The Fantasia International Film Festival will celebrate its upcoming 30th edition with an electrifying program of screenings, workshops, and events […]
The Fantasia International Film Festival will celebrate its upcoming 30th edition with an electrifying program of screenings, workshops, and events running from July 16 through August 2, 2026, returning to the Concordia Hall and J.A. de Sève cinemas, with additional screenings and events at Montréal’s Cinéma du Musée.
The festival website is now live with the complete lineup of over 125 features and 200+ shorts available to be explored. Ticket pre-sales open at 10:00 a.m. on July 3.
Fantasia is very pleased to reveal its massive final wave of titles, its numerous 2026 competitions, selections of jurors, as well as this year’s plethora of special events, career awards, and artist talks.
Cheval Noir Career Achievement Award: Nicolas Winding Refn
In the opening minutes of our 30th edition, Fantasia will award a Cheval Noir Career Achievement Award to the extraordinary Danish director, screenwriter, and producer Nicolas Winding Refn. A singular storytelling poet, gifted stylist, and boundary-pushing provocateur, Refn has been a transformative force in world cinema since bursting out of Copenhagen with the instant-classic crime drama Pusher (1996), which simultaneously launched the careers of Mads Mikkelsen and Zlatko Burić. Over the 30 years that followed, he’s blessed us with such dark treasures as Bleeder (1999), Fear X (2003), Pusher 2 (2004), Pusher 3 (2005), (2008), (2009), (2011), (2013), (2016), the Amazon series (2019), and Netflix’s (2023), and now, the immaculate (2026), which celebrates its Canadian Premiere as our Opening Film.
Bronson
Valhalla Rising
Drive
Only God Forgives
The Neon Demon
Too Old to Die Young
Copenhagen Cowboy
Her Private Hell
Off-set, Refn has used his visibility throughout his career to champion underappreciated filmmakers whose work he admires, spearheaded intensive restorations, and curated retrospectives to re-contextualize neglected works. He’s created a coffee table book on exploitation poster art and even founded byNWR.com, a bespoke streaming home for multitudes of restorations he and his team initiate, which he runs as a living digital museum.
Join us in celebrating a filmmaker who’s given his absolute everything to cinema, in his talents as an artist, in his love as a curator and preservationist, and in his power as a spokesperson for renegade genre art. Nicolas Winding Refn has made the film world a better place for us all, and we love him for it.
Cheval Noir Career Achievement Award: Takashi Shimizu
Born in 1972 in Japan’s Gunma Prefecture, Takashi Shimizu studied theatre in university before quickly establishing himself as a master of horror with the Ju-on saga, which began as a direct-to-video production where he served as the creator, screenwriter, and director. The first theatrical feature, Ju-on: The Grudge (2002), became an instant classic of Japanese horror, influencing both regional and worldwide cinema thanks to its explosive success at the box office and on the festival circuit (including a screening at Fantasia 2003). Following this global triumph, Shimizu directed its first two American remakes in 2004 and 2006 and became the first Japanese filmmaker to top the U.S. box office. In addition to horror gems like Marebito (2004), Reincarnation (2005), and Sana (2023), Shimizu has demonstrated his versatility with the live-action adaptation of the Ghibli children’s classic Kiki’s Delivery Service (2014) and the sci-fi thriller Homunculus (2021). He also fosters young talent as an executive producer, having helped launch the careers of filmmakers such as Yuta Shimotsu (New Group, Fantasia 2025) and Eriko Katagiri (When You Open the Door, Fantasia 2026). Fantasia is proud to celebrate his career, while illustrating that he remains a prolific and pertinent director, with the World Premiere of Village of Eight Gravestones and the North American Premiere of The Mouths.
Official Opening Film: Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell
Nicolas Winding Refn’s audacious return to feature filmmaking is a gorgeous, mysterious act of cinema, sensorial and transgressive, that demands to be experienced on its own terms. It emerges through spectral mist like dream transcriptions from the beyond, pulsating with psychic threads to Bava, Suzuki, Argento, and Vadim by way of Hans Christian Andersen, steeped in saturated primary colors and dripping with potent surrealism and mordant wit. Set in a fog-basked futuristic city that curves, arches, juts, and glows like pathways into the subconscious, Her Private Hell stars Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets, Companion), Charles Melton (May December, Riverdale), Havana Rose Liu (Lurker, Bottoms), Kristine Froseth (Sharp Stick, The Buccaneers), and Dougray Scott (My Oxford Year, Mission: Impossible 2). A hallucinatory fairy tale death trip inspired in part by its gifted maker’s own harrowing experience with death and resurrection, Her Private Hell is a deeply personal and obsessive film that explores memory and mortality, often through breathtakingly stylized Neo-Noir and Giallo film coding. Canadian Premiere.
Official Closing Film: Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein’s Freaks Part II
Following the 2018 sleeper-hit sci-fi indie Freaks and 2025’s critically acclaimed, record-shattering Final Destination: Bloodlines, celebrated Canadian filmmakers Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein return to their mutant roots with the hotly anticipated Freaks Part II. Several years after a traumatic escape, we meet Mary (Amanda Crew, of Silicon Valley and Freaks) and her daughter Chloe (Lorelei Olivia Mote, of Days of Our Lives and Riddle of Fire) as they live on the road, hiding their powers and identities. They are hunted by the Abnormal Defense Force, paramilitary police that specialize in ruthlessly exterminating “freaks” like them. Mary is fueled by revenge, determined to find the ADF officer (Lily Taylor, of The Conjuring and Outer Range) who killed her first child. There’s great chemistry between Crew and Mote as mother and daughter. There’s also inventive gore, the most we’ve seen in a Canadian film in years, that punctuates the outstanding performances and serious subject matter. Packing dazzling action and thrills, Freaks Part II is a fierce anti-superhero thriller that skillfully conveys themes of police states, family, and finding your tribe. Cheval Noir Competition. World Premiere.
