It’s mid-July, and for North American cinephiles that means one thing: Montreal’s 30th annual Fantasia International Film Festival! Running from July 16th to August 2nd, Fantasia has justifiably been hailed as “a shrine”, “the most important and prestigious genre film festival on this continent”, and “one of the most exciting genre film festivals in the world”. This year’s festival will take place several theatres throughout Montreal, in addition to a virtual program for those unable to attend in person. As always, it’s guaranteed to scratch the itch of any cinephile with a cavalcade of offerings from filmmakers and creators from around the globe, as horror, comedy, drama, sci fi and more will all be adequately represented at the festival.
Some of the newer feature films we here at Cinepunx and Horror Business are excited to see are Casper Kelly’s Buddy, Minos Papas’ Motherwitch, the Adams Family’s newest offering The Glorious Dead, Yeon Sang-ho’s Colony, Nicholas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell, Tim Riedel’s Ancestral Beasts, Yu Nakamoto’s Break Free, Michael Gallagher’s The Leader, Bob Colaer’s Attack On Paradise, Oliver Bernsen’s Bagworm, Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma, Mark H. Rapaport’s Godhead, Alice Maoi Mackey’s One Effed Up World, Craig Mitchell’s Los Vampires, and many, many more.
All of these, however, are just scratching the surface. Dozens of features are playing this year at Fantasia Fest, including some screenings of remastered versions of classics like Tibor Takacs’ Metal Messiah, Sun Chung’s City War, Johnny Wang Lung-Wei’s Hong Kong Godfather, Bruce McDonald’s Pontypool, Paul Morrissey’s Forty Deuce, Takashi Miike’s Gozu, and Takeshi Koike’s Redline.
Fantasia’s “Documentaries From The Edge” program will include Maya Annik Bedward’s Black Zombie, Nick Taylor’s Rubberhead: The Life & Monsters Of Steve Johnson, and more.
Some of the special events include live discussions with filmmakers such as Nicholas Winding Refn, Jane Schoenbrun, Alice Maio Mackay, and Bruce McDonald
There’s a ton more content this year that I haven’t touched upon here, including literally hundreds of short films and short films programs, live readings, and more, but I’m hoping you’ll check it out for yourself.
Fantasia Festival is one festival you don’t want to miss. It is a cinephile’s dream come true, the kind of event we wait for all year long, and there’s a reason it’s the stuff of legend amongst genre filmmakers from all over the world.
For more information, including schedules, FAQ, and how to purchase tickets and badges, please head to https://fantasiafestival.com/en/.
Fantasia Festival can be found on social media at the following:
https://www.instagram.com/fantasiafestival/
https://twitter.com/FantasiaFest
https://www.facebook.com/FantasiaFilmFestival
