The Fantasia International Film Festival will celebrate its upcoming 28th edition with an electrifying program of screenings, workshops, and launch events running from July 18 through August 4, 2024, returning to the Concordia Hall and J.A. de Sève cinemas, with additional screens and events at Montréal’s Cinémathèque Québécoise, Cinéma du Musée, Théâtre Plaza, and BBAM! Gallery. Fantasia today announced its final wave of titles, along with the 2024 Career Achievement Award, which will be presented to Mike Flanagan.

2024 CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: MIKE FLANAGAN
For his imaginative and heartfelt horror visions; boundary-breaking achievements in making soulful, character-driven genre television commercially viable without compromises; and the extraordinary work he’s done in popularizing landmark authors to a new generation, Fantasia will be awarding their 2024 Cheval Noir career award to U.S. filmmaker Mike Flanagan.
 
Flanagan is an artist Fantasia has adored since his first visit to the festival for the Canadian premiere of his haunting 2011 indie debut ABSENTIA, a foundational feature that contains all the core elements that have come to define the artist’s work: a unique perspective on occult possibilities, engrossing slow-burn storytelling approaches, inventively cinematic aesthetics, and above all else – deeply compassionate horror narratives built on agonizingly personal themes of loss. These elements have been consistent throughout his career, regardless of whether the work is a standalone creation or an adaptation of classic literature.
 
While it may strike some as odd to bestow an achievement award to an artist who’s almost certainly not yet reached a mid-career place, Flanagan has been so extraordinarily prolific and consistently brilliant in his output that the filmmaker has already accomplished several lifetimes of creation.
 
Beyond being one of the most inspired storytelling voices of his generation, Mike Flanagan is a bona fide, culture-shifting master of horror, having changed the landscape of the genre since emerging on the scene in 2011. Since then, Flanagan has brought audiences such modern classics as OCULUS (2013), HUSH (2016), BEFORE I WAKE (2016), OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL (2016), GERALD’S GAME (2017), and DOCTOR SLEEP (2019), as well as the Netflix miniseries events The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Midnight Mass (2021), The Midnight Club (2022), and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023). His next feature is the forthcoming Stephen King adaptation THE LIFE OF CHUCK (2024), starring Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

OFFICIAL CLOSING FILM + PRIX DENIS-HÉROUX: ANDRÉ FORCIER’S ABABOUINÉ
ABABOUINÉ takes us back to the 1950s, when the Catholic Church ruled over Quebec with an iron fist, and as a rowdy group of kids goes to war against the church. In his latest masterpiece, André Forcier (AU CLAIR DE LA LUNE, A WIND FROM WYOMING) revisits a dark period of Quebec’s history through an often shocking – yet undeniably and absurdly funny – lens. Starring Rémy Girard (THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS, THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE), Gaston Lepage (JESUS OF MONTRÉAL), Pascale Montpetit (DISTRICT 31), Éric Bruneau (AN EYE FOR BEAUTY), and Mylène Mackay (NELLY), the film brings together an incredible cast of some of the province’s most established actors alongside its most talented newcomers. With a deft hand, Forcier navigates the historical abuses of the church and the hope of a society on the brink of change – with sensitivity, humour, and quite literally, a lot of heart. World Premiere.

BRITTANY O’GRADY SHINES IN PEDRO KOS’ HAUNTING IN OUR BLOOD
Leave it to an award-winning documentary filmmaker to do found-footage chills right. A perfectly calculated, slow-burn nightmare that opens with the feel of an indie doc and gradually evolves into something uniquely sinister, IN OUR BLOOD is the narrative feature debut of Oscar-nominated documentarian Pedro Kos (REBEL HEARTS, LEAD ME HOME). Nothing is as it seems when filmmaker Emily Wyland (a phenomenal Brittany O’Grady of HBO’s White Lotus) teams up with cinematographer Danny (E. J. Bonilla, FX’s The Old Man) to shoot an intimate documentary about reuniting with her mother (Alanna Ubach, HBO’s Euphoria) after a decade apart. When her mother suddenly goes missing, Emily and Danny must piece together increasingly disturbing clues, hoping to find her before it’s too late. Sad, scary, and unshakably convincing, this is a film that lingers like the ghosts of stolen futures. World Premiere.

