Neil Baker
Fantasia International Film Festival returns from July 14th to August 3rd 2022.
The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 26th Anniversary in Montreal this summer, taking place from July 14 to August 3, with its Frontières International Co-Production Market being held July 21 – 24. Screenings, panels and special events will be taking place at the Concordia Hall and J.A. de Sève cinemas, with additional screens at the Cinémathèque Québécoise, Cinéma du Musée and the McCord Museum.
The full lineup of over 100 feature films and 200+ shorts will be announced in late June. In the meantime, the festival is excited to reveal a selected Second Wave of titles and events.
For her groundbreaking work as an author, filmmaker, historian and curator, Fantasia will present its 2022 Canadian Trailblazer Award to Kier-La Janisse, who has shifted the paradigm of genre film discourse and inspired a new generation of artists. Over the past 23 years, Janisse founded the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, The CineMuerte Film Festival (1999-2005), The Big Smash! Music-on-Film Festival (2006), Plastic Paper: Winnipeg’s Festival of Animated, Illustrated and Puppet Film (2008-2011) and co-founded the beloved Montreal microcinema Blue Sunshine (2010-2012).
Janisse was the head programmer for the legendary Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas, from 2003 to 2007 and an original programmer for Fantastic Fest while also working for organisations such as The Winnipeg Film Group, Pop Montreal and Monster Fest in Melbourne, Australia.
POLARIS OPENS THE 26th FANTASIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WITH A WORLD PREMIERE
With frostbitten hands clasping magical seal-jaws, incredible fights, and visceral kills, POLARIS is a singular vision of a post-apocalyptic world. Director KC Carthew creates a dystopian future with nods to George Miller’s classic Max Max series and an all-female-identifying cast. Filmed in the Yukon, we follow the journey of Sumi (Viva Lee) and her adoptive polar bear mother to the north star Polaris as they navigate the harsh landscape. She encounters brutal foes that are no match for her fierce powers, and when she discovers unexpected allies along the way, the stakes become deadlier.
Following Carthew’s first short, FISH OUT OF WATER, which premiered at the 19th edition of Fantasia, and her award-winning 2017 debut feature THE SUN AT MIDNIGHT, Carthew returns with POLARIS—a Frontieres project pitched in 2019. Expect innovative writing and direction, including a primarily non-verbal experience, the breathtaking landscapes of the Yukon, plenty of thrilling action, and at heart, a story of perseverance and friendship. Distributed in Canada by Filmoption International.
A SPOTLIGHT ON THE WORLD OF QUEER GENRE CINEMA
Following our tradition of uplifting new voices, radical cinematic visions, and trailblazing genre work, Fantasia is proud to put the spotlight of its second wave on queer genre cinema. We are excited to feature Eduardo Casanova’s LA PIETÀ, a genre-bending surrealist odyssey, and Tara Thorne’s #metoo tinged revenge thriller COMPULSUS. In the horror genre we are happy to be featuring Carter Smith’s bug-nuts film SWALLOWED, and Addison Heimann’s haunting psychological descent HYPOCHONDRIAC. Also in the spotlight are two documentaries: Rita Baghdadi’s revolutionary all-female-identifying punk rock doc SIRENS, and Ry Levey’s queer wrestling chronicle OUT IN THE RING. Additional titles in this spotlight will be revealed in our 3rd and final wave, and also included are two titles from our first wave, Amanda Kramer’s PLEASE BABY PLEASE and GIVE ME PITY!
SHIN ULTRAMAN REIMAGINES AN ESSENTIAL ICON OF JAPANESE POP SCI-FI
Following its enormously successful release in Japan, Fantasia unleashes the highly anticipated SHIN ULTRAMAN. Directed by Shinji Higuchi, famed for the special-effects work on the 1990s GAMERA revival and for directing the live-action ATTACK ON TITAN films; and scripted by Hideaki Anno, the genius behind the hit anime NEON GENESIS EVANGELION. SHIN ULTRAMAN reunites the pair, who co-directed 2016’s astounding SHIN GODZILLA, to reimagine another essential icon of tokusatsu, Japan’s science-fiction TV and cinema.
Debuted in 1966, Tsuburaya Productions’ giant, shiny superhero from space—and the wild array of alien monsters he confronts—have embedded themselves in the nation’s popular culture for generations. With auteur flair, unprecedented visual impact, and genuine affection for the Ultraman franchise, Anno and Higuchi now renew, as only they could, the action-packed cosmic saga of Ultraman, his alter ego Shinji Kaminaga and his colleagues in the science police force battling endless extraterrestrial threats.
