Fantasporto was founded by Mário Dorminsky,
Beatriz Pacheco Pereira and José Manuel Pereira in 1981. In its 27th edition in February 2006 the festival reached 104,000 people and 5,000 media references, both domestic and international, with a record of 187 hours of TV time. Present in Porto were about 100 members of the foreign press and about 250 Portuguese journalists and media representatives. In spite of being organized by a private entity, the event is mostly state funded, with the
Ministry of Culture of Portugal leading and the
President of the Republic as head of the Honour Committee, along with several private sponsors. The festival is a former member of the
European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation. ==Awards==