4PM CHALLENGES HUMAN NATURE IN UNCOMFORTABLE WAYS
Inspired by the book “The Stranger Next Door” from critically acclaimed Belgian writer Amélie Nothomb, 4PM is a riveting psychological thriller from director Jay Song (THE NIGHTMARE) drenched in silent tension. Jeong-in (OLDBOY’s Oh Dal-su), is taking a break from his life as a teacher in his new countryside house when a written invitation to a neighbor (Jang Yeong-nam, PROJECT WOLF HUNTING) turns into a nightmare of excruciatingly awkward visits every day at 4PM. This character joust is one to remember – and its countless twists will force any audience member to ask themselves how they would handle the same wild situation. North American Premiere.

STEVEN KOSTANSKI GETS FREAKY WITH FRANKIE FREAKO!
After the success of PSYCHO GOREMAN, FX artist and director Steven Kostanski hits back with the zany, over-the-top FRANKIE FREAKO! Starring Conor Sweeney and Adam Brooks of Astron-6 fame, the film follows a nerdy man who just isn’t cool. In an attempt to impress his wife and boss, he’s lured by a 1-900 TV ad to party with a strange little creature called Frankie Freako. All hell breaks loose when Conor calls and Frankie and his two friends wreak interdimensional havoc in Conor’s life. Kostanski fans will flock to his latest imaginative adventure, saturated with throwback cartoonish fun à la GHOULIES, wildly creative puppets, big laughs, and a helluva good time! Septentrion Shadows section. World Premiere.

CLASSICAL CHINESE ARTS MEET MODERN ANIMATION IN THE UMBRELLA FAIRY
All things possess spirits capable of transforming into fairies, which carry the owners’ desires. One single piece of jade is used to create both an umbrella and a sword, but from the very beginning, the fairies Qingdai and Wanggui are destined for different missions. A brand-new, top-tier work of Chinese animation, THE UMBRELLA FAIRY marks the feature-length directorial debut of Shen Jie, art director on MR. MIAO (2020). Incorporating numerous elements of traditional Chinese arts and culture to achieve a distinctive charm and vitality, the film offers its audience a visual feast of rare richness to complement its engaging fantasy fable. Animation Plus Section. International Premiere.

EMBRACE TRADITION AND REJECT MODERNITY IN EUGENE KOTLYARENKO’S THE CODE
Peter Vack (ASSHOLES) and Dasha Nekrasova (THE SCARY OF SIXTY-FIRST) star as couple on the rocks during the early part of the Covid-19 pandemic in American filmmaker Eugene Kotlyarenko (SPREE)’s latest, THE CODE – a generation-defining, wickedly dark comedy that blends post-New Wave French sensibilities of aesthetic disillusionment with a singularly alien view of contemporary American life. A transgressive and singular experience, nothing is off limits in this surveillance-heavy narrative, which uses multiple formats, points of view, and cameras to create a visionary collage-like experience of modern life. An epic poem for our post-pandemic world. Underground Section. World Premiere.

SUPERNATURAL SLACKER DRAMEDY GHOST CAT ANZU TOYS WITH ANIME TROPES
Dumped by her shifty widower father in a small coastal town, eleven-year-old Karin is left in the care of Anzu, who’s affable, if rather uncouth and feckless – oh, and he’s also an immortal ghost cat. Based on the manga by Takashi Imashiro, the French-Japanese co-production GHOST CAT ANZU is co-directed by animator Yoko Kuno (CRAYON SHIN-CHAN, THE CASE OF HANNA & ALICE) and Nobuhiro Yamashita, whose live-action films CONFESSION and SWIMMING IN A SAND POOL also screen at Fantasia this summer. It tackles a now-familiar trope in anime – a troubled child’s summertime coming-of-age in a countryside inhabited by supernatural creatures – and offsets its bucolic charm with deadpan wit and an emotional tone that’s as tender as a bruise. Official selection: Cannes Directors’ Fortnight 2024. Animation Plus Section. North American Premiere.

