diff --git a/src/compile.rs b/src/compile.rs
index 448524d..bceee87 100644
--- a/src/compile.rs
+++ b/src/compile.rs
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ struct Compiler<O: OutputStream = BasicOutputStream> {
     source_path: Option<String>,
     current_source_location: ast::Location,
     current_qualified_path: Option<String>,
+    done_with_future_stmts: bool,
     ctx: CompileContext,
     opts: CompileOpts,
 }
@@ -166,6 +167,7 @@ impl<O: OutputStream> Compiler<O> {
             source_path: None,
             current_source_location: ast::Location::default(),
             current_qualified_path: None,
+            done_with_future_stmts: false,
             ctx: CompileContext {
                 in_loop: false,
                 func: FunctionContext::NoFunction,
@@ -334,6 +336,16 @@ impl<O: OutputStream> Compiler<O> {
         self.set_source_location(statement.location);
         use ast::StatementType::*;
 
+        match &statement.node {
+            // we do this here because `from __future__` still executes that `from` statement at runtime,
+            // we still need to compile the ImportFrom down below
+            ImportFrom { module, names, .. } if module.as_deref() == Some("__future__") => {
+                self.compile_future_features(&names)?
+            }
+            // if we find any other statement, stop accepting future statements
+            _ => self.done_with_future_stmts = true,
+        }
+
         match &statement.node {
             Import { names } => {
                 // import a, b, c as d
@@ -2132,6 +2144,38 @@ impl<O: OutputStream> Compiler<O> {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    fn compile_future_features(
+        &mut self,
+        features: &[ast::ImportSymbol],
+    ) -> Result<(), CompileError> {
+        if self.done_with_future_stmts {
+            return Err(CompileError {
+                error: CompileErrorType::InvalidFuturePlacement,
+                location: self.current_source_location.clone(),
+                source_path: self.source_path.clone(),
+                statement: None,
+            });
+        }
+        for feature in features {
+            match &*feature.symbol {
+                // Python 3 features; we've already implemented them by default
+                "nested_scopes" | "generators" | "division" | "absolute_import"
+                | "with_statement" | "print_function" | "unicode_literals" => {}
+                // "generator_stop" => {}
+                // "annotations" => {}
+                other => {
+                    return Err(CompileError {
+                        error: CompileErrorType::InvalidFutureFeature(other.to_owned()),
+                        location: self.current_source_location.clone(),
+                        source_path: self.source_path.clone(),
+                        statement: None,
+                    })
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
     // Scope helpers:
     fn enter_scope(&mut self) {
         // println!("Enter scope {:?}", self.symbol_table_stack);
diff --git a/src/error.rs b/src/error.rs
index 6f28e3a..85bc9f4 100644
--- a/src/error.rs
+++ b/src/error.rs
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ pub enum CompileErrorType {
     InvalidAwait,
     AsyncYieldFrom,
     AsyncReturnValue,
+    InvalidFuturePlacement,
+    InvalidFutureFeature(String),
 }
 
 impl CompileError {
@@ -106,6 +108,12 @@ impl fmt::Display for CompileError {
             CompileErrorType::AsyncReturnValue => {
                 "'return' with value inside async generator".to_owned()
             }
+            CompileErrorType::InvalidFuturePlacement => {
+                "from __future__ imports must occur at the beginning of the file".to_owned()
+            }
+            CompileErrorType::InvalidFutureFeature(feat) => {
+                format!("future feature {} is not defined", feat)
+            }
         };
 
         if let Some(statement) = &self.statement {