Celebrating Horror Master Takashi Shimizu With the Premieres of His Two Latest Works
Village of Eight Gravestones
Following the death of his mother, whom he hadn’t seen in years, young Tatsuya decides to visit the rural village where she lived. Along the way, he encounters private detective Kosuke Kindaichi, who had been searching for him at the behest of the Tajimi clan, a family burdened by a dark past. Tatsuya’s grandfather had once committed a gruesome massacre that left a deep scar on the villagers; consequently, they are now, to say the least, hostile toward Tatsuya and his family. When death strikes the locals once more, Detective Kindaichi must quickly find answers before the situation boils over. Takashi Shimizu, legendary creator of the Ju-on saga, delivers an entertaining, bloody horror thriller populated by eccentric characters and bizarre rituals. He brings to life the legendary Detective Kindaichi, a character created by author Seishi Yokomizo and featured in no fewer than 77 novels, while dropping visual and auditory clues for the audience to piece together the mystery behind the unfolding killing spree. Village of Eight Gravestones is fascinating folk horror packed with tons of startling surprises. World Premiere.
The Mouths
A rumor circulates about a cursed tree standing in the center of a supposedly haunted cemetery, and a group of university students decides to tempt fate by visiting this legendary spot in the dead of night. Their courage quickly wavers in the face of the location’s eerie atmosphere and the deafening sound of cicadas. Things rapidly spiral out of control for the quartet as a waking nightmare, filled with ghostly figures and sudden disappearances, unfolds. Their recklessness comes at a price far steeper than they ever imagined.
“What happened that night?” That’s the mystery the viewer must unravel in this terrifying new film by Takashi Shimizu (Sana trilogy), brilliantly adapted from the novella A Questionnaire About the Mouth by renowned author Sesuji. Shimizu further cements his place in the pantheon of J-horror with a well-paced feature that relies more on genuinely unsettling supernatural apparitions than excessive jump scares. Fans of atmospheric horror will relish the excellent The Mouths and its mind-bending, nerve-jangling finale. North American Premiere.
Attack on Paradise Is a Ferocious Action Spectacular
Blasting full throttle out of Belgium, Bob Colaers’ Attack on Paradise is one of the most pulverizing action films in ages. Newly released after seven years in prison, Suleyman (Saïd Boumazoughe, Rebel) only wishes to return to Antwerp’s Paradise apartment complex and spend time with his ailing mother. But Paradise no longer lives up to its name and has become overrun with gangsters and addicts. Druglord Prince Hamza (Achmed Akkabi, Mocro Maffia) has taken over, placed himself at the top floor, and made Paradise his personal fortress. Just as Suleyman arrives, the cops raid the building, with no qualms of its below-the-poverty-line tenants becoming horrific collateral damage. People are dying everywhere, and Suleyman only wants to keep his mother safe, but to do that, he’s going to have to fight… everyone… with anything he can get his hands on.
Thrill seekers looking for mind-blowing fights and inventively staged, over-the-top action will have adrenalized fistfuls to enjoy, but what really makes Attack on Paradise stand out is star (and co-writer) Boumazoughe, who brings not just killer fighting skills and tremendous screen presence, but also makes Suleyman grounded and relatable, a genuine reluctant hero for today. World Premiere.
Grotesqqque Is a Highly Sensational Collection of Works From Atsushi Nishigori x CloverWorks!
Grotesqqque is a completely original animation film from the brilliant mind of Atsushi Nishigori, known for his work as the director of The Idolmaster and Darling in the Franxx, and chief animation director behind Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, the smash hit that sparked a social phenomenon. This electrifying film embodies Nishigori’s ambition to create something he’s passionate about, with as much passion as he wants. Comprised of three episodes, “A(E)LIENS,” “YOROSHIKU★Girl,” and “Nocturne: Nuit Grotesque,” these distorted, uneven, yet infinitely beautiful stories melt together like a chimera, galvanized into motion by the enthralling original score accompanying the film. This poppy, edgy fusion of imagery and sound creates a unique world pulsing at the seams. Filled with aliens, gyarus (gals), and vampires, Atsushi Nishigori’s story of Grotesqqque girls is about to unfold! Animation Plus Section. World Premiere.
A Quirky Ensemble Cast and a Surreal Crime Caper Charms in Seth A. Smith’s Permanent Damage
After world premiering his debut feature Lowlife at Fantasia 2012, Seth A. Smith returns to our screen with another look at humanity through a surrealist lens. Along with his debut feature, which takes on addiction, Smith tackles topics affecting society, Tin Can (Fantasia 2020) and The Crescent approach the pandemic, grief, and parenting in haunting ways. This time, the filmmaker puts his stamp on the housing crisis with Permanent Damage. Full of madcap charm, this story of escaped convict Tommy Gods, battling a cruel landlord, becomes a surreal caper. Starring a surprisingly tender Calem MacDonald (Kids vs. Aliens, The Umbrella Academy), Olivia Scriven (Degrassi, Mrs. America), and a gnarly Stephen Dorff (Blade, True Detective), with a cameo by Stephen McHattie (300, Watchmen), you’re about to witness one of the quirkiest ensemble casts since Repo Man! Septentrion Shadows Section. World Premiere.
When You Open the Door Is a Werewolf Movie Like You’ve Never Seen
Miki, a 27-year-old working in an architectural firm, wakes up in her small apartment, pulled out of her sleepy memory. Her world is quiet and strange, but will soon be interrupted by a transformative experience spurred by a half-remembered wolf bite. As Miki searches for answers, she soon finds herself drawn into the woods, and to the center of a ritual at a shrine cared for by elderly maidens. Director Eriko Katagiri was the recipient of the Japan Horror Award, a prize previously won by the directors of New Group and Best Wishes to All, and her film tackles feminine isolation and alienation in a unique and powerful way. Viewers who allow themselves to be carried into Miki’s mind will find themselves pulled into one of the most unique werewolf stories ever put to the big screen. Cinematographer Akiko Ashizawa (Tokyo Sonata, Creepy), Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s frequent collaborator, lends the film a unique visual identity, creating images built in ephemera, silhouettes, shadows, and nature. When You Open the Door isn’t just a great film, it’s the announcement of a bright new talent. Underground Section. World Premiere.
