FANTASIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL returns for its 29th year
by "Doc" Hunter Bush, Staff Writer and Podcast Director
In the last 29 years, the Mission:Impossible franchise has released eight espionage action films of varying quality, while, despite the title, there are only 23 years between zombie flick 28 Years Later and its franchise originator. In 29 years you could experience almost an entire year on Saturn, which equals 29.4 Earth years, though interestingly the days on Saturn only last a little over ten and a half hours. If you had money to burn, you could build an elaborate and expensive 500,000 gallon pool in your backyard in Covington, Tennessee like this guy, or circumnavigate the globe in the exact path and manners of travel as in Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days approximately 132 and a half times! Or you could be like the Fantasia International Film Festival and grow into a renowned exhibition of films from around the world!
Founded in 1996, the Fantasia International Film Festival has evolved from merely celebrating Asian genre cinema--a noble pursuit in itself, certainly--into an annual destination for genre films and filmmakers of all stripes from around the world. It has become a place to seek out highly anticipated films from the more independent-minded creators in the industry, and to see world premieres of films great and small! To still be around after 29 years is an amazing feat.
In my past experiences with the festival I’ve discovered some truly amazing films, and this year’s crop of films is as exciting as you could hope. There’s an animated zombie-style film from legend Takashi Miike with cats in place of the zombies (as in: if you get bitten by a cat, you turn into a cat) called Nyaight of the Living Cat; there’s Ari Aster’s cognitive dissonance COVID conflict film Eddington; there are pictures about stalkers, screenlife, stop-motion, and Smurfs! Truly, there’s something for probably everyone.
To that end, while the following films are the ones I am most excited for, that doesn’t make the others any less worthwhile. One of my favorite aspects of film festivals is watching something you were only medium-eager to see and having it be one of your favorite films of the year. It’s happened to me many times, and I’m always so grateful for it. With that in mind, let’s take a look at just some of what will be available at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival.
Dog of God
Directed by Lauris Abele, Raitis Abele
Canadian Premiere
Acquire tickets HERE
Apparently based on “the most famous werewolf trial”, this rotoscope animated film capitalizes on the attention that Academy Award winning feature Flow has brought to animation from Latvia, but to very different stylistic ends. Brother directors Lauris and Raitis Abele have made something with fascinating and tantalizing visuals that tells a story about the struggle for power between a priest and a baron involving witchcraft, hedonistic frenzy, violent madness, and *checks notes* the Devil’s testicles! Aside from the incredibly unique animation, the sex and the violence, there’s something special about Dog of God that immediately made me think “I bet Ken Russell would have loved this”. As a diehard Ken Russell appreciator, I can’t wait to check it out.
Anything That Moves
Directed by Alex Phillips
World Premiere
Acquire tickets HERE
Having not even seen a trailer for this film yet, I can say it is high on my Want To Watch list. Director Alex Phillips’ previous film, 2022’s All Jacked Up and Full of Worms, caught me by surprise--I would never have imagined that a film about being able to get high by stuffing worms under your skin would be as sweet and as genuinely funny as it was--and made me very excited for whatever Phillips made next. Turns out it’s Anything That Moves, apparently a loving throwback to the earnestness of 1970s era pornography about a bike courier / sex worker and his various clients. Shot on Super 16mm to better emulate the feel of the films which inspired it, I’m curious to see what, no pun intended, comes from this.
ChaO
Directed by Yasuhiro Aoki
North American Premiere
Acquire tickets HERE
As an appreciator of animation, I’m a fan of Studio 4ºC who have been involved with numerous very singular projects--Tekkonkinkreet, MFKZ (a.k.a. Mutafukaz), several segments from The Animatrix, among many others--so their credit in this trailer immediately grabbed my attention. Beyond that, this take on a star-crossed love story uniting the differing worlds of mankind and fish-folk looks sweet, stirring, and genuinely hilarious. A reimagining of The Little Mermaid that seems focused on mankind learning to live more harmoniously with nature, ChaO really seems like my kind of flick. Fun fact: Another Studio 4ºC feature, All You Need is Kill has its North American Premiere at Fantasia as well!
Ya Boy Kongming! The Movie
Directed by Shuhei Shibue
North American Premiere
Acquire tickets HERE
Though I am unfamiliar with the manga this is adapted from, it sounds like something I’d enjoy reading: As he lay dying in battle in 234, military strategist Zhuge Kongming wished that his next life would be one of peace, and he is reincarnated in modern Tokyo where he is adopted by club kids and falls in love. The trailer mainly showcases Kongming’s day job as a DoorDash delivery courier, and his getting involved with a popstar, encouraging her to enter a contest to win a record contract. It might not be the most original plot, but the heightened nature of the characters, along with the lushness of the feature’s visuals, it all projects “FUN”! I’m looking forward to checking it out.
I am Frankelda
Directed by Arturo Ambriz, Roy Ambriz
North American Premier
Acquire tickets HERE
Another animated feature from another pair of brothers, Arturo and Roy Ambriz--proteges of Fantasia supporter, Oscar winner, and big ol’ monster-loving sweetie Guillermo del Toro--bring Mexico’s first stop-motion animated feature! When author Francisca Imelda attracts the attention of the owl-boy prince of the world her stories describe, he attempts to break the membrane between the worlds to be with her at the same time that his parents are actively endangering both worlds! Previously appearing in a series of Cartoon Network interstitial shorts, the characters and world of I am Frankelda appear as a carefully crafted love letter to fantasy and the arts. I am thoroughly ready to be enchanted.
What do you think? Do any of these titles jump out at you? I encourage you to visit Fantasia’s site for titles and updates, and see which other films pique your interest. I’m sure there will be at least a few. If you’re able to attend in person, Fantasia offers numerous live events including a book launch for MovieJawn contributor Payton McCarty-Simas’ new book That Very Witch: Fear, Feminism, and the American Witch Film, talks from industry professionals like producer Anne-Marie Gélinas, composer Danny Elfman, or Troma head Lloyd Kaufman, and even an opportunity to see the I am Frankelda puppets in person!
The festival has an especially robust Fantasia Retro lineup as well. This batch of restorations and 35mm repertory screenings is frequently only available in-person. This year’s titles include angelpunk anime Angel’s Egg (a collaboration between Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii & Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano), John Woo’s previously hard to find Bullet in the Head, J-Horror classic Noroi: The Curse, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the 1980s sleaze-revenge flick Night of the Juggler starring James Brolin, among many more!
Stay tuned to MovieJawn for further coverage of the Fantasia International Film Festival from myself and fellow MJ contributor Rachel Shatto, and as always: Long Live the Movies!
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