TagFantasia International Film Festival
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Film FestivalsReviews
Writer/director Julian Knafo’s Canadian feature Brain Freeze serves up plenty of social satire and humor in its tale of a zombie outbreak on an island inhabited by affluent people who want to golf year-round despite the weather. The film is a fun offering that takes on several targets but never gets overly heavy-handed in its messages. A biotech company comes to the rescue of the rich folks with a DNA-modified solution that taints the local water supply and turns people and animals into zombies that sprout grass from their bodies. After a series of unfortunate incidents, phone-addicted teen André (Iani Bédard), baby sister in tow, crosses paths with security guard and survivalist Dan (Roy Dupuis), whose adult daughter Patricia (Marianne Fortier) has been infected with the zombie virus. André and Dan try to survive and find a way to either track down the cause of the outbreak or escape the island, while an ultra-right wing disc jockey (Simon-Olivier Fecteau) fans
Continue reading →
News
Montreal’s vaunted Fantasia International Film Festival continues its reputation of being North America’s largest fest highlighting genre-film fabulousness with this year’s 25th edition, which runs online August 5–25. Science fiction, thriller, dark comedy, action, animation, and other exciting genres are all on tap, and as always, horror is a huge part of Fantasia. Here are five of Fantasia’s exciting fright-fare features for this year’s edition, with descriptions from official press materials and the fest’s website, along with comments in italics from yours truly. STEADY YOUR GAZE FOR THE LAST THING MARY SAW Brace yourself for THE LAST THING MARY SAW, a breathtaking period occult drama set in an isolated farmhouse in the winter of 1843, where a young woman is under investigation following the mysterious death of her family’s matriarch. It soon becomes apparent that ageless forces are at play, from within and without. An eerie and hypnotic nightmare vision from debuting writer/director Edoardo Vitaletti, starring Stefanie Scott (INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsNews
As if The Fantasia International Film Festival’s first wave announcement wasn’t tantalizing enough, today’s second-wave announcement is mind blowing. With horror titles such as The Last Thing Mary Saw, All the Moons, and Hellbender (to name but a few) on tap alongside science fiction, dark comedy, thriller, and other horror-adjacent genres, Montreal’s premiere genre-film fest promises to be as can’t-miss as usual. Following is the festival’s official press announcement. The Fantasia International Film Festival will launch its 25th edition this summer as an exciting virtual event composed of scheduled screenings, on-demand library, panels, and workshops, taking place from August 5th to August 25th. The festival will be accessible across Canada, geo-locked to the country, and will maintain unique film admittance quantities in line with the cinema experience. Fantasia is thrilled to reveal a second wave of programming and will return in late July with a third and final line-up announcement, including features, virtual events, and juries. In celebration of Fantasia’s
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsNews
The Fantasia International Film Festival had a hugely successful virtual version in 2020, and the fest will be online again this year as it celebrates its 25th edition. Today Fantasia announced that its opening film will be Québécois zombie comedy Brain Freeze from director Julien Knafo, and revealed the ultracool poster for its 2021 edition. Following is the official press announcement. The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 25th edition as a virtual event accessible to audiences across Canada, with a dynamic program of scheduled screenings and premieres, panels, and workshops running from August 5 through August 25, 2021, once again using the leading-edge platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72. As the summer approaches, the festival will be following advice from local health authorities, with the possibility of also adding a range of flagship physical events to the lineup. Last summer’s virtual edition was a phenomenal success, screening to 85000 spectators and amassing a record amount of
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsNews
After Fantasia International Film Festival announced its tremendous first wave of films scheduled for the fest’s 24th edition next month, it has disclosed its equally amazing second wave. This year’s Fantasia will be an exciting virtual event composed of scheduled live screenings, a program library, panels, and workshops, taking place from August 20th to September 2nd, 2020. The festival will be accessible across Canada, geo-locked to the country, and will maintain unique film admittance quantities in line with the cinema experience. Feast your eyes on the announcements in Fantasia’s following press release, and check back with Horror Fuel in early August for the festival’s third and final line-up announcement. THE DARK AND THE WICKED…VERY DARK AND VERY WICKED! Writer/director Bryan Bertino (THE STRANGERS) takes rural terror up another notch in this incredibly scary shocker, previously slated to launch at the Tribeca Film Festival. On a secluded farm in a nondescript rural town, a man is slowly dying. His family gathers
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsNews
The Fantasia International Film Festival, one of the world’s premiere genre film fests, is forging ahead with its first-ever virtual edition so that Canadian movie lovers can partake of the festival’s outstanding programs despite the current pandemic and the uncertainty it brings to the world. The official press release for Fantasia’s 24th edition follows. The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 24th edition as a virtual event accessible to movie lovers across Canada, with a wild assortment of scheduled screenings, panels, and workshops taking place online from August 20 through September 2, 2020. The decision to launch a digital edition of the famed genre festival was born from Fantasia’s desire to keep the health and safety of its attendees a top priority during the current global health crisis, while still offering daring, much-needed new genre entertainment to residents of Canada and supporting the breakout filmmakers of the year. The festival’s full lineup will be announced in early August.