Charming and Delightful, Regards Parallèles Is Poetic Quebec Cinema
Jean-Jacques, Félicien, and Madeleine steal a car in a desperate attempt to escape their reality, only to find their pursuit of freedom unravel into an absurd, tender, and tragic journey. A much-welcomed UFO over the Quebec cinema landscape, Regards Parallèles is the sophomore feature of Montreal filmmaker Vincent Bonin-Arena, following his Berlinale-selected debut Nouvelle Personne. A film that delights in constantly taking the viewer by surprise and unravelling conventions of the genre, it further signals the arrival of a major talent to follow. Think of 60s Jean-Luc Godard mixed with André Forcier, with poetic dialogue, inspired photography, and absurdist humor. The portrait of a generation without a sense of direction, but with hearts still full of love, hope, and dreams. Starring Inès Defossé (Après le Déluge), Maxime Genois (Hunting Daze), and Mattis Savard-Verhoeven (Death Does Not Exist). Les Fantastiques Week-Ends du Cinéma Québécois Section. World Premiere.
History Meets Mystery in The Samurai and the Prisoner
Arioka Castle proves resilient against siege from outside, but within its walls, a succession of baffling events threatens the resolve of its defenders. Four impossible occurrences, one for each season. Signs of divine intervention, or perhaps a very human conspiracy? To unravel these puzzles, Lord Murashige (Masahiro Motoki, Departures) must enter into a contest of wits with a man he’s chained in his own dungeon, the brilliant strategist Kanbei Kuroda (Masaki Suda, Don’t Call It Mystery). With Cure and Pulse, definitive early titles in the ’90s J-horror wave, Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa proved himself a preeminent fright-meister with a knack for psychological chills, but he’s since applied his distinctive flavor to drama, science fiction, action, romance, and espionage. With his latest film The Samurai and the Prisoner, adapted from Honobu Yonezawa’s prizewinning 2021 novel, Kurosawa explores the genre of jidai-geki, or the Japanese period film, and cradles within it a clever and outlandish mystery. The historical setting suits the filmmaker’s penchant for patience and precision, and its confounding intrigue keeps with his love of complex mind games. North American Premiere.
Mark H. Rapaport Returns to Fantasia With the Horrifically Dreamy Godhead
In 2023, Fantasia fell in love with Hippo, Mark H. Rapaport’s electrically weird coming-of-age debut feature. With his sophomore effort, Godhead, Rapaport plunges us back into his wickedly strange imagination, re-teaming with his Hippo star Kimball Farley. This equally baffling and engrossing film examines the intertwining blood structures where fanaticism and obligation meet. The film follows eccentric twins (Farley and Sarah Coffey) who proclaim themselves prophets, blurring reality and delusion as they draw a priest into their supposedly divine mission. A darkly comic work that examines the limits of dogmatic belief, the film’s formal identity reflects themes of unreal truth and fanaticism in an increasingly fragmented world. Claustrophobic and uncertain, Godhead pulls us into the headspace of religious indoctrination. It’s an offbeat film for our offbeat audience, and a movie for the freaks trying to find their place in this unforgiving world. World Premiere.
Ashlea Wessel’s Feature Debut Brings Creepy Creatures, PTSD, and Plenty of Action in Junction Row
Ashlea Wessel has directed festival-favorite shorts like 2018’s Tick and 2020’s Weirdo, and rounded them out with segments in the 2024 horror anthology Creepy Bits. Now, audiences can see the World Premiere of her feature debut, Junction Row. Canadian horror icon Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, American Mary, Backrooms) is Juno, a recovering addict who leaves a fringe housing compound for a better life, leaving her beloved Ruby (Natalie Brown, The Strain, The Breach) behind. When she learns that Ruby has gone missing, Juno returns, only to find Junction Row has become a hotbed of criminal activity, but she encounters much more than menacing drug dealers on her mission to find Ruby. Isabelle continues to be a crowd-pleaser as an action star, and supporting roles by Glen Gould (Tulsa King, At the Place of Ghosts) and Kyle Mac (Between, Government Cheese) don’t disappoint. With distinct Lovecraftian dread, this creature feature, penned by Adam Cesare (Clown in a Cornfield), Matt Serafini, and Wessel, conjures a story where the fear of the unknown isn’t confined to what lies above, but what waits beneath. Septentrion Shadows Section. World Premiere.
Who Will Die First in Myanmar Chiller The Last Footage?
Aside from a small handful of arthouse dramas screening at Locarno and such, the national cinema of politically isolated, conflict-plagued Myanmar remains all but invisible outside its borders. Few are aware of its lively, low-budget genre-film scene, circulating mostly online or on VCDs, but writer/director Arkar Soe Oo aims to change that with his innovative feature The Last Footage. Myanmar’s first found-footage horror film, shot entirely in first-person POV, is possibly the first Burmese chiller to hit the global genre-festival circuit. The events of The Last Footage unfold in almost real time, as the sun sets on the haunted Wingabar Forest and eerie howls pierce its night. That, the first-person perspective, and the absence of conventional horror gimmicks (rapid edits and bass-heavy scores, not to mention gratuitous gore and cruelty) make The Last Footage feel more like an immersive work of in-situ theatre. Or perhaps more accurately, like a gleeful romp with friends through a haunted-house attraction at a regional fair, with various creepy creatures leaping suddenly out of the darkness. World Premiere.
A Hilariously Queer Apocalypse in Jim Queen
Paris’ ultimate gay icon, Jim Parfait, reigns supreme over a world of adoring fans, fierce rivals, and impossibly sculpted bodies, until a mysterious STI begins transforming gay men into heterosexuals! As muscles disappear and social hierarchies collapse, Jim embarks on a wild, campy quest to find a cure before his life falls apart completely. The first feature from Bobbypills, Europe’s pioneering adult-animation studio, Jim Queen delivers a colorful, outrageous, and unapologetically Queer adventure from directors Nicolas Athané and Marco Nguyen. Beneath its gleeful barrage of kink, karaoke, and absurdist comedy lies a sharp satire of exclusion, identity, and liberation within contemporary Queer culture. Vibrant animation, infectious energy, and a killer soundtrack make this a future cult favorite. Animation Plus Section. North American Premiere.
