Summer is reaching its halfway point, and you know what that means. Soon, hordes of cinephiles will head to Montreal to attend what festival filmmakers have referred to 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.” That’s right…Fantasia Fest is back for it’s 27th year! Taking place from July 20 through August 9 at Montreal’s Concordia Hall Cinema, with additional screenings to be held at the J.A. DeSève Cinema, Cinémathèque Québécoise, and Cinéma du Musée, this year’s festival is 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 Zach Clark’s sci-fi romance The Becomers, Rachel Lambert’s Sometimes I Think About Dying, Danny Phillipe’s eagerly awaited new A24 production Talk To Me, Teresa Sutherland’s Lovely Deep And Dark, Joe Lynch’s Lovecraftian Suitable FleshLarry Fessenden’s long awaited werewolf movie Blackout, Jared Moshe’s Aporia, Australian wunderkind Alice Main Mackey’s trans/queer gross out fest T Blockers, and Cameron Cairnes Late Night With The Devil. 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 modern classics such as Larry Kent’s The Bitter Ash, Sweet Substitute, and Gabrielle/Yesterday, Lee Chang-dong’s surreal and powerful Peppermint Candy, one of Quentin Tarantino’s all-time favorites The Return Of The Street Fighter, and Gerard Pires comedy classic The Taxi. There is, quite literally, something for everyone.
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, tributes (including one to the legendary Nicholas Cage and Canadian genre trailblazer Larry Kent), Q & A sessions with creators, live retrospectives, special guests, and more, but I’m hoping you’ll check it out for yourself and see what they have. For those of you unable to make it in person, there’s a virtual program of ten films for $120 or twenty films for $210, which can be purchased here.
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 legends 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
