July is here, and for North American cinephiles that means one thing: Montreal’s 28th annual Fantasia International Film Festival! Running from July 18th to August 4th, 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 in several theaters throughout Montreal, in addition to a virtual program for those unable to attend in person. As always, 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 Carlota Pereda’s The Chapel, Shannon Walsh’s Adrianna And The Castle, E.L. Katz’s Azrael, Pedro Kos’ In Our Blood, Scooter McCrae’s Black Eyed Susan, Alexander J. Farrell’s The Beast Within, , Tilman Singer’s Cuckoo, Eric Kane’s The Dead Thing, Niles Atallah’s Animalia Paradox, The Adams Family’s Hell Hole, , Damian McCarthy’s Oddity, Lucia Puenzo’s Electrophilia, Ant Timpson’s Bookworm, and Chris Stuckman’s Shelby Oaks.
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 arthouse classics such as the sci-fi horror classic Cube, the monumental wuxia classic The Avenging Eagle, and a special 50th anniversary of Monte Hellman’s documentary Cockfighter.
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 (including their annual ANIME NO BENTO feature), live readings, a book launch for Heidi Honeycutt’s I Spit On Your Celluloid, live podcasts, Q & A sessions with creators (including Doctor Sleep and Absentia director Mike Flanagan), 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