Unidentified Murder Is a Killer Hong Kong Genre-Bender
25 years ago, a child named Tang Chi-Ho went missing at Tung Tau Hill. There was a glimpse of a mysterious beam from the sky, and then suddenly he vanished. There were a few theories, including the one in which he’d been abducted by aliens. Police officers tried their best to find him, but no luck. Years later, an influencer couple returns to the same location where this unfortunate event took place to film a prank video… What could go wrong? Jack Lee Chun-Kit and Kwok Ka-Hei’s Unidentified Murder is an absurdly entertaining black comedy that masterfully combines humor and mystery in a way that feels totally unique and fresh. Nominated for Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Director at this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards, it is one of the biggest and most surprising discoveries this year. If you aren’t already a fan of zany and wonderful Hong Kong cinema, you will be! Cheval Noir Competition. North American Premiere.
Sex, Insects, and Loneliness in Angus Silver’s Insecstasy
Bathed in the glow of Dario Argento’s Phenomena and Lucky McKee’s May, Angus Silver’s Insecstasy is for all the lonely perverts who’ve always wanted to be annihilated by the weight of their desire. A homage to 1970s erotic thrillers with a touch of creepy-crawly, Insecstasy carries an offbeat, dark sense of humor and a violet-cast color scheme. Piercing the sterility of contemporary life with the disruptive transgression of eroticism, Silver’s film features dreamy fantasy sequences that interrupt and disrupt, drawing us expertly into its characters’ sensual and unusual interiority. Underground Section. World Premiere.
A New Dawn Elevates the Artistry of Anime
Tomorrow, the Obinata family’s fireworks factory will be shuttered and demolished to make way for modern progress. Today, the two Obinata brothers and their childhood friend Kaoru are reunited after several years apart. Sentaro has asked her to help him get stubborn Keitaro to leave the premises as ordered, but Keitaro has other, very spectacular plans. An art-department veteran of films from Makoto Shinkai and Sunao Katabuchi, director Yoshitoshi Shinomiya is a traditional painter by training. In striking contrast to the slick, digital tools employed ever more frequently in Japanese anime, Shinomiya’s use of raw, hands-on techniques and remarkable lo-fi animation hacks informs and enriches his feature-film debut, A New Dawn, as does input from the French wing of his team in this intercontinental co-production. Together they’ve made a film of exquisite, even transcendent beauty, and turned this touching tale of ordinary lives into something truly extraordinary. A New Dawn premiered in Official Competition at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, and Fantasia is proud to bring the film to audiences on our continent. Animation Plus Section. North American Premiere.
Buddy Is on the Loose, and Slashing His Way to Canada
A brave girl (Delaney Quinn, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You) and her friends must escape a kids television show, stalked by a homicidal mascot (Keegan-Michael Key, Keanu) in the wickedly deranged Sundance sensation Buddy, the long-coming feature theatrical debut from Casper Kelly (Too Many Cooks, Adult Swim Yule Log). Inspired in part by the filmmaker’s own childhood envy of the kids who got to live in the worlds of his favorite children’s shows before he began to question their presented realities. A remarkable achievement in gonzo world-building, inventively shot, meticulously designed, and bubbling with imaginative scenarios that frequently reinvent themselves, Buddy lands with singular impact, its conceptual outrageousness grounded by a terrific lead performance from the always-strong Cristin Milioti (The Penguin) and a sharp supporting cast that includes Topher Grace (BlacKkKlansman), Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water), and Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille). From the producers of Weapons and Companion. International Premiere.
Kazakh Hit Sicko Reveals Human Ugliness in the Face of Money
Happily married couple Azamat and Tancho live a carefree life until Azamat is forced to face his mounting debts. In desperation, they come up with a scheme to fake Stage 4 cancer for Tancho and raise money through crowdfunding. To their surprise, they go viral within days and collect enough money to pay off their debts, but are plunged into a journey of escalating madness. Directed by emerging talent Aitore Zholdaskali and featuring standout performances from Ayan Utepbergen (The Rising Hawk), Dilnaz Kurmangali (Zhaza), Azat Zhumadil (Sheker), and Aida Kurmangaliyeva (Bisharashki), Sicko exposes the ugliness that emerges when people become consumed by money. Official Selection: Rotterdam Film Festival 2026. North American Premiere.
Hailed as the Funniest Film at Cannes: Blaise
Fans of cringe comedy will be in heaven with this unique, uncomfortable blast of adult animation, praised by Première magazine as the funniest film at this year’s Cannes. Imagine a distinctly French take on Scandinavian “comedy of embarrassment” films, or a much drier Curb Your Enthusiasm. Directed by Dimitri Planchon and Jean-Paul Guigue (Silex and the City), based on the former’s cult comic book, Blaise is the story of the desperate-to-be-loved Sauvage family, voiced by Léa Drucker (Incredible but True), Jacques Gamblin (Connemara), and Timéo. What begins as a hilarious domino effect of social disasters, a comedy of manners and misunderstandings, blossoms into something distinctly more charged. You’ll die of embarrassment for these characters and the absurd, life-altering situations their neuroses land them in, yet Blaise casts reflections that resonate more profoundly as its non-heroes make direly consequential choices out of a desperate need to feel even vaguely liked. Produced by Alexandre Gavras (No Other Choice, The Successor). Animation Plus Section. North American Premiere.
