist Ivica Stevanovič.
The tickets will be available in presale in bundles or individually on the days of screenings. The festival also provides free camping in close proximity to Ljutomer’s swimming pool. Otherwise, we recommend that you make reservations at nearby accommodation facilities. And we will take care of tastings of various culinary goods from the region!
