By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The fans have spoken, and their favorites from the Montreal genre fest have been revealed.
The Fantasia International Film Festival has announced the winners in multiple Audience Award categories for its 27th edition, which concluded last week. The victors are:
Best International Feature
Gold: TALK TO ME (pictured; Australia, d. Danny & Michael Philippou)
Silver: LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL (USA, d. Cameron & Colin Cairns)
Bronze: HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS (USA, d. Mike Cheslik)
Best Asian Feature
Gold: THE ROUNDUP: NO WAY OUT (South Korea, d. Lee Sang-yong)
Silver: RIVER (Japan, d. Junta Yamaguchi)
Bronze: PHANTOM (South Korea, d. Lee Hae-young)
Best Animated Feature
Gold: KURAYUKABA (Japan, d. Shigeyoshi Tsukahara)
Silver: THE CONCIERGE (Japan, d. Yoshimi Itazu)
Bronze: THE FIRST SLAM DUNK (Japan, d. Takehiko Inoue)
The DGC Audience Award for Best Canadian Film (Narrative or Documentary)
SATAN WANTS YOU (Canada, d. Steve J. Adams & Sean Horlor)
The Fantasia 2023 Audience Award kicks off the inaugural DGC Award for Best Canadian Feature or Documentary! As a sponsor for the Septentrion Shadows section, the Director’s Guild of Canada will award the best Canadian film or documentary by a Canadian director a cash prize of $2500 as voted by our audiences. Congratulations to SATAN WANTS YOU as the 2023 DGC Recipient.
Best International Short
Gold: GET AWAY (USA, d. Michael Gabriele)
Silver: LOLLYGAG (USA, d. Tij D’oyen)
Bronze: DEAD ENDERS (USA, d. Fidel Ruiz-Healy & Tyler Walker)
Best Asian Short
Gold: FOREIGNERS ONLY (Bangladesh, d. Nuhash Humayun)
Silver: SHOULDER (South Korea, d. Kim Jaehyung)
Bronze: NIGHT OF THE BRIDE (India, d. Virat Pal)
Best Animated Short
Gold: HERMIT ISLAND (Hungary, d. Gábor Mariai)
Silver: ARCHITECT A (South Korea, d. Lee Jonghoon)
Bronze: JELLY (Canada, d. Robin Budd)
Best Canadian Feature
Gold: THE SACRIFICE GAME (Canada, d. Jenn Wexler)
Silver: MY ANIMAL (Canada, d. Jacqueline Castel)
Bronze: DAUGHTER OF THE SUN (Canada/USA, d. Ryan Ward)
Best Canadian Short
Gold: WHITE NOISE (Canada, d. Tamara Scherbak)
Tied for Silver: COLIN CARVEY’S LONG HALLOWEEN (Canada, d. Aaron Peacock)
Tied for Silver: *666 (Canada, d. Abby Falvo)
Tied for Bronze: #BOSSBABE (Canada, d. Kassy Gascho)
Tied for Bronze: DEMON BOX (Canada, d. Sean Wainsteim)
Best Quebec Feature
Gold: WE ARE ZOMBIES (Canada, d. François Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell)
Silver: LES CHAMBRES ROUGES (Canada, d. Pascal Plante)
Bronze: RICHELIEU (Canada, d. Pier-Philippe Chevigny)
Best Quebec Short
Gold: SACRED PREMONITIONS OF THE CELESTIAL LIGHT (Canada, d. Vic Caputo)
Silver: IF (Canada, d.Didier Charette)
Bronze: BEAT IT (Canada, d. Thomas Lorber)
Additional jury awards:
Prix L’écran fantastique
RESTORE POINT (Czech Republic, d. Robert Hloz)
Prix mon premier fantasia – Shorts
Poulain D’or: LA COLLINE AUX CAILLOUX (Sweden/France d. Marjolaine Perreten)
Poulain D’argent: QUE SE PASSE-T-IL AVEC LE CIEL? (Spain, d. Irene Iborra)
Poulain de bronze: LOST IN THE LAUNDRY (Canada, d. Salem Preusse)
Special Mention: BEDTIME STORY (Mexico/Russia, d. Nadia Samarina)
Congratulations to all the winners! The dates of the 28th Fantasia festival will be announced in the coming months.
