Fantasia International Film Festival
Montréal, Canada / July 11-August 1, 2019 / fantasiafestival.com
Aptly described by a panelist as “North America’s longest-running (22 years) and… longest-running (three weeks each year) genre festival,” Fantasia, under directors Pierre Corbeil and Mitch Davis, unveils a staggering number of features—over 150 in 2018—along with numerous shorts. “Fantasia embodies everything wonderful about the genre community,” the panelist continues. “It exposes forward-thinking and creative programming to some of the smartest, most engaged fans in the world.” One of the fest’s many small charms is those viewers’ penchant for meowing as the lights go down before each screening. “The audience has made Fantasia what it is today,” another panelist says. “It’s a great place to have a premiere.” Its Frontières co-production market, which connects moviemakers and potential financiers, has become a growing force, as well; within a couple of weeks of its close this year, Paramount Pictures snapped up one of the pitched projects, David-Jan Bronsgeest’s Meet Jimmy.
L to R: Tony Timpone, Joe Dante, Mick Garris, Ryuhei Kitamura, Alejandro Brugués and Mitch Davis swarm Fantasia 2018’s world premiere of horror anthology Nightmare Cinema. Photograph by Julie Delisle, courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival
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