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Fantastic Fest is officially over. While the occasional moviegoer is still drunkenly stumbling through the streets of Austin and sleeping on the couch of Reject HQ, almost everyone has returned to the boring normalcy of their daily lives. The unsung heroes of Fantastic Fest are not the programmers, the professional bowlers, or those who wore sumo diapers — they are the ladies.

Lovingly dubbed the “Fantastic Fest Widows,” these women worked, cooked, cleaned, and put up with a week or so of drunken debauchery and drooling rabid movie lovers crashing thither and nigh on their couches and floors. Some of these ladies even participated in the madness. We caught up with several of these “widows” – the wives, girlfriends, and lovers of those who make Fantastic Fest just that — and, naturally, we had several questions.

So, take a look behind the festival, and check out what Victoria, Toni, Bethany and Christine had to say:

1. Tell me a little bit about your experience with Fantastic Fest.

Christine: I still have to work so I can’t see daytime during the week or stay out late, but I am able to see many of the movies with my husband, Peter.

Victoria: Adam has attended FF for the last 3 or 4 years. I can’t remember the exact number of years. I am happy that he gets to spend a week doing what he loves and hanging out with friends who love it just as much as he does.

Toni: I’m a seasoned veteran of the Widowhood.  This is actually the third Fantastic Fest Brian has attended, but the first in which I had the foresight (and friends) to make a deal out of it for myself.

Bethany: This is my first experience with Fantastic Fest. My boyfriend is a full-time film journalist; this is part of his job. So far, we’ve had lots of press members from various parts of the country crashing with us, eating my cooking, watching movies and writing. I’ve made several new friends, and have really been able to watch a lot of these guys and gals in action, doing what they love.

2. How important is Fantastic Fest to your partner? To you?

Victoria: FF is very important to Adam. He looks forward to it all year long. It is like his adult version of a week long Christmas. I appreciate and understand his passion for the festival.

Toni: Fantastic Fest is, literally, the reason we moved to Austin.  Brian has two weeks vacation time, and he makes well sure that he’s got Fantastic Fest off before he even considers  time off for Christmas.  Its importance to me is based solely on how happy it makes Brian.  I just don’t have the requisite patience/temperament/fortitude to watch movies that may or may not be good, all day for 8 days straight and also not sleep.

Bethany: Next to Sundance, Fantastic Fest seems to be my boyfriend’s favorite festival of the year. It’s highly important to him, and it’s important to me to be encouraging of that. These festivals are like marathons, and I can already tell that he’s going to be both exhausted and invigorated by the end. I get to go to some of the events and several press screenings, so to me it’s mostly just fun.

3. Do you want to go to Fantastic Fest? What screenings/events would you like to participate in?

Christine: I’m excited about the Fantastic Feud and seeing the Highball open. I mean, seriously, I’m so much more excited about the socializing aspect of the fest than the actual movies.

Victoria: I do not personally have the desire to attend FF. I would not be able to make it through the many hours of movies, and having to watch all of the movies in movie chair. When I watch movies I like being able to lie out and stretch my legs. I do think the parties and get togethers would be fun especially at the new Highball.

Toni: No.  I popped my Fantastic Fest cherry last night with the first night film, Gentlemen Broncos, and I wish I’d waited until we’d gotten to know each other first. It…it took advantage of me.

Bethany: I’ll go next year. I attended a few parties and screenings this year. I think the most memorable was a midnight showing of a 1986 Japanese pink film called S&M Hunter with all the Rejects guys. The Zombieland press screening was fun, too. Oh, and the Highball!

4. Fill in the blank: If ______________ (type of) movies were showing at Fantastic Fest, I would love to go!

Christine: Cirque du Freak and the Toy Stories. Ha, I’m a nerd.

Victoria: Even if the festival screened different types of movies, I still would not attend. I wouldn’t be able to hang long enough for me to get my money’s worth.

Toni: Nature Documentaries.  I love specific movies from all genres — including previous Fantastic Fest films — but my tastes are so hit and miss that I wouldn’t feel justified in buying a badge if it turns out that I love 4 movies and like another 6 out of 50.

Bethany: This isn’t really a fair question for me. I like that they show a lot of horror flicks and foreign stuff. The short films and sexploitation looks interesting to me, too. Show more noir, and I’m there.

5. What will you do with all this free time?

Victoria: I get to visit friends, get some cleaning done, run all of the errands I have been putting off.

