FANTASIA UNVEILS A THIRD AND FINAL WAVE OF TITLES
NEXT SOHEE BY JULY JUNG PRESENTED AT THE CLOSING
26th EDITION FROM JULY 14 TO AUGUST 3, 2022
The Fantasia International Film Festival, whose 26th edition will take place from July 14 to August 3, 2022, has announced the third wave of titles that will finalize its programming. It is NEXT SOHEE by South Korean director July Jung and starring Doona Bae that will close the festival in its North American premiere on August 3rd. Composed of more than 130 feature films and 200 short films, the complete selection and schedule of screenings are available online now, on the festival’s website. Finally, Fantasia has announced the members of its juries as well as the titles in the running for the Cheval Noir prize.
NEXT SOHEE by July Jung with Doona Bae presented at the closing
The feature film NEXT SOHEE by South Korea’s July Jung will close this edition on August 3 at Concordia University’s Hall Theatre, which is its North American premiere. Presented during the Critics’ Week of the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, this social drama draws the portrait of a student working in a call centre and a tenacious and determined inspector, played by actress Doona Bae (Cloud Atlas, Sense8).
Many premieres
Fantasia will present many premieres this year starting with COUPEZ! by Michel Hazanavicius in its North American premiere. Presented at the opening of the Cannes Film Festival last May, this zombie comedy stars Romain Duris (Dans la brume) and Bérénice Bejo (The Artist). On the evening of the closing, festival-goers will also be able to discover in a special presentation the comedy BODIES, BODIES, BODIES by Halina Rejin starring Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give), Maria Bakalova (Borat) and comedian Pete Davidson (Saturday Night live). Other films not to be missed include the Canadian premiere of DARK GLASSES, the latest achievement by the master of Italian cinema, Dario Argento: for his big return behind the camera after 10 years of absence, the filmmaker directs his daughter, Asia Argento, in a chase between a murderer and a blind prostitute in search of revenge.
During the three weeks of the festival, the public will also be able to see several Canadian titles in premiere among which the science fiction comedy RELAX I’M FROM THE FUTURE, Luke Higginson’s first feature film directed by Rhys Darby (What do we do in the shadows); DARK NATURE by Berkley Brady, shot in the Rockies and carried by a solid cast composed of Hannah Emily Anderson (X-Men: Dark Phoenix) and Madison Walch (Don’t say its name) or, again, THE FIGHT MACHINE, adaptation of the novel The Fighter by Craig Davidson and directed by Andrew T. Hunt in which two young men who are separated by everything question their family obligations and toxic masculinity. Other expected titles include HUESERA, the first film directed by Mexican Michelle Garza Cervera, who delivers a haunting vision of motherhood in this feature film noticed at the last Tribeca Film Festival; as well as VESPER, an ecological science-fiction thriller presented in North American premiere whose direction is signed by the Franco-Lithuanian duo Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper.
Juries and competition
The films in the Cheval Noir competition
Fantasia’s programmers are very pleased to unveil the films that will be part of the Cheval Noir competition:
THE ARTIFICE GIRL – United States: Franklin Ritch
CONVENIENCE STORY – Japan: Satoshi Miki
CUT! (FINAL CUT) – France: Michel Hazanavicius
DETECTIVE VS SLEUTHS – Hong Kong: Wai Ka-Fai
THE ELDERLY – Spain: Raul Cerezo & Fernando Gonzalez Gomez
THE FISH TALE – Japan: Shuichi Okita
THE HARBINGER – United States: Andy Mitton
HOUSE OF DARKNESS – United States: Neil LaBute
MEGALOMANIAC – Belgium: Karim Ouelhaj
MY BROKEN MARIKO – Japan: Yuki Tanada
NEXT SOHEE – South Korea: July Jung
POLARIS – Canada: KC Carthew
POPRAN – Japan: Shinichiro Ueda
SPECIAL DELIVERY – South Korea: Park Dae-min
Here is the composition of the juries of this 26th edition of Fantasia:
BLACK HORSE COMPETITION
C. Robert Cargill (President of the jury) – United States – Writer, Author, Critic, Co-founder of “CROOKED HIGHWAY”
Charles Bramesco – United States – Author, Critic
Elza Kephart – Canada – Director, Screenwriter
Maitland McDonagh – USA – Author, Critic, Editor, Founder of “120 Days Books”
Heather O’Neill – Canada – Author, Essayist
“NEW FLESH” AWARD FOR THE FIRST FILM
Jenn Wexler (President of the Jury) – United States – Director, screenwriter, producer
Justyna Koronkiewicz – Poland – Sales Agent, Media Move
Eric Lavallée – Canada – Producer, Critic, Founder of Ioncinema
Tim Molloy – United States – Journalist, Critic, Editor of “MovieMaker Magazine”
Katie Rife – United States – Writer, Critic, Programmer
SHORT FILM COMPETITION
Adam Koehler (President of the Jury) – United States – Manager, Acquisitions and Productions, IFC Films
Valerie Barnhart – United States – Director, Animator, Screenwriter, Visual Artist
Céline Gobert – Canada – Critic, Journalist
David Gregory – USA – Director, Producer, Co-founder / CEO of Severin Films
Michael Peterson – Canada – Director, Writer, Producer
AQCC CAMERA LUCIDA COMPETITION
Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma du Québec
Samy Benammar – Canada – Critic, Photographer, Director
Pascal Grenier – Canada – Critic, Programmer
Jérôme Michaud – Canada – Critic, Programmer
AXIS COMPETITION FOR BEST ANIMATED FILM
Mina Lee (Jury Chair) – Canada – Studio Manager and Content Specialist, E.D. Films
Stephen Melagrano – United States – Animation Leader
Jay Stephens – Canada – Comic book writer, animator
Fantasia announced a few weeks ago that the film POLARIS by the Canadian KC Carthew will open this 26th edition on July 14, 2022. In addition, Fantasia will present an honorary career award this year to Hong Kong director John Woo, who will lead a master class on July 16 at the Museum’s Cinema.
The full list of films in the 2022 programme is available at https://fantasiafestival.com/. The 26th edition of the International Film Festival Fantasy will take place from July 14 to August 3, 2022 in Montreal. Moviegoers are invited to purchase their tickets online on the festival website from 9 July.
