fantasia 2024

Fantasia XXVIII: Audience Awards Announced!

Last we learned the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival announced its jury awards and you can read about those announcements here. As of Wednesday, the festival closed out its correspondence with news of the Audience Awards which you can read below, and imaginably, I’m pretty happy for Yasuda-san. Read on, and make note of next year’s festival dates! THE FANTASIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES THE AUDIENCE AWARDS FOR ITS 28TH EDITION Montréal, Québec / 07 August 2024 — The 28th massive edition of The Fantasia International Film Festival came to a close on the eve of August 4th with the World Premiere of André Forcier’s period dramedy ABABOUINÉ. With record attendance and sold-out screenings that rivaled the fest’s pre-pandemic years, the long-running Canadian fest is proud to announce that it will return once again in 2025, from July 17 to August 3! Having tabulated thousands of votes from its enthusiastic […]

Fantasia XXVIII Review: Yugo Sakamoto’s BABY ASSASSINS: NICE DAYS Delivers Excitement, Emotion and Evolution

Shaun Williams

8.5 min. read Since I run a semi-popular martial arts cinema Instagram page and YouTube channel, when middle-aged men saddle into my DM’s and, with sticky fingers, pound out the phrase, “I like Japanese girls,” I like to think they’re referring to Chisato Sugimoto and Mahiro Fukagawa, the titular characters in the Baby Assassins franchise. This way, I retain a modicum of innocence and my sanity remains fully intact. Which is to say, they should be talking about Baby Assassins. In fact, everyone should be talking about Baby Assassins because they’re bloody great. As part of FANTASIA 2024, I was treated to a screener of the third film in the series; the oddly titled BABY ASSASSINS: NICE DAYS. Those not the familiar with the franchise, imagine the cuteness of anime girls combined with the mind-blowing action of the underrated Hydra. It’s a somewhat unusual mix that works so much better […]

Fantasia XXVIII: Jury Awards Announced!

Lee B. Golden III

The 28th Fantasia International Film Festival is off to its last week and the jury awards have just been handed out. I didn’t attend in-person which definitely hindered any chances of seeing a lot of the titles featured this year, though our site did cover a good deal of titles through their remote access which was fine. At any rate, any and all Fantasia 2024 coverage can be found here while the announcement for the awards listed are available below! JURY AWARDS FOR THE 28TH EDITION OF FANTASIA THE CHEVAL NOIR AWARD FOR BEST FILM AWARDED TO THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO BY MATHIEU DELAPORTE AND ALEXANDRE DE LA PATELIÈRE Montreal, July 28, 2024 – The Fantasia International Film Festival is very pleased to announce the jurwards of its 28th edition which continues until August 4 in theaters in Montreal. The awards were presented yesterday evening by the juries of each […]

Fantasia XXVIII Review: In THE TENANTS, There’s No Scarier Place Like Home

Lee B. Golden III

3 min. read Yoon Eun-kyoung’s The Tenants wasn’t in my curtain raiser for this year’s Fantasia Festival. The programming notes were certainly enough to garner my interest given the nod to the stylings of Bong Joon-ho via hit drama, Parasite in all its glory, so I had to check it out. The film is shot entirely black and white which is a challenge for me whenever it comes to the lighting in certain scenes. It’s also an issue when coupled with the pacing at times as the story moves very slow for most of the way and doesn’t really pick up until well into the first hour as the characters really begin developing. What helps though is Yoon’s vision, and seeing it executed in all its nuances and messaging, culminating the story surrounding our protagonist, Shin-dong (Kim Dea-gon) whose latest goings-on take a turn for the worse, but not before […]

Fantasia XXVIII Review: In Junichi Yasuda’s A SAMURAI IN TIME, A Hearty Slice-Of-Life Romp That Cuts Deep