MAIGRET: GEORGES SIMENON’S FAMOUS DETECTIVE COMES ARRIVES ON THE BIG SCREEN
In 1950s Paris, the body of a young woman is found dressed in an evening gown and holding no I.D. When nobody claims the body, Detective Jules Maigret is brought on the case. A long-awaited pairing of two French cinema greats –writer-director Patrice Leconte and Gérard Depardieu– MAIGRET is a new take on Georges Simenon’s classic French detective character, adapted from the 1954 novel Maigret et la jeune morte. This film is a cause for celebration for fans of French cinema, great detective stories, and cinephiles everywhere.
THE PROTECTOR: FANTASY AND FOLKLORE IN A SECRETIVE SMALL TOWN
Merging South Asian folklore, smalltown Canada, and a strong female lead, THE PROTECTOR is a unique take on managing trauma. Toronto-based writer-director Lenin M. Sivam garnered acclaim for 1999, A GUN & A RING, and ROOHBA, and he’s bound to receive the same for this story. In THE PROTECTOR, a young woman with a violent and traumatic past becomes entwined with a mysterious book about a god who brings peace when summoned – and discovers that there may be a heavy price to pay. This magical realist masterwork grounds its fascinating legends and secrets with solid performances from Chelsea Clark (GINNY AND GEORGIA), Munro Chambers (TURBO KID), and Rebecca Jenkins (SUPERNATURAL).
SWALLOWED – A DRUG DEAL GONE WRONG IN UNSETTLING QUEER HORROR
Beloved genre director and Fantasia alumnus Carter Smith (THE RUINS, BUGCRUSH), returns to the roots of his bug-focused debut with the extreme piece of queer body horror SWALLOWED, starring Jena Malone (NEON DEMON, THE HUNGER GAMES) and a flamboyant Mark Patton (NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2: FREDDY’S REVENGE). Set in a remote township on the border of Maine and Canada, this creepy-crawly-fable of survival and heartwarming friendship is as delightfully grotesque and suspenseful as it is compelling and unsettling. To be devoured without moderation.
SHINICHIRO UEDA’S POPRAN: DICKS ON THE RUN!
Tagami Tatsuya (Yoji Minagawa) has found great success as the CEO of an online manga reading platform– so much that he has become a colossal dick to everyone around him … Until a fantastical twist of fate takes that away. One morning, he discovers his genitals have flown the coop! Poof! Gone! Following the worldwide success of ONE CUT OF THE DEAD (just remade by Michel Hazanavicus as Cannes opener COUPEZ!), Shinichiro Ueda returns with a goofy, conceptual comedy-drama tackling masculine ego by way of flying penises– trademark meta-commentary fully intact!
FURTHER TITLES INCLUDE:
THE ARTIFICE GIRL (WORLD PREMIERE)
RED SHOES (WORLD PREMIERE)
LA PIETÀ (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
CHOROKBAM (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
HOUSE OF DARKNESS (INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE)
MISSING (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
STELLAR: A MAGICAL RIDE (CANADIAN PREMIERE)
CULT HERO (WORLD PREMIERE)
THE RING (QUÉBEC PREMIERE)
COMPULSUS (QUÉBEC PREMIERE)
THE COW WHO SANG A SONG INTO THE FUTURE (CANADIAN PREMIERE)
GOODBYE, DONGLEES! (CANADIAN PREMIERE)
HEAVEN: TO THE LAND OF HAPPINESS (CANADIAN PREMIERE)
HYPOCHONDRIAC (CANADIAN PREMIERE)
ONE FOR THE ROAD (CANADIAN PREMIERE)
THE PASS: LAST DAYS OF THE SAMURAI (QUÉBEC PREMIERE)
PIGGY (QUÉBEC PREMIERE)
PRINCESSE DRAGON (CANADIAN PREMIERE)
THE ROUNDUP (QUÉBEC PREMIERE)
SISSY (CANADIAN PREMIERE)
WHETHER THE WEATHER IS FINE (QUÉBEC PREMIERE)
The 26th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival will be presented by Videotron in collaboration with Desjardins, and will be made possible thanks to the financial assistance of Telefilm Canada, the Government of Quebec, SODEC, The Ministère des Affaires Municipales et de l’Habitation, Tourisme Québec, the City of Montreal, the Conseil des arts of Montreal and Tourisme Montréal.
The full lineup of Fantasia 2022 titles will be revealed in late June, with ticket sales commencing shortly afterwards. For more information, visit us on the web at www.fantasiafestival.com
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