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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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Caleb Emery, Cory Grüter-Andrew, Judah Lewis and Graham Verchere appear in Summer of ’84 by Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann Whissell[/caption]
The Fantasia International Film Festival returns July 12 to August 1, 2018, to celebrate its 22nd edition; and confirmed the first two features from Quebec filmmakers. Talented Montreal illustrator Donald Caron, who has crafted emblematic imagery for the event since 2011, has designed the whimsical poster for the festival’s 2018 edition.
First up, Fantasia will showcase the Canadian Premiere of RKSS’s acclaimed Sundance smash SUMMER OF ’84 as a gala Opening Weekend event. The sophomore film from the adored Quebec filmmaking trio of François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissel, follows up their celebrated 2015 feature debut TURBO KID (itself born out of Frontieres, Fantasia’s International Co-Production Market). , A tense, gripping thriller set in mid-80s suburbia, SUMMER OF ’84 stars Mad Men’s Rich Sommer and stylistically displays an entirely different approach from what RKSS have done to date.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B46J7fY4PY
“François, Anouk, and Yoann are absolute family to us here,” said Fantasia Co-Director Mitch Davis. “In many ways, they’re a spearhead of a generation for Quebec fantastic filmmakers who grew up at Fantasia and are now stunning the world. We’ve been showing their work since 2008 and we’re thrilled to be presenting SUMMER OF ’84’s Canadian Premiere. We adore everything that it represents, while showing RKSS’ striking versatility as storytellers and marking their first time directing a third party screenplay. They’ve knocked it hard out of the park. There’s nothing they can’t do.”
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MONTREAL DEAD END[/caption]
Fantasia 2018 will also showcase the North American premiere of the omnibus feature MONTREAL DEAD END, hot off a roaring World Premiere in Belgium this past weekend at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. Directed by no fewer than 18 emerging filmmakers, including Rémi Fréchette, Eve Dufaud, Jimmy Pettigrew, and Priscillia Piccoli, MONTREAL DEAD END is more than a film – it is the manifesto of a rising generation of filmmakers who loudly and proudly shout their love and their desire to make cutting-edge genre cinema in Quebec.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTCyFl0Xlyc