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John Cho stars in SEARCHING – directed by Aneesh Chaganty. Photo Courtesy of Screen Gems[/caption]
The Fantasia International Film Festival wrapped its 2018 edition on August 2nd with the sold out Canadian Premiere of Panos Cosmatos’
MANDY, and announced its final batch of awards, including the Audience Awards. The 23rd edition of Fantasia will occur July 11th through August 1st, 2019.
THE AUDIENCE AWARDS
Best Asian Feature
Gold – 1987: When the Day Comes (South Korea, Dir: Jang Joon-hwan)
Silver – One Cut of the Dead (Japan, Dir: Shinichiro Ueda)
Bronze – The Travelling Cat Chronicles (Japan, Dir: Kôichirô Miki)
Best European, North-South American Feature
Gold – Terrified (Argentina, Dir: Demián Rugna)
Silver – Heavy Trip (Belgium-Finland-Norway, Dir: Jukka Vidgren, Juuso Laatio)
Bronze – Searching (USA, Dir: Aneesh Chaganty)
Best Canadian or Quebec Feature
Gold – Montreal Dead End (Canada, Dir: Various)
Silver – Le Nid (Canada, Dir: David Paradis)
Bronze – Knuckleball (Canada, Dir: Michael Peterson)
Best Animated Feature
Gold – Penguin Highway (Japan, Dir: Hiroyasu Ishida)
Silver – Crisis Jung (France, Dir: Baptiste Gaubert, Jérémie Hoarau)
Bronze – Violence Voyager (Japan, Dir: Ujicha)
Guru Prize – Best Action Feature
Gold – Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires (UK, Dir: Mike Mort)
Silver – The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion (South Korea, Dir: Park Hoon-jung)
Bronze – Believer (South Korea, Dir: Lee Hae-young)
Best Documentary
Gold – Boiled Angels: The Trial of Mike Diana (USA, Dir: Frank Henenlotter)
Best Short Film
Gold – Fire In Cardboard City (New Zealand, Dir: Phil Brough)
Silver – Eau de Jésus (Canada, Dir: Mat Rich)
Bronze – Entropia (USA, Dir: Marinah Janello)
THE ACTION! JURY AWARD
The Action! jury was comprised of Alain Moussi, Sebastien Landry, and Laurence “Baz” Morais.
WINNER: Believer (South Korea, Dir: Lee Hae-young)
Jury statement: “A gripping story supported by credible characters, convincingly performed. The direction is flawless, with action scenes in the service of the story, and not the other way around. For these reasons, BELIEVER enters the select club of excellent Korean revenge movies… with a twist.”
Special Mention: Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires (UK, Dir: Mike Mort)
“Technically flawless, Chuck Steel has the merit of totally owning its DNA: a raw and explosive animated film that never wimps out. A motorcycle ride at 200 km/hour, on a gravel road. Thanks, Chuck Steel!”
THE SÉQUENCES JURY PRIZE
The Séquences jury was comprised of Donato Totaro (President), Jules Couturier, and Pascal Grenier.
WINNER: Bodied (USA, Dir: Joseph Kahn)
“For its exciting re-invention of the sports film as a performance art that breathlessly captures the kinetic energy, tension, danger and social power (and fun) of battle rap.”
THE L’ÉCRAN FANTASTIQUE AWARD
The L’Écran Fantastique Award for the 2018 edition of Fantasia goes to to Mari Okada’s Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms.
This distinction is conferred on the film for the high quality of its animation, its exceptional sense of staging, at once epic and intimate, and the universal depth of its script, questioning notions surrounding parent-child relationships, and this, in a context both fantastic in the universe it depicts, and sharply realist in its humanist discourse.
The Prix L’Écran Fantastique rewards a fantasy, horror, or sci-fi feature film produced in 2017 or 2018, unreleased in France and presented as part of Fantasia. The prize consists of a two- to four-page report confirmed for publication in an upcoming edition (with mention of the honorary title awarded as part of Fantasia), and a full page of free publicity during the release of the film in theatres in France.
L’Écran Fantastique, which has been in existence for 49 years, is distributed in Europe and Quebec. Its head office is in Paris. Alain Schlockoff is the editor and Yves Rivard, the Canadian correspondent.
MY FIRST FANTASIA AWARD
The MFF jury was comprised of Amy Lachapelle, Adèle Fortier, Félix Primeau, and Corinne Raymond
Gold – Wishing Box (USA, Dir:Lizzie Zhang)
Silver – Made in France (France, Dir: Various)
Bronze – Drôle de poisson (France-Switzerland, Dir:Krishna Chandran A. Nair)
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