Beasts Clutching at Straws Offers an Explosive and Hilarious Bag of Surprises
A young streamer working at an internet cafe discovers a bag containing 100 million yen and must seize it for the sake of his family. Ebato, a corrupt police officer riddled with debt to a cruel yakuza and his botanical torture partner, is planning a massive fraud scheme. A prostitute beaten by her husband befriends a femme fatale colleague who seems to know the ropes of organized crime. The fates of all these disparate characters will collide in a mind-blowing fireworks display. Beasts Clutching at Straws is a captivating neon-noir thriller and a delirious, cynical black comedy featuring several epic, manga-esque sequences. Supported by an exceptional cast led by Ouji Suzuka, the brilliant Hideo Jojo surpasses himself in terms of direction and ideas to make this adaptation of Keisuke Sone’s famous novel, winner of the prestigious Edogawa Rampo Prize, an instant classic. Cheval Noir Competition. North American Premiere.
Panicked Parking Pandemonium Plagues La Place
As anyone who’s ever had to drive in the city will know, parking space is a precious commodity. On a day that would have been like any other, Brigitte (Christine Beaulieu, L’Oeil du Cyclone, La Fonte des glaces) and Jonathan (Maxim Gaudette, Polytechnique, Incendies) arrive at a dinner party, only for a stranger to block their way, leaving them unable to park and stranded in the road. The couple confront the mysterious man (Benoit Gouin, Québec-Montréal), but something is amiss, and Jonathan becomes increasingly affected. Louis Godbout’s latest feature, La Place, is a tense, beautiful, and touching depiction of the ways the smallest interactions can snowball into unimaginable consequences and forever alter one’s destiny. Les Fantastiques Week-Ends du Cinéma Québécois Section. North American Premiere.
Bowels of Hell Will Twist Your Guts With Hilarity and Horror
For those who believe they’ve seen everything cinema has to offer, here come Brazilian madmen Gurcius Gewdner and Gustavo Vinagre’s Bowels of Hell, unquestionably the grossest film of Fantasia 2026, and also one of its wildest, most unpredictable, and hilarious. It’s not entirely a scatological humor fest, because Bowels of Hell is also a surprisingly touching story about parents and children, and the struggle to focus on the people in your life that matter the most. It’s also filled with some of the most disgustingly inventive kills seen in any movie in some time, and it should come as little surprise that even the legendary Bruce LaBruce shows up at one point. When you gotta go, you gotta go… but in this film’s haunted São Paolo apartment complex, “go” means that your time is most certainly up! Produced by Rodrigo Teixeira, the Oscar-nominated producer of The Witch, I’m Still Here, Call Me by Your Name, and The Lighthouse, Bowels of Hell is an unexpectedly layered mix of family drama, social satire, cranked-to-eleven gross-out horror, and poop jokes told with energy, wit, and style, coming to the continent after blowing minds and stomachs at the Rotterdam Film Festival. North American Premiere.
Bliss: Beyond the Edge of Time Combines the I Ching With Sci-Fi to Explore Humanity and Technology
Drawing inspiration from the I Ching (Book of Changes), the Taiwanese animated anthology Bliss: Beyond the Edge of Time combines sci-fi with deeply rooted traditions and brings together six extraordinary directors to explore the relationship between humanity and technology from various perspectives. From limited time versus infinite bonds to a debate about what faith really is, this modern take on The Ship of Theseus examines humans’ self-righteous attempts to protect animals, reimagined soul-recalling rituals, and what it takes to face the end of the world with a rare sense of lightness. Bliss: Beyond the Edge of Time combines Eastern philosophy with modern speculation, offering thought-provoking reflections on the timeless questions that lie underneath technological change and questions how people navigate uncertainty in this rapidly changing world. Animation Plus Section. North American Premiere.
Tristes Tropiques Is Brutal, Unrelenting Korean Action on an Epic Scale
A group of abandoned children have been raised in the rainforest and trained to be killers by an organization run by the “Master.” Now they’ve grown up, but following an incident that strongly affects all of them, they start to become suspicious toward one another and swear bloody revenge. They must get ready for the biggest fight of their lives. Award-winning filmmaker Park Hoon-jung (V.I.P., Fantasia 2018; The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, Fantasia 2018; and The Childe, Fantasia 2023) returns to Montreal with a terrific ensemble cast, brutal gore, a gritty tone, and mind-blowing action sequences. Tristes Tropiques is packed with exhilarating shootouts, top-notch swordfights, and everything you want in a revenge thriller. Fans of badass Korean genre cinema are in for a treat! North American Premiere.
Romin Is a Globetrotting Adventure That’s Distinctively Québécois
Romin (Anthony Dionne, Creatures) stumbles upon a mysterious object in a Quebec forest. Together with his sister Maya (Rosalie Pépin, Vacarme), his sketchy pal Jeff (Jassen Charron, Il était une fois les Boys), and his new classmate Booker (James Edward Metayer, Noémie dit oui), Romin heads to a village in the north, following in the footsteps of a missing archaeologist to find out more about the artifact. It turns out that, having touched it, Romin is struck by a curse that will kill him unless he returns it to the cave from whence it came, in the Bahamas. Directed by actors Anthony Dionne and Jassen Charron, Romin is an Indiana Jones-style adventure featuring plenty of suspense and action, including some truly astonishing stunts. Amid the various twists and turns, more serious themes, such as grief, are explored with great tact and care. World Premiere.
The Galactic Ghoul Is a Playful Homage to Space Operas
In his feature debut, Québécois filmmaker Simon Harrison embraces space with The Galactic Ghoul, a roaring space opera about a great escape from a horrific prison planet under the rule of Queen Xaltalusia XXIII, played by Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Backrooms). In a film that aims for the heart with ingenuity and laughs, The Galactic Ghoul is a playful low-budget/high-concept tribute to space operas and the endurance of the human spirit. Les Fantastiques Week-Ends du Cinéma Québécois Section. World Premiere.
ADDITION THIRD WAVE TITLES
The Fox (Australia) — dir. Dario Russo
In this darkly comic folktale, an affable foxhunter (Jai Courtney, Dangerous Animals, Suicide Squad) encounters a talking fox (voiced by Olivia Colman, The Favourite, The Crown) who offers him an opportunity to transform his fiancée (Emily Browning, Sucker Punch, American Gods) into the perfect woman. Riotously funny and brilliantly subversive, The Fox pops with puppeteered animal characters and committed human performances from a cast that also includes Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Justified), Claudia Doumit (The Boys, SOULM8TE), Zlatko Burić (Triangle of Sadness, Pusher), and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Possession) as the voice of an especially gruff magpie. Official Selection: Adelaide Film Festival 2025, SXSW 2026. Winner: Best Narrative Feature, Calgary Underground Film Festival 2026. Quebec Premiere.
