25th Fantasia festival
August 5 to 25
THE SUICIDE SQUAD directed by James Gunn
With Margot Robbie, Idris Elba and Jared Leto
Special screening on August 4th at the Imperial Cinema
The Fantasia International Film Festival is very pleased to announce that it will premiere THE SUICIDE SQUAD, a highly anticipated new film from the DC Comics franchise, as part of its 25th edition on August 4, during an evening event at the Imperial Cinema. In addition, Fantasia is also pleased to announce a new wave of titles that will fill out the programming of its 25th edition, which will take place, online and in theaters, from August 5 to 25.
THE SUICIDE SQUAD screening at the Imperial Cinema before Fantasia’s official opening
As part of the festivities that will surround its 25th anniversary, Fantasia will present THE SUICIDE SQUAD on August 4th at the Imperial Cinema, which hosted the Festival in its early days, before its theatrical release on August 6th. Produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, this new supervillain film from the DC Comics franchise stars Margot Robbie, Idris Elba and Jared Leto. Directed by James Gunn, a long-time friend of the Festival where he notably presented THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY in 2014, THE SUICIDE SQUAD features supervillains Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena) and a group of inmates from Belle Reve Prison who join the secretive and shady Task Force X before being catapulted to the isolated enemy-infested island of Corto Maltese.
A new wave of titles expected
In addition, Fantasia announced a new wave of titles will be added to the programming of its 25th anniversary. Among the feature films presented, let us highlight a strong presence of films from the selection of the 2021 edition of the Sundance festival including WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR, a narrative directed by Jane Schoenbrun who offers a dive into the heart of web culture and adolescence; Belgian comedy MOTHER SCHMUKERS directed by Lenny and Harpo Guit with Mathieu Amalric; as well as the horror action film PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND by the legendary Japanese director Sion Sono with Nicolas Cage and Sofia Boutella; let’s also mention DREAMS ON FIRE by Quebec filmmaker Philippe McKie, based in Japan, who offers a dive into the heart of the Japanese alternative cultural scene; THE BETA TEST, the 3rd feature film by Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe after the acclaimed THUNDER ROAD in 2019; the Belgian horror comedy HOTEL POSEIDON by Stefan Lemous; the animated film POUPELLE OF CHIMNEY TOWN directed by Yusuke Hirota and produced by STUDIO4ºC (CHILDREN OF THE SEA, presented at Fantasia in 2020). Finally, festival-goers will also be able to discover the documentary WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED: A HISTORY OF FOLK by critic and genre film specialist Kier-La Janisse: presented at South by Southwest in 2021 where it won the audience award, the documentary looks back at the history of the folklore elements of horror cinema through more than 200 interviews with, among others, filmmakers Robbert Eggers and Ari Aster.
Fantasia announced a few weeks ago that it is the Quebec film BRAIN FREEZE by Julien Knafo, which will open its 25th edition with the film’s world premiere on August 5, an apocalyptic zombie film starring Roy Dupuis, Iani Bédard, Marianne Fortier, Simon-Olivier Fecteau, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé, Stéphane Crête, Claudia Ferri, Louis-Georges Girard, Mahée Paiement, Mylène Mackay and Marie-Lyne Joncas. Another Quebec title already announced for this 25th edition: the world premiere of MARIA, Alec Pronovost’s first feature film, starring Mariana Mazza, Florence Longpré, Alice Pascual and Isabel dos Santos.
Several other titles were announced today. Go to fantasiafestival.com for the full list. The final line-up of the festival will be announced during the month of July. Ticket sales will begin at the same time.