Lee B. Golden III

4.5 min. read To say the Covid-19 pandemic was a challenging factor to film and TV production was an understatement. Still, with a little gumption and good faith investment, filmmakers like Junichi Yasuda could make themselves and film fans whole, which is exactly the case for his latest fish-out-of-water fantasy dramedy, A Samurai In Time, which screens for the 28th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival. Directed from a script also written by Yasuda, the first five minutes are set in late 19th century Edo, with Shogunate loyalist Shinzaemon Kasara (Makiya Yamaguchi) on the cusp of dueling a legendary young, anti-Shogunate samurai moments before being struck by lightning. Dazed and daunted by morning, Kasara awakens only to realize that not only he isn’t where he’s supposed to be, but also, when. Between getting excoriated and stared at by a jidaigeki cast and crew who think he’s a wayward background […]

Fantasia XXVIII Review: In PENALTY LOOP, Shinji Araki Certainly Throws You For One

Lee B. Golden III

4.5 min. read Two of my favorite films are Kim Jee-woon’s I Saw The Devil, and Michael Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. One film is a blistering revenge thriller, and the other is a profound essay on post-breakup grief with a sci-fi twist. To that end, the former bares a slightly more suitable likeness to director Shinji Araki’s new film, Penalty Loop, a film that nonetheless still takes after the others with certain elements in the mix. That could be a spoiler in some ways, in which case, I won’t get too detailed into matters of the how. I will say that it is already well known where the film’s protagonist, Jun (Ryuya Wakaba), stands in the midst of everything that occurs as the story involves him taking revenge on Mizoguchi (Yusuke Iseya), the man who murdered his girlfriend, Yui (Rio Yamashita). What’s also made clear is that […]

Fantasia XXVIII Review: In CARNAGE FOR CHRISTMAS, Confronting Holiday Horror With A Fierce Affront!

Lee B. Golden III

3 min. read Here’s another rare venture into horror for this site: A trans thriller about a true crime podcaster who returns to her hometown for the first time since transitioning, only to be brought face to face with a vicious killer on the loose and a police force too incompetent to do something about it. Indeed, that’s what rising directing talent Alice Maio Mackay proffers in Carnage For Christmas, a horror fable set against a backdrop of malaise-induced Christmas jingles and decour, and a mystique surrounding just who is killing people and why. It’s all prefaced by the tale of a similarly violent revenge crime as narrated by Lola (Jeremy Moineau) whose show is a hit with more people than she realizes. This fact is made clearer as the film progresses, wherein the first hour with Lola’s long-awaited return to the town of Purdan and reunion with sister, Danielle […]

Fantasia XXVIII Review: In THE OLD MAN AND THE DEMON SWORD, Fábio Powers Has The Power!

Lee B. Golden III

3 min. read I’m new to Fábio Powers. His latest, The Old Man And The Demon Sword is not something I would have expected to see take a banner spot on a major festivals, but this is the case per its World Premiere listing for Fantasia Festival. Additionally, to say that it’s “different” film would almost certainly be understating its worthwhile significance. Narratively, The Old Man And The Demon Sword is just over an hour long and bodes nothing short of a bonkers, shoestring budget affair with lowbrow special effects overall student film-level production value juxtaposed to the discerning performances of its cast. What Powers holds back on for most of the way is that this is entirely intentional in its execution, particularly given what happens in the last several minutes. The first 95% percent of the film is all camp all the time as we follow the trajectory of […]

Fantasia XXVIII Review: In BRAVE CITIZEN, Shin Hae-Sun Takes Bullies To School!

Lee B. Golden III

6 min. read It’s been a while since I had my eyes on films like Only The Strong, any of The Substitute films, or 80s romps like 3 O’Clock High and Lean On Me. Those are precisely the kinds of films you watch if you’re into stories of protagonists tackling insurmountable circumstances on school campus involving students, teen bullies and other criminal elements, and even films like Donnie Yen’s Big Brother and Ryoo Seung-wan’s Veteran measure up here. Suffice it to say, this is where director Park Jin-pyo gets to test the waters with Brave Citizen, adapted for the screen and based on Kim Jung-hyun’s 2014 webtoon. The setting is at Moonyung High, billed as “an exemplary anti-bullying school” where the environment is as positive and forthright as the student body… well, at least to the unknowing public and foolhearty staff. Deep in the trenches is a version of the […]

Fantasia XXVIII: Fifteen Titles You Don’t Wanna Miss For The 28th Edition!

