Welcome to Fantasy Filmball, the platform where we turn movies into sports and sports is something we really don't talk about.
The space was created by two Oscar enthusiasts, Dylan McKercher and Matt Downs, in the summer of 2022. After meeting on the Reddit server r/OscarRace, the two decided to combine their love of talking film and the awards season race with the communal platform of YouTube as a branching-off point that has since expanded into a full-blown Discord server and this very website.
Fantasy Filmball is an all-encompassing platform that includes film reviews for the latest awards season contenders, as well as on-the-ground coverage of film festivals from across the globe, including Cannes, TIFF, NYFF, and even regional festivals.
And then there's the biggest aspect of Fantasy Filmball: the game itself.
Essentially, it's fantasy football… but for awards season.
Right before the fall film festivals kick into high gear, leagues of six individual players draft 10 films to their roster. Those films rack up points through their Metacritic scores, box office performance, viewership ratings, and, of course, their awards season success. From regional critics groups all the way up to the Academy Awards.
The game has been running since 2018 and currently has a player base of over 100 active competitors, which includes players from all across the globe.
That all leads us to this website and the Fantasy Filmball mission: to build a communal platform for people who love talking film, awards season, and everything that comes with it.
This website serves as a platform not just for Dylan and Matt, but for all members of the Filmball community to express their written reviews, film commentary, and awards prognostication. We all shared a longing for a platform to express our views and bold opinions… and now, we officially have one.