Continue reading →
More from Fantasia International Film Festival
Film FestivalsReviews
Writer/director Julian Knafo’s Canadian feature Brain Freeze serves up plenty of social satire and humor in its tale of a zombie outbreak on an island inhabited by affluent people who want to golf year-round despite the weather. The film is a fun offering that takes on several targets but never gets overly heavy-handed in its messages. A biotech company comes to the rescue of the rich folks with a DNA-modified solution that taints the local water supply and turns people and animals into zombies that sprout grass from their bodies. After a series of unfortunate incidents, phone-addicted teen André (Iani Bédard), baby sister in tow, crosses paths with security guard and survivalist Dan (Roy Dupuis), whose adult daughter Patricia (Marianne Fortier) has been infected with the zombie virus. André and Dan try to survive and find a way to either track down the cause of the outbreak or escape the island, while an ultra-right wing disc jockey (Simon-Olivier Fecteau) fans
Continue reading →
News
Montreal’s vaunted Fantasia International Film Festival continues its reputation of being North America’s largest fest highlighting genre-film fabulousness with this year’s 25th edition, which runs online August 5–25. Science fiction, thriller, dark comedy, action, animation, and other exciting genres are all on tap, and as always, horror is a huge part of Fantasia. Here are five of Fantasia’s exciting fright-fare features for this year’s edition, with descriptions from official press materials and the fest’s website, along with comments in italics from yours truly. STEADY YOUR GAZE FOR THE LAST THING MARY SAW Brace yourself for THE LAST THING MARY SAW, a breathtaking period occult drama set in an isolated farmhouse in the winter of 1843, where a young woman is under investigation following the mysterious death of her family’s matriarch. It soon becomes apparent that ageless forces are at play, from within and without. An eerie and hypnotic nightmare vision from debuting writer/director Edoardo Vitaletti, starring Stefanie Scott (INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsNews
As if The Fantasia International Film Festival’s first wave announcement wasn’t tantalizing enough, today’s second-wave announcement is mind blowing. With horror titles such as The Last Thing Mary Saw, All the Moons, and Hellbender (to name but a few) on tap alongside science fiction, dark comedy, thriller, and other horror-adjacent genres, Montreal’s premiere genre-film fest promises to be as can’t-miss as usual. Following is the festival’s official press announcement. The Fantasia International Film Festival will launch its 25th edition this summer as an exciting virtual event composed of scheduled screenings, on-demand library, panels, and workshops, taking place from August 5th to August 25th. The festival will be accessible across Canada, geo-locked to the country, and will maintain unique film admittance quantities in line with the cinema experience. Fantasia is thrilled to reveal a second wave of programming and will return in late July with a third and final line-up announcement, including features, virtual events, and juries. In celebration of Fantasia’s
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsNews
The Fantasia International Film Festival had a hugely successful virtual version in 2020, and the fest will be online again this year as it celebrates its 25th edition. Today Fantasia announced that its opening film will be Québécois zombie comedy Brain Freeze from director Julien Knafo, and revealed the ultracool poster for its 2021 edition. Following is the official press announcement. The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 25th edition as a virtual event accessible to audiences across Canada, with a dynamic program of scheduled screenings and premieres, panels, and workshops running from August 5 through August 25, 2021, once again using the leading-edge platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72. As the summer approaches, the festival will be following advice from local health authorities, with the possibility of also adding a range of flagship physical events to the lineup. Last summer’s virtual edition was a phenomenal success, screening to 85000 spectators and amassing a record amount of
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsNews
After Fantasia International Film Festival announced its tremendous first wave of films scheduled for the fest’s 24th edition next month, it has disclosed its equally amazing second wave. This year’s Fantasia will be an exciting virtual event composed of scheduled live screenings, a program library, panels, and workshops, taking place from August 20th to September 2nd, 2020. The festival will be accessible across Canada, geo-locked to the country, and will maintain unique film admittance quantities in line with the cinema experience. Feast your eyes on the announcements in Fantasia’s following press release, and check back with Horror Fuel in early August for the festival’s third and final line-up announcement. THE DARK AND THE WICKED…VERY DARK AND VERY WICKED! Writer/director Bryan Bertino (THE STRANGERS) takes rural terror up another notch in this incredibly scary shocker, previously slated to launch at the Tribeca Film Festival. On a secluded farm in a nondescript rural town, a man is slowly dying. His family gathers
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsNews
The Fantasia International Film Festival, one of the world’s premiere genre film fests, is forging ahead with its first-ever virtual edition so that Canadian movie lovers can partake of the festival’s outstanding programs despite the current pandemic and the uncertainty it brings to the world. The official press release for Fantasia’s 24th edition follows. The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 24th edition as a virtual event accessible to movie lovers across Canada, with a wild assortment of scheduled screenings, panels, and workshops taking place online from August 20 through September 2, 2020. The decision to launch a digital edition of the famed genre festival was born from Fantasia’s desire to keep the health and safety of its attendees a top priority during the current global health crisis, while still offering daring, much-needed new genre entertainment to residents of Canada and supporting the breakout filmmakers of the year. The festival’s full lineup will be announced in early August.
Continue reading →