After School (The Netherlands) — dirs. Merijn Scholte Albers and Tobias Smeets
There’s been a lot of talk about the lack of quality movie comedy these days, but the Netherlands did not get that memo, because After School is, to put it simply, utterly hilarious. Directors Merijn Scholte Albers (co-founder of the Dutch comedy YouTube channel Mastermovies) and Tobias Smeets (a co-writer on Fantasia 2025’s Straight Outta Space) have crafted a terrific tale of self-respect, public humiliation, friendship, and revenge that gets funnier, and nastier, as it goes. After School is so hilarious throughout that it may surprise you to learn that it’s also a sharp examination of toxic masculinity on all sides. Canadian Premiere.
Bagworm (USA) — dir. Oliver Bernsen
An anxious, socially inept doomer steps on a rusty nail and plunges into an acetaminophen-filled spiral of fungus, tetanus, and unintentional incelmaxxing. Stylishly grimy and gross-out hilarious, like a cross between Rats! and All Jacked Up and Full of Worms, Bagworm will have you gagging and laughing with glee and disgust. Official Selection: Sitges Film Festival 2025, SXSW 2026, Calgary Underground Film Festival 2026. Quebec Premiere.
Blades of the Guardians (Hong Kong/China) — dir. Yuen Wo-Ping
A bounty hunter (Wu Jing, Wolf Warrior, The Wandering Earth) fights off rival martial artists in the desert in this rousing, dynamic wuxia adventure of truly epic proportions from legendary action choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Matrix).
Cocoon: One Summer of Girlhood (Japan) — dir. Yukimitsu Ina
Commissioned by NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster, to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the first production from Sasayuri, a new studio founded by longtime Studio Ghibli talent Hitomi Tateno, adapts Machiko Kyo’s tragic manga about the final days of war. On a tiny island at the southern tip of the Japanese archipelago, life for wide-eyed San, her cool friend Mayu, and other girls brought there by the Army could almost be mistaken for paradise, but the awful truth isn’t far off. The enemy is coming, and some things will be lost forever. Animation Plus Section. Canadian Premiere.
Colony (South Korea) — dir. Yeon Sang-ho
Fresh off its recent Cannes launch, Fantasia will showcase the Canadian Premiere of Colony, the stunning new feature from celebrated South Korean genre auteur Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan, Seoul Station, The King of Pigs). Se-jeong (Gianna Jun, Assassination, My Sassy Girl), a biotechnology professor, attends a biotech conference that turns into blood-soaked terror and a fight for survival against mindless, cannibalistic attackers infected with a rapidly mutating virus. Canadian Premiere.
Dance Freak (USA) — dirs. Alan Resnick and Robby Reckleff
An infectious virus causes a pulsing, uncontrollable urge to move, dance, and destroy in this outrageous dark comedy about the power of dance and the violent alienation of contemporary life. From alt-comedy legend Alan Resnick and his Wham City collaborator Robby Reckleff, who also co-stars, with a cast that includes Stavros Halkias (Bugonia, Let’s Start a Cult), Sarah Sherman (Saturday Night Live), and Conner O’Malley (Rap World). Official Selection: Tallahassee Film Festival. Underground Section. Canadian Premiere.
Drag (USA) — dirs. Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitzer
Two sisters (Lizzy Caplan, Cloverfield, Masters of Sex; Lucy DeVito, Little Demon) find themselves trapped in a remote house when one of them throws her back out during a robbery attempt and the owner (John Stamos, Full House, You) unexpectedly returns in this twisted dark comedy from producer Danny DeVito. Drag successfully takes a simple premise and goes the distance with it, well into unexpected places that keep twisting the knife and ramping up the sinister laughs. Official Selection: SXSW 2026, Overlook Film Festival 2026, Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival 2026. Canadian Premiere.
The Journey to Gyeong-Ju (South Korea) — dir. Kim Mi-jo
For a mother and her three surviving daughters, what starts as a mission of vengeance becomes an unpredictable and personal voyage of love, loss, and redemption. If Little Miss Sunshine were told as a tale of retribution. Director Kim Mi-jo brilliantly mixes elements of family drama, dark humor, and revenge thriller into a surprisingly emotional and layered character-driven story. After her incredible performance in Parasite, Lee Jung-eun brings poignant depth to her lead role as a grieving mother, alongside Kong Hyo-jin (Crush and Blush), Park So-dam (Special Delivery), and Lee Yeon (Juvenile Justice). Official Selection: Hawaii International Film Festival 2025. Canadian Premiere.
The Leader (USA) — dir. Michael Gallagher
Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) and Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring, The Departed) give fervent performances as the leaders of the Heaven’s Gate cult in this penetrating study of the largest mass suicide in American history. Featuring Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory, Titaníque) in an effective against-type role as the cult’s most loyal acolyte, this haunting and compelling saga of a nearly 30-year-old tragedy has painfully relevant things to say about how susceptible minds can be twisted toward blind allegiance. Official Selection: Tribeca Festival 2026. Canadian Premiere.
Matapanki (Chile) — dir. Diego “Mapache” Fuentes
After gaining alcohol-fueled superpowers, Ricardo, a young punk from the outskirts, sets out to change society, but one brutal mistake ignites an international conflict with him at the center of the storm. With aesthetic allusions to Gakuryu Ishii, Matapanki captures an underlying rage and channels it into a radical spirit and creative energy. Official Selection: Berlin International Film Festival 2026, Slamdance 2026, Fantaspoa 2026. Underground Section. Canadian Premiere.