ELIAS KOTEAS GIVES A MOVING PERFORMANCE IN THE SILENT PLANET

After his debut feature, BANG BANG BABY, premiered at TIFF in 2014 and took home Best Canadian First Feature Film, the vision of the award-winning director and writer Jeffrey St. Jules comes to Fantasia. His latest is a sci-fi meditation on humanity and the what-ifs about the worlds beyond our stars. In the future, two prisoners on a penal colony planet find they have an unexpected connection, and they mine more than minerals as a horrible truth is revealed. With moving performances by Elias Koteas (CRASH, THE THIN RED LINE) and Briana Middleton (SHARPER), this futuristic view of accountability, regrets, and truths is packed with St. Jules’ signature touch of surrealism and imagination. Septentrion Shadows Section. World Premiere

TEASING MASTER TAKAGI-SAN GIVES HOPE IN HUMANITY

In this age of extreme polarization and armed conflicts, director Rikiya Imaizumi’s TEASING MASTER TAKAGI-SAN should be prescribed by public health authorities, as this infinitely charming feel-good movie will make audiences happy-cry from cuteness. An extremely shy teacher (Fumiya Takahashi, BLUE PERIOD) and her college crush Takagi (Mei Nakano, OFFICE ROYALE), who she constantly teased in an attempt him to pull him out of is shell, reunite in the same school they once attended. Mentors and pupils learn from each other in this lovely romantic comedy often reminiscent of AMÉLIE, filled with witty dialogue and gorgeous photography. North American Premiere.

BLACK EYED SUSAN BRINGS AI EVOLUTION THROUGH LEARNED PAIN

It’s been 21 long years since Scooter McCrae (SHATTER DEAD) released a new feature, and he’s lost none of his smart, transgressive bite. Desperate for work, Derek (Damian Maffei, THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT) accepts a job at a shady tech start-up, working intimately with Susan (Yvonne Emilie Thälker in a powerful debut role), a bleeding-edge BDSM sex doll meant to receive and appreciate sexual punishment as an integral part of her evolving AI. Shot on Super 16, BLACK EYED SUSAN counterbalances its dark, vulgar core with a surprisingly tender vulnerability, creating a lo-fi science-fiction landscape infused with surprising fragility, as legendary Italian composer Fabio Frizzi (THE BEYOND, ZOMBIE) lends the picture a lush, atmospheric backdrop. Not for the faint of heart, BLACK EYED SUSAN delves into themes and questions that will only become more pertinent with the continued evolution of artificial intelligence. World Premiere.

HEAVENS: THE BOY AND HIS ROBOT IS READY TO RUMBLE

The bond between Kai and the robot he pilots, Little Dragon, will need to be strong as steel if either will survive the incredible challenges of the Mecha Corps Academy and the battles beyond it. Brewing for over a decade, Singaporean filmmaker Rich Ho’s ambitious and spectacular introduction of his Heavens universe has finally launched into the stratosphere. Built on a foundation of technological innovation and a desire to tell a tale with universal appeal, HEAVENS: THE BOY AND HIS ROBOT astounds with visual effects that elevate it to the highest global standards of sci-fi blockbusters and proves that the tiny city-state in the heart of Asia can be a world-class contender when it comes to pop culture. North American Premiere.

FANS REJOICE! DEAN MURDOCH IS BACK IN DEANER ‘89!