Lee B. Golden III

It’s time, friends – time to raise the curtain on this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival now that the full line-up is here in all it’s glory. You’re welcome to tap here, here, and here for all the waves of the last few months. In the meantime, I’m throwing my hat in for at least fifteen of these films I think folks coming to the festival should check out. Some of these titles were spotted throughout the markets in the past year. I think a few of them were reviewed outside of the ones I know were. Xu Haofeng and Xu Junfeng’s 100 Yards is an obvious one which I know our own Shaun Williams is pining to see this year following its U.S. acquisition last year. I’m also curious to see director Junichi Yasuda’s A Samurai In Time which was shot at Toei Studios and hands actor Makiya Yamaguchi […]

Louis Koo and Sammo Hung - Twilight of the Warriors - Walled In

Fantasia XXVIII: TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED-IN, Jackie Chan’s A LEGEND, And More Revealed In The Third Wave!

Lee B. Golden III

I have a lot of movie viewing and writing to do this summer, and my remote summer film festival itinerary has all but assured this. And, you can believe Fantasia is part of the fun that comes with what I do. The third wave is finally here, completing the full-line up for its 28th edition which launches July 18. Read the anmouncement below and check out the official website for more info, and stay tuned for our next piece rasing the curtain as the festival nears! FANTASIA’S 28th EDITION AWARDS FILMMAKER MIKE FLANAGAN, CLOSES WITH THE WORLD PREMIERE OF ANDRÉ FORCIER’S ABABOUINÉ Eugene Kotlyarenko’s THE CODE, Jay Song’s 4PM, Steven Kostanski’s FRANKIE FREAKO, Pedro Kos’ IN OUR BLOOD, Koji Shiraishi’s HOUSE OF SAYURI, Jefferey St. Jules’ THE SILENT PLANET, Shen Jie’s THE UMBRELLA FAIRY, Jérémy Clapin’s MEANWHILE ON EARTH, and Stanley Tong’s A LEGEND are among the third wave titles […]

Fantasia XXVIII: Swords, Sorcery, Salutations And More In The Second Wave!

Lee B. Golden III

Fantasia Festival 2024 is looking better and better. The second wave is here listing a new raft of titles to shore up excitement from folks looking to attend the twenty-eighth edition. The 2nd wave news also enlists a Canadian Trailblazer award for Vincenzo Natali whose 1997 debut, Cube, is getting a 4K-restored world premiere courtesy of the Canadian Film Center. As for the rest of the announcement, take a gander at the gallery below and additonal title announcement beneath. . Oof, this curtain raiser is gonna be a doozy. Check it all out below, and catch up on the first wave if need be, and do stay tuned for the full line-up and then some! ADDITIONAL SECOND WAVE TITLES: 100 YARDS (China) – Dirs. Xu Haofeng and Xu Junfeng Family secrets, demimonde politics, and romantic entanglements complicate the rivalry between two skilled martial artists in the 1920s. The latest from […]

Fantasia XXVIII: Death Matches, Time Traveling Samurai, Supernatural Thrills And More In The First Wave!

Lee B. Golden III

It’s early May! That means promo for the 28th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival is about to pick up some serious steam. It also means the first wave is here for anyone who might be already clearing their schedules for this summer’s event! There’s already some genre delights worth underscoring among the seventeen now made public. I already see myself making a list of all the titles I’d like to catch this year during the festival if possible. Indeed I won’t be able to see all of them, which is usually the case, but not for lack of trying! The 28th edition of Fantasia runs from July 18 through August 4 with screenings at the Concordia Hall and J.A. de Sève cinemas. Additional screens and events will be available at Montreal’s Cinémathèque québécoise and Cinéma du Musée. Discover the first wave in the gallery below, which includes this […]