Toni: Take full and absolute control of the living room.  I’m building a fort tonight, partying tomorrow night and filling it with playpen balls on Sunday.  I haven’t gotten past Sunday.  I will cook as much aromatic ethnic food as I want, read quietly for hours, take my kayak to the Guadalupe and enjoy the company of friends at every opportunity.

Bethany: I have my own work and writing to get done. I watch C-SPAN. I party. Also, I clean up a little and prepare food for the folks that are staying with us. Frankly, it’s quite nice having the house to myself between waves. I have fun.

6. Do you resent Fantastic Fest?

Victoria: After a couple of days I begin to miss Adam, but I don’t resent it.

Toni: Not at all, anymore.

Bethany: It’s my first year, and I didn’t really understand how wonderful all of the people are, how inclusive film writers — and Austin’s film community  — really are. It’s always nice to have new experiences and see friends both new and old, so no. Not at all.

7. Oh, really? Then why do you let your partner go?

Victoria: Because it makes him happy, and he only get to do this once a year.

Toni: The first year Brian went, I was occupied with a visiting friend and last minute wedding details. That’s right, he got back mere days before we left for Indiana to get married. Plus, there were people I knew in Baton Rouge, and I had a roommate who doubled as my best friend.  I never wanted for something to do.  I was gone for weeks at a time doing field work, so it was only fair that Brian could leave for a week to celebrate his passion.

Last year was rough.  We’d just moved to this brand new city, full of movies and movie people and not one of them was either of the best friends I’d left in Baton Rouge.  I didn’t have a job, didn’t know anyone, didn’t really feel comfortable going places solo and my husband chose to spend this week’s worth of evenings and weekends watching strange movies and not sleeping?  Unacceptable.  I spent a lot of time on the couch watching Bravo marathons.  I’m not proud of this.

This year is 180 degrees different.  I know people, have a job, and am able enjoy Austin for what I know about it as well as what I have yet to discover.  I still miss Brian when he’s gone, but it’s essentially the same as if he were at work…from 12pm to 3am.  Then people come by the house to commune. My sleep schedule is utterly razed, and our apartment has the distinct aroma of, well, vegetation.  But I love it, because I’m a pack animal.  Our pack grows exponentially every morning after 2:30 and everyone is so nice.  Now, Fantastic Fest is an opportunity to see people I won’t see again until the next one, or until they inevitably decide to move to Austin.

Bethany: I agree with Toni. I like it when our pack grows, and everyone’s home and decompressing. Also, like I said. It’s Neil’s job!

8. Tell me about the term “Fantastic Fest Widows”. Who came up with it? Are you OK with this term?

Christine: I don’t think I count as a “widow” since I have a badge.

Victoria: The first time I heard the term was from Toni. I am not sure if she coined it. I think it describes our situation perfectly, and it’s catchy.

Bethany: I first heard it from Toni. I didn’t really like the term, because I’m not married — or a spider! But after this week, I certainly understand it. I’ve heard other people, all locals, talk about their partners getting tired of the long days and nights, of the schedule.

Toni: I’m pretty sure I came up with it but, in retrospect, it’s a poor descriptor.  It’s just a general term describing any one of my friends I can count on to party with me because the rest of their friends are at Fantastic Fest.  Our circles overlap.  That doesn’t mean a widow has to be married (or attached at all), or even female.  Or a spider.  It just means that we can count on each other for companionship, great food, and brilliant ideas for things to do whilst everyone else we know watches movies/parties with Tim League early into the morning.  Perhaps we should have been the “FF Orphans.”  Or “FF Strays.”  Something more inclusive than the “widows.”

9. Any closing thoughts?

Toni: Dear Jared Hess, I really, really wanted to like Gentlemen Broncos but… can I have my $27.00 back, please? (This is why I don’t spend $300 on a badge.)

Bethany: I’ve been so impressed with how inclusive the other local “widows” are. It’s nice to see boyfriends, girlfriends, wives, etc. all come together and hang out. I was just talking with a friend the other day. You know, we get really tired of movies! But Austin’s such a great place, and we all sort of have this “the more the merrier” attitude.

Movie critics, bloggers, and other writers really look forward to this festival every year, and now I see why. Yes, the Drafthouse is super-cool and the movies playing are really neat, but the heart and soul of Fantastic Fest is the good people of Austin and our Texas hospitality and friendliness. I, for one, am really happy to be a part.