25nd Fantasia festival
From 5 to 25 August
Les Fantastiques Weekends du cinéma québécois back in theaters and online!
The Festival International de Films Fantasia is pleased to unveil the programming of the Fantastiques Weekends du cinéma québécois which will take place as part of its 25nd edition, from 5 to 25 August, for a fifteenth consecutive year. The section aims to promote Quebec’s talents by highlighting strong voices and unique aesthetic signatures, giving a great place to genre cinema. Les Fantastiques Week-ends will present 5 premieres of Quebec feature films, more than 90 short films, as well as the Quebec feature film FINALEMENT… by Richard Martin (1971) restored by Éléphant. The titles of the selection will be presented in theaters, online and outdoors at the Place de la Paix, for short film programs. In addition, once again this year, a jury will award nearly $40,000 in cash and services to short film filmmakers from the selection.
5 feature films presented in theaters
A few weeks ago Fantasia announced that it is the Quebec film BRAIN FREEZE by Julien Knafo that will open its 25nd 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 edition: the world premiere of MARIA, Alec Pronovost’s first feature film, starring Mariana Mazza, Florence Longpré, Alice Pascual and Isabel dos Santos. Other Quebec feature films to highlight include the documentary WE ARE THE MENSTRUATORS directed by Nadia G, known for her cooking shows such as Bitchin’ Kitchen. This autobiographical documentary tells how Nadia G dropped her shows, in order to make a career in music… for better and for worse for those around her! Other films to highlight include OPÉRATION LUCHADOR by Alain Vézina, a fake documentary that traces the journey of the Golden Angel, a Mexican wrestler who allegedly participated in the fall of the Third Reich; as well as the dance film DREAMS ON FIRE, directed by Philippe McKie, a Montreal expatriate living in Japan for a decade.
Short films by emerging filmmakers
This year the Fantastiques Week-Ends will present 3 sessions of short programs online but also at the Cinéma du Musée as well as outdoors, at the Place de la Paix, on Boulevard Saint-Laurent. The awards ceremony will take place live on Fantasia’s social networks, as it did last year. The public will be able to discover the short films LE DANGER EN FACE by Alexis Chartrand presented at the Slamdance Festival or LES GRANDES CLAQUES by Annie St-Pierre presented at Sundance earlier this year. In addition, les Fantastiques Week-ends du cinéma québécois are also very pleased to renew their partnership with the animation department of the Cégep du Vieux Montréal, which will present 2 very short 1-minute films as an introduction to each short film program presented in theatres.
In addition, Fantasia will once again reward local talent with cash, equipment loan and visibility grants worth $40,000 thanks to the support of its valued partners: MELS, the Association québécoise de la production médiatique (AQPM), the Association des Réalisateurs et Réalisatrices du Québec (ARRQ), Les editors et monteuses de cinéma canadien / Canadian Cinema Editors (CCE), Entreprises Vidéo Service (EVS), MAtv, SLA Location and Spira.
Two free online activities
Two free online activities will also enhance the selection of Fantastiques Weekends: a round table, LES SÉRIES DE GENRE AU QUÉBEC: ÉTATS DES LIEUX ET PERSPECTIVES moderated by Jean-Francois Rivard (C’est comme ça que je t’aime), Stéphane Lapointe (Faits divers), Patrick Senécal (author and screenwriter in film and television), Éric Piccoli (Projet M)and Maude Morissette (La Dump);as well as the TURBO KID Panel: DU FILM AU JEU VIDÉO which will focus on the adaptation of the universe of the RKSS work into video games. Remember that Turbo Kid was the very first film to emerge from FRONTIÈRES, Fantasia’s international co-production market. Artisans from the Montreal studio Outerminds, the creators of the original film, François Simard, Anouk Whissell & Yoann-Karl Whissell and members of the musical group Le Matos will take part in this online discussion.
Finally, the Fantastiques Weekends are very pleased to unveil the poster for their 15th edition. Created by the artist Philippe Tremblay, the poster shows the character of Sasquatch, whom we see sitting on his sofa in front of his TV last year, now back outside, tickets in hand, ready to return to the cinemas!
