By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The full lineup for Montreal’s 2019 Fantasia International Film Festival has been revealed, and it’s a doozy. Read on for the info on the movies and more!
For its 23rd edition, which runs July 11-August 1, Fantasia is showcasing a slew of premiering features along with numerous genre-centric events (among them—full disclosure—a couple involving yours truly). It opens with the world premiere of SADAKO (pictured), director Hideo Nakata’s return to the RINGU milieu where he first made his fame, and closes with the Canadian premiere of the Kazuki Nakashima’s aggressive anime actioner PROMARE. In between, the films joining those already announced here include:
- The world premiere of debuting director Matthew Pope’s Southern Gothic neo-noir BLOOD ON HER NAME, starring Bethany Anne Lind, Will Patton and Elisabeth Rohm
- The world premiere of Filipino filmmaker Adolfo Alix Jr.’s MYSTERY OF THE NIGHT, the latest screen telling of the Aswang legend
- The North American premiere of the sci-fi chiller VIVARIUM, from rising Irish filmmaker Lorcan Finnegan
- The world premiere of writer/director Hirotaka Adachi’s supernatural frightfest STARE
- The world premiere of 1BR, a new exploration of the terrors of apartment living from first-time writer/director David Marmor
- A special advance screening of A GOOD WOMAN IS HARD TO FIND, a vengeance thriller from director Abner Pastoll, starring Sarah Bolger
- The world premiere of Shaun Piccinino’s bare-fisted brawling opus AMERICAN FIGHTER
- The North American premiere of Yuya Ishii’s heartwarming manga adaptation ALMOST A MIRACLE
- The North American premiere of Gabriela Amaral Almeida’s THE FATHER’S SHADOW, a horror-tinged social drama set in Brazil
- The world premiere of writer/director Zack Gayne’s HOMEWRECKER, a psychochiller starring STARRY EYES’ Alex Essoe
- The international premiere of Teruo Noguchi and Kiyoshi Yamamoto’s on-line gaming drama BRAVE FATHER ONLINE—OUR STORY OF FINAL FANTASY XIV
- The world premiere of Jordan Graham’s wintry minimalist chiller SATOR
- The Canadian premiere of actor Kim Yoon-seok’s directorial debut, the coming-of-age film ANOTHER CHILD
- The Canadian premiere of KINGDOM, a historical fantasy/actioner from Fantasia regular Shinsuke Sato (BLEACH, INUYASHIKI)
- The North American premiere of DREADOUT, based on the video game and written/directed by Kimo Stamboel of the Mo Brothers (MACABRE)
- A series of boundary-pushing features in the Camera Lucida section, including Blaise Harrison’s LES PARTICULES, Nao Yoshigai’s NAO YOSHIGAI X 4: OF BLOOMING FLOWERS AND DEAD SKIN, Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s NIGHT GOD, Sho Miyake’s AND YOUR BIRD CAN SING, Armand Rovira and Saida Benzal’s LETTERS TO PAUL MORRISSEY, Johannes Nyholm’s KOKO-DI KOKO-DA and Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel’s JESSICA FOREVER
- Indie discoveries in the Fantasia Underground section: John Adams, Toby Poser and Zelda Poser’s THE DEEPER YOU DIG, Onur Tukel’s BLACK MAGIC FOR WHITE BOYS, Chris Bavota and Lee Paula Springer’s DEAD DICKS and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews’ LAKE MICHIGAN MONSTER
- A trio of Documentaries from the Edge: Kim Longinotto’s SHOOTING THE MAFIA, Sandy K. Boone’s J.R. “BOB” DOBBS AND THE CHURCH OF THE SUBGENIUS and David Gregory’s BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE AND GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON
- Anime features in the Axis section: Masaaki Yuasa’s RIDE YOUR WAVE, Keiichi Hara’s THE WONDERLAND, Yuhei Sakuragi’s THE RELATIVE WORLDS, Fuminori Kizaki’s HUMAN LOST, Atsuya Uki’s CENCOROLL CONNECT and Yutaka Yamamoto’s TWILIGHT
- The international premiere of GARO—UNDER THE MOONBOW, the latest from veteran Japanese fantasy filmmaker Keita Amemiya, who will be on hand to host a Fantasia Master Class
Other live events include:
- Fantasia’s first Canadian Trailblazer Award ceremony, honoring Ted Kotcheff, director of WAKE IN FRIGHT, FIRST BLOOD and many more
- “Shudder Presents Joe Bob Briggs Live: How Rednecks Saved Hollywood,” a live performance/media presentation by the beloved horror host
- “Edward R. Pressman: Live in Conversation,” an on-stage interview by critic/professor Donato Totaro with the veteran producer
- “Returning Life to the Departed: Adventures in Genre Cinema Restoration,” with Severin Films’ David Gregory, Arrow Video’s Nora Mehenni and Vinegar Syndrome’s Joe Rubin
And two presentations of my own: A presentation and book launch of AD ASTRA, 1984 Publishing’s follow-up to AD NAUSEAM, featuring hundreds of newspaper ads for science fiction and fantasy films of the 1980s-1990s, and “Horror Express: The Fantasia Edition,” in which Kier-La Janisse and myself conduct a bus tour of legendary Montreal horror-film locations!
There’s lots more, so head over to Fantasia’s official website for all the titles and other info!