Papaya (Brazil) — dir. Priscilla Kellen
Passionate about flying, a tiny papaya seed in the Amazonian forest must keep moving to avoid rooting. Through perseverance, she discovers the power of her roots, triggering a revolution that transforms her world and fulfills her dreams in an unexpected way. A stunning animated masterpiece by Brazilian filmmaker Priscilla Kellen, Papaya is vibrantly colorful, profoundly moving, and resonant with ecological concerns. Told entirely without dialogue, it’s an important film about the world we live in and how a small seed could change the face of the Earth. Mon Premier Fantasia and Animation Plus Sections. Canadian Premiere.
The Peril at Pincer Point (UK) — dirs. Jake Kuhn and Noah Stratton-Twine
In this beautiful, monochromatic absurdist comedy, a layabout sound recordist is sent to a remote island at the behest of the tyrannical filmmaker P.W. Griffin. With a dash of The Wicker Man, a sprinkle of Guy Maddin, a hint of Hundreds of Beavers, and a generous helping of Roger Corman, The Peril at Pincer Point is a delightfully eccentric love letter to British cinema. Official Selection: SXSW 2026. Underground Section. Canadian Premiere.
Recluse (USA) — dir. Henry Chaisson
When a sound recordist is summoned back to her childhood home to care for her father, a famous artist rumored to have dabbled in the occult, she must confront the unearthed demons of her family’s past and contend with the house’s dark, malevolent energy. The eerie feature directorial debut of Henry Chaisson (Antlers, Servant) stars Sasha Frolova (The Empty Man), Toby Poser (Mother of Flies), Xander Berkeley (Terminator 2: Judgment Day), and Kimball Farley (Hippo). Official Selection: Tribeca Festival 2026. Canadian Premiere.
The Seoul Guardians (South Korea) — dirs. Kim Jong-woo, Kim Shin-wan, and Cho Chul-young
This thrilling, award-winning documentary recounts the events surrounding the imposition of martial law in Korea in December 2024 and the peaceful uprising of civilians against dictatorship. Using footage from both inside and outside the National Assembly, the film masterfully conveys the urgency, disbelief, and visceral fear of a new dictatorship. Official Selection: Rotterdam Film Festival 2026, Hot Docs 2026. Documentaries from the Edge Section. Quebec Premiere.
We’re Nothing at All (Hong Kong) — dir. Herman Yau
Inspired by the 1998 Wuhan Bus Blast in China, Herman Yau’s We’re Nothing at All follows three men from different backgrounds whose lives become intertwined after a Valentine’s Day bomb attack. The film continues the director’s longstanding commitment to presenting marginalized communities and the unseen struggles of sexual minorities with empathy and humanity. Official Selection: Hong Kong International Film Festival 2026, Audience Choice Award. Quebec Premiere.
FANTASIA RETRO: Fantasia’s long-standing showcase of classic film restorations and rare 35mm screenings returns with big-screen showings of landmark works from Takashi Miike. Robert Lepage, Paul Morrissey, Johnny Wang Lung-Wei, Marcela Fernández Violante. Takeshi Koike, Tibor Takács, Chang Cheh, and more.
City War (Hong Kong, 1988) — dir. Sun Chung
Superstars Chow Yun-Fat (A Better Tomorrow, Hard Boiled) and Ti Lung (A Better Tomorrow, The Heroic Ones) reunite on screen after the mega-success of A Better Tomorrow and A Better Tomorrow II in this rarely seen Hong Kong action classic. Directed by veteran Shaw Brothers action maestro Sun Chung (Human Lanterns, Avenging Eagle), who was like a nasty wuxia Ringo Lam of the 1970s, City War is loaded with humor, strong characters, intense drama, and brutal, totally nuts gunfights. World Theatrical Premiere of Shout! Factory‘s new 4K restoration, courtesy of Radial Entertainment and AGFA.
Le Confessionnal (Canada, 1995) — dir. Robert Lepage
Robert Lepage‘s landmark first feature is set in both the 1950s, while Alfred Hitchcock was shooting I Confess, and the 1980s, when two brothers with nothing in common set out to find one of their biological fathers. A rarity in this digital age, the film will be presented as it was meant to be seen with an archival 35mm print. Special 35mm Screening celebrating Robert Lepage‘s Denis-Héroux Award.
The Delinquent (Hong Kong, 1973) — dirs. Chang Cheh and Kuei Chih-Hung
A young man’s fists erupt furiously against thugs in this classic jointly directed by two legendary Hong Kong filmmakers: action legend Chang Cheh (Five Deadly Venoms, One-Armed Swordsman) and horror master Kuei Chih-Hung (Killer Constable, Boxer’s Omen). Filled with breathtaking action, including a bloody, wild climax choreographed by Lau Kar-Leung (Drunken Master II) and Tang Chia (Avenging Eagle), who revolutionized the style of cinematic kung fu with an extra edge of roughness. A true classic, now newly restored from the original negative and ready to blast with Shaw Scope excitement. World Premiere of Arrow Films‘ new 2K restoration.
Forty Deuce (USA, 1982) — dir. Paul Morrissey
New York City, 1982. Street hustler Ricky (Kevin Bacon, Footloose, Tremors), reprising his Obie Award-winning role, devises a plan to shake down a wealthy john (Orson Bean, Being John Malkovich) in order to make a drug buy in this vivid snapshot of pre-gentrification New York City from legendary underground director Paul Morrissey (Flesh for Frankenstein), adapted from Alan Bowne‘s off-off-Broadway play. Bacon proves in this early performance that he was a talent to watch, and his fellow hustlers are all memorably real and convincing. Difficult to see for decades, Forty Deuce has been newly restored, returning in full-grime glory. World Premiere of Vinegar Syndrome‘s new 4K restoration.
Full Blast (Canada, 1999) — dir. Rodrigue Jean
As the only factory in a small Acadian town is hit with an indefinite strike, a group of friends try to make a living and survive, notably by reforming their old band. But the bonds between them are no longer what they once were in this town where time does not heal wounds. Rodrigue Jean‘s debut feature receives a special screening celebrating Louise Portal‘s Denis-Héroux Award.