Canadian rockers, your favorite headbanger is back in DEANER ‘89! It’s 1989 and Paul Spence (FUBAR and FUBAR 2) brings us his legendary character Dean Murdoch as a teenager growing up in suburban Manitoba. Captain of the hockey team, with a pretty girlfriend and a great adoptive family – he’s got it all until a gnarly trunk of his recently deceased birth father’s belongings arrives. Deaner’s life changes when he learns about his heritage and identity in one fell swoop. Dean’s contagious energy of lives on in DEANER ‘89, featuring an outstanding cast that includes Spence, Will Sasso (CBS’ Young Sheldon, THE THROWBACK), comedy legend Mary Walsh (THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES), and a cameo from Kids in the Hall’s Kevin McDonald. You’ll laugh your ass off with this charming, hilarious origin story! Septentrion Shadows Section. World Premiere.

JÉRÉMY CLAPIN’S BRILLIANT MEANWHILE ON EARTH IS READY TO LANDA

23-year-old girl (Megan Northam) is contacted by an unknown lifeform claiming to be able to bring her missing astronaut brother back to Earth. Jérémy Clapin’s celebrated live action debut following his Oscar-nominated animated sensation I LOST MY BODY, MEANWHILE ON EARTH is an inversion of science fiction classics: a slice of life tale about existing on Earth while an Extraordinary Man is out there, far beyond the solar system. Live action storytelling is intercut with animated sections that take viewers into the headspace connecting the siblings to one another. Unique, poetic, and surreal, this otherworldly meditation on grief launched earlier this year at the Berlin International Film Festival where it left audiences breathless. North American Premiere.

JACKIE CHAN AND RUMBLE IN THE BRONX DIRECTOR REUNITE FOR A LEGEND

After one hundred films, Jackie Chan shows no signs of stopping in this lavish kung fu epic filled with high production values and a massive cast. Chan reunites here with his frequent collaborator Stanley Tong to create a follow-up to their 2005 classic THE MYTH. The two most famously worked together on the iconic action classics POLICE STORY 3: SUPERCOP and RUMBLE IN THE BRONX, both of which became massive breakout hits for Chan in North America. In A LEGEND, Chan portrays a professor whose dreams of his past life as soldier in old China are haunting him, causing complications in the present day as he rediscovers more of his colorful past. North American Premiere.

MONTY PYTHON MEETS TEXAS CHAINSAW MEETS… LES MISÉRABLES IN CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING

A true DIY passion project from Estonian filmmaker Sander Maran, CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING is a zany, blood-soaked musical about lovers split up by a chainsaw-wielding killer. Over a decade in the making, Saran not only directed but wrote, scored, shot, and edited this colorful murder-fest that’s part gory horror movie and part ridiculous musical. The camerawork is inventive, the editing slapstick, and the tone truly absurdist. Most importantly, though, the songs are incredibly catchy, with Sander clearly deeply indebted to Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s CANNIBAL! THE MUSICAL and Frank Oz’s LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Underground Section. International Premiere.

SUNBURNT UNICORN IS A RARE BEAST AMONG ANIMATED ADVENTURES

It’s rare to come across a high-quality, CG-animated fantasy film for young audiences that challenges commercial conventions, but unlike actual unicorns, such a thing does exist. With the fascinating, eccentric SUNBURNT UNICORN, Canadian animator Nick Johnson has elevated the generic wilderness adventure to a hallucinatory, existential odyssey, following in the footsteps of fantasy films from the 1980s that, with their penchant for the unexpected and moments of true fright, acted as a gateway for kids to the horror genre. The pervasive eeriness is further heightened by an astounding score by Inuit sister duo Piqsiq, who, with only their two voices, conjure up a powerful atmosphere of wonder and dread. Animation Plus Section, co-presented with Septentrion Shadows Section. North American Premiere.

FROM KAZAKHSTAN WITH CONTEMPT: STEPPENWOLF WILL BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF

A bleakly pulverizing action thriller from celebrated Kazakh maverick Adilkhan Yerzhanov (THE GENTLE INDIFFERENCE OF THE WORLD, THE OWNERS) and Oscar nominated producer Alexander Rodnyansky (LEVIATHAN), STEPPENWOLF explodes off the screen with tension that will singe the flesh from your bones. Like a Kazakh MAD MAX directed by John Ford – or perhaps, THE SEARCHERS directed by George Miller – with a touch of Herman Hesse and classic samurai tales, STEPPENWOLF reinvents the codes of its inspirations with jolting doses of post-Soviet nihilism and morbid black humor. A desperate mother (Anna Starchenko, NARTAI) teams up with a psychopathic ex-cop (Berik Aitzhanov, GOLIATH, THE ASSAULT) to find her son who’s gone missing in a landscape consumed by riots and death. Winner of the Golden Raven grand prix at the 2024 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. Official Selection: Rotterdam International Film Festival 2024. North American Premiere.