Gozu (Japan, 2003) — dir. Takashi Miike
Few names are as essential to Fantasia’s 30th anniversary as Takashi Miike, whose work first reached Western audiences through Fantasia’s 1997 North American premiere of Fudoh. Among his vast filmography, few titles are as delightfully confounding as Gozu. A gangster’s search for his boss’s missing body becomes an odyssey into deeply disturbing absurdity in this fever dream that defies interpretation. World Premiere of New Wave Films‘ new 4K restoration, courtesy of Radiance Films.
Hayop Ka! (Philippines, 2021) — dir. Avid Liongoren
Fantasia revisits Hayop Ka!, a feature that could have been a game changer for animation in the Philippines had it not debuted during the pandemic. Fortunately, the preservationists at Deaf Crocodile have rescued the film from obscurity with a forthcoming Blu-ray release, giving director Avid Liongoren, whose new film Zsazsa Zaturnnah also screens at Fantasia, the proper festival presentation it deserves. An energetic and affectionate satire of racy television soap operas told with colorful cartoon animals, Hayop Ka! is a funny, sexy farce with a very big heart. Animation Plus Section. Special Screening, courtesy of Deaf Crocodile.
Hong Kong Godfather (Hong Kong, 1985) — dir. Johnny Wang Lung-Wei
Imagine The Wild Bunch fused with John Woo‘s heroic bloodshed films, but with nastier weapons and plenty of kung fu. Hong Kong Godfather is a rarely seen triad action film featuring a completely bonkers bloodbath finale. Director Johnny Wang Lung-Wei, famous for playing villains in numerous Shaw Brothers productions including Kid with the Golden Arm and Boxer’s Omen, also serves as writer, action choreographer, and supporting actor. Filmed during the final year of Shaw Studios, this intense gangster tale remains unavailable and long out of print on physical media. Special 35mm Screening.
Les Loups (Canada, 2014) — dir. Sophie Deraspe
Élie (Evelyne Brochu, Polytechnique, Tom at the Farm), a young Montreal woman struggling with an identity crisis, travels to a fishing village in the Magdalen Islands during seal-hunting season. Directed by Sophie Deraspe, Les Loups also stars Louise Portal and screens in celebration of her Denis-Héroux Award.
Metal Messiah (Canada, 1978) — dir. Tibor Takács
The long-lost Canadian glam musical sci-fi gem returns to the screen. After learning of an evil rock promoter’s plan to use heavy metal to keep society sedated in a cycle of hedonistic pleasure, a stylish metallic alien arrives on Earth to save humanity and rock out. Running somewhere between Phantom of the Paradise and Alphaville, Tibor Takács‘ retro-futurist rock opera examines political capitalism, media manipulation, and personal freedom through a wildly inventive lens. From the director of The Gate. World Premiere of Canadian International Pictures‘ new 4K restoration.
Pontypool (Canada, 2008) — dir. Bruce McDonald
A brazen radio host (Stephen McHattie, Watchmen, Come to Daddy) and his team are besieged in their church-basement studio when their town falls victim to a language virus in Bruce McDonald‘s bold Canadian horror classic. Based on Tony Burgess‘ acclaimed novel, Pontypool reinvents the zombie film through imagination, language, and the mystery of hive mentality. With standout performances from McHattie and his real-life partner Lisa Houle, the film remains one of the defining works of modern Canadian horror. Septentrion Shadows Section. Special Screening celebrating Bruce McDonald‘s Canadian Trailblazer Award.
Possible Worlds (Canada, 2000) — dir. Robert Lepage
George Barber is a mathematician caught in a series of recurring dreams in which he encounters a mysterious woman whose identity changes from dream to dream. From Robert Lepage, Possible Worlds is a genre film whose implications linger long after the credits roll. Starring Tom McCamus, Tilda Swinton, Sean McCann, Rick Miller, and Gabriel Gascon. Special Screening celebrating Robert Lepage‘s Denis-Héroux Award.
Redline (Japan, 2009) — dir. Takeshi Koike
Redline isn’t just a milestone in Fantasia history. It’s one of anime’s all-time classics. Based on a story by Katsuhito Ishii, this was the first feature from Madhouse animator Takeshi Koike, whose kinetic visual style combines perfectly with Ishii‘s punk-surreal imagination. The result is a roaring, visually overwhelming sci-fi racer that still demands to be experienced on the biggest screen possible. Animation Plus Section.
Studio Q (Mexico, 1980) — dir. Marcela Fernández Violante
In this meta-cinematic masterpiece from Marcela Fernández Violante, one of the first female feature directors in modern Mexican cinema, a telenovela star (Juan Ferrara) finds himself trapped inside the soap opera he stars in, with every attempt to reconnect with reality leading him right back into fiction. Frequently described as the cinematic grandmother of The Truman Show, Studio Q is an ultra-rare mind-bending treasure. World Premiere of Severin Films‘ new 4K restoration.
Thrilling Bloody Sword (Taiwan, 1981) — dir. Chang Hsin-Yi
An utterly ludicrous fantasy martial arts adventure long believed lost for nearly 40 years, Thrilling Bloody Sword feels like Masters of the Universe crossed with Snow White and infused with the delirious energy of Battle Wizard and Tsui Hark‘s Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain. Packed with psychedelic fantasy, impossible gravity, and action sequences designed by legendary Chiang Sheng (Five Deadly Venoms), this long-lost wuxia oddity finally returns in a stunning new restoration. World Premiere of Error 4444‘s new 4K restoration.
The 30th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival will take place in Montréal from July 16th through August 2nd, 2026. It is presented by MELS in collaboration with Concordia University and made possible by the financial support of Telefilm Canada, the Société́ de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), the Ministère du Tourisme, the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation, the city of Montréal, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, and Tourisme Montréal.
![Fantasia 2026 Unveils Massive Final Wave With ‘Buddy’, ‘Colony’, ‘Freaks Part II’, and More [Images]](https://www.dreadcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Junction-Row.jpg)