SWIMMING IN A SAND POOL IS A TENDER AND SUNNY PORTRAIT OF GIRLHOOD

Under the relentless heat of a scorching July sun, four teenage girls find themselves with an unusual task: sweeping the sand-covered bottom of a swimming pool, remnants of a nearby baseball field. Based on a play written by high-school student Nakata Yumeka and originally performed by the Tokushima City High School Drama Club, SWIMMING IN A SAND POOL is a tender coming-of-age story that explores love, ambition, and gender equality. SWIMMING IN A SAND POOL touches on material familiar to director Nobuhiro Yamashita, best known for the profound teenage girl band comedy LINDA LINDA LINDA. With this film, Yamashita once again strikes a perfect balance between bubblegum sweetness and the blunt, rebellious poetry of youth. North American Premiere.

HOUSE OF SAYURI MARKS THE RETURN OF J-HORROR MASTER KOJI SHIRAISHI

Legendary J-horror director Koji Shiraishi (NOROI: THE CURSE) brings the genre to new levels of fun with HOUSE OF SAYURI. A vengeful ghost disseminates a family until a counterattack from a bold grandma brings a startling new dynamic into the house. Shifting tones in surprising and destabilizing ways, this horror-comedy alternates from a galvanizing spiritual training montage to profoundly dramatic moments, coming together to create a truly unique cinematic experience. North American Premiere.

DALE DICKEY OWNS THE SCREEN IN TOUGH REVENGE THRILLER THE G

After decades as a prolific character actor in film and television, winning numerous awards in the process, Dale Dickey (WINTER’S BONE, HELL OR HIGH WATER) takes center stage in THE G. Here, she plays Ann, a harsh-tongued, tough-as-nails septuagenarian who finds herself with no husband, no money, and no home other than the miserable facility she’s been locked up in after being betrayed by her corrupt legal guardian. But as her tormentors are about to find out, someone who’s had everything taken away from them is someone with nothing left to lose. Director Karl R. Hearne has crafted a gritty revenge thriller laced with shards of bitter humor and anchors it with an unconventional, yet entirely convincing, protagonist – a different shade of noir, with a touch of grey and a ton of earned rage. Co-starring Romane Denis, Bruce Ramsay, and Roc LaFortune. Official selection: Tallinn Black Nights 2023, Glasgow Film Festival 2024. North American Premiere.

KIZUMONOGATARI -KOYOMI VAMP- RESURRECTS A NEO-GOTHIC ANIME NIGHTMARE

Those unfamiliar with the now-extensive MONOGATARI anime franchise, fear not (or not much, anyway): extensively revised and reworked (revamped, if you like) from a trilogy of feature films released in 2016 and effectively impossible to find today, KIZUMONOGATARI -KOYOMI VAMP- is the starting point, a prequel that chronicles teenage loner Koyomi’s initiation into the supernatural realm. Overseen by original co-director Tatsuya Oishi, this resurrection retains the distinctive characteristics of his work, not just the dynamic battle scenes and elegant aesthetics, but the echoes of French New Wave cinema. Sleek, sly, and startling, it’s a grandiose, avant-garde, neo-gothic nightmare, spattered with splashes of teen sex farce and copious quantities of blood. Animation Plus Section. North American Premiere.

DESPERATION AND MORAL CONUNDRUMS PLAGUE SELF DRIVER

For his first feature, director Michael Pierro’s SELF DRIVER premiered at this year’s Fantaspoa Film Festival and brought home a Best Low-Budget Film Award. Now Fantasia’s audience gets to see this gritty take on the gig economy, and one man’s tensely disturbing struggle to make ends meet. A Toronto rideshare driver (Nathaniel Chadwick, THE LAST PORNO SHOW) gets an opportunity to make more money with a mysterious and demanding app. In one night, he tests his sanity by risking it all, with his passengers forcing him to put his morals on the line. With a compelling performance by Chadwick, audiences will be completely invested in the plight of the gig worker as they watch him pursue the almighty dollar on a wild, dangerous midnight run! Septentrion Shadows Section. North American Premiere.

TATSUMI REINVIGORATES THE CRIME/REVENGE GENRE IN TRUE GRITTY FASHION
TATSUMI is a riveting crime thriller from director Hiroshi Shoji, following his award-winning 2015 feature debut KEN AND KAZU. Tatsumi works as a fisherman in a small coastal town, but he also has a side job: he’s a “cleaner” for a local drug gang, disposing of their victim’s bodies. After the murder of his ex-girlfriend, her young sister, defiant car mechanic, seeks revenge and asks Tatsumi for his help. There’s no turning back, and now they have to fight for their survival. TATSUMI’s cinematic portrayal of gang life paints a grim and realistic portrait of suffering and cruelty. As a gritty, violent, and brutal revenge tale, Shoji delivers one of the finest and most compelling crime thrillers in a very long time. North American Premiere.

NEW ZEALAND BRINGS INVENTIVELY TRIPPY PARANORMAL HILARITY: THE PARAGON
Former Power Rangers director Michael Duignan’s utterly mad feature debut, THE PARAGON, electrifies with hilarity and trippy psychedelic visuals, delivers in the spirit of inspired low-budget New Zealand filmmaking that harkens back to early Peter Jackson. After experiencing a hit and run, an angry ex-tennis coach named Dutch (Benedict Wall, SHADOW IN THE CLOUD) embarks on a psychic training course to find the driver and get revenge. Alongside his witchy psychic coach Lyra (Florence Noble), Dutch must decide between being a victim of his fate or a slave to otherworldly evil in this spectacularly entertaining fantasy comedy where revenge becomes a cosmic experience. Co-starring an especially nuts Jonny Brugh (WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS). North American Premiere.

ATMOSPHERIC SPANISH HORROR LIVES INSIDE CARLOTA PEREDA’s THE CHAPEL
The stunning sophomore feature from award-winning director Carlota Pereda (PIGGY), THE CHAPEL marks the fantastic return of atmospheric, character-driven supernatural Spanish horror. Emma (Maia Zaitegi) wants to learn how to communicate with the spirit of a little girl who has spent centuries trapped inside a chapel. She tries to convince Carol (THE ORPHANAGE’s Belen Rueda), a cynical and fake medium, to help her in the hopes that contacting the spirit may help her to remain close to her dying mother after she passes. What Carol doesn’t suspect is that Emma really does have “the gift” and, if she keeps on trying to use it without her guidance, she will be putting her young life at terrifying risk. Winner: Best Actress, Belen Rueda, Cinefantasy 2023. Official Selection: Sitges 2023. North American Premiere.

DELIRIOUS YOUTUBE MASHUP FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS GAZES DOWN THE BARREL OF U.S. GUN CULTURE
Shootings! Explosions! Tanks! Musical numbers! Javier Horcajada Fontecha’s FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS is a jaw-dropping exploration of gun culture in the United States made from thousands of hours of YouTube videos that’s equal parts amusing, hilarious, bizarre, and impressive (there’s some pretty sharp shooting here). Often disturbing in ways their creators did not always intend, playing like a strange, real-life sister act to the darkest Paul Verhoeven satire, audiences can accept it as a document of our troubled times or as a piece of entertainment. Offering no opinions and presenting everything matter-of-factly, audiences won’t be able to take their eyes off this sharply assembled film, which packs one hell of a recoil. Docs from the Edge Section. North American Premiere.