It’s almost time for theFantasia International Film Festival! Starting on July 20, this International Film Festival will showcase a multitude of world premiere films, tributes, and an overall showcase of quality filmmaking from the world over. This year, in particular, marks the 27th edition of the festival, along with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the festival’s country of origin, Canada, and the Republic of Korea. As a result, South Korean cinema will be given a special focus at the festival, with several film screenings and a lengthy retrospective discussing the modern-day Korean cinema revival.
But, along withhighlighting Korean films, plenty of highly-anticipated films will also be making their international premiere at the festival in some form or another. From established names making a comeback to new titles from beloved independent creators, these are just some of the best films making their premiere at Fantasia 2023.
Aporia Is Speculative Sci-Fi
Aporiacomes to us from the mind of Jared Moshe, a director previouslyresponsible for the underrated westernThe Ballad of Lefty Brown. WhereasLefty Brownexamined what a sidekick must do when he’s suddenly left without his partner,Aporiainstead takes a look at whether time can really heal all wounds – as in, going back in time before those wounds even happened.
Judy Greer stars as Sophie, a woman juggling grief, work, and family in an increasingly stressful life. When a friend of her late husband gives her the opportunity to literally turn back time and restore her old life, Sophie finds herself grappling with the ethical – and unexpected – effects of doing so.
Speculative science fiction is always particularly exciting, and seeing as how AI recently took the world by storm in just a matter of months, we’re anxious to see if time travel may hold similar discussions of ethics and innovation.
Blackout Combines Werewolves and Paranoia
Larry Fessenden has tackled vampires and Frankenstein inHabitandDepraved, respectively. Now, inBlackout, he’ll finally take his shot at a werewolf movie. While not nearly as tapped into as their non-fuzzy counterparts, werewolves and lycanthropes offer a plethora of interesting directions to go in terms of filmmaking.
ForBlackoutspecifically, a fine arts painter will find himself believing more and more that he’s terrorizing his hometown as one of these snarling monsters under the guise of night.
Similar to Fessenden’s previous works,Blackoutwill also aim to balance horror with humanity in a story that focuses on socio-political themes, struggles with paranoia and suspicion, and even ecological concerns. Because of this, we can expect a particularly unique werewolf movie that may inspire future filmmakers to take their own spin on the genre.
Ryan Ward continues where he left off in his original filmSon of the Sunshine,in his upcoming continuation of the saga,Daughter of the Sun. Billed as a “nostalgic, supernatural road trip,“Daughter of the Sunwill see Sonny, a man with Tourette Syndrome, as he takes his daughter Hildie on a cross-country journey. Along the way, they’ll encounter a group of nomadic strangers that may not be as kind as they let on.
It’ll be intriguing to see where exactly Ward can take these characters in another film. Whether you enjoyedSon of the Sunshine or haven’t even seen it, it’ll be an opportunity for Ward to do something different with a solid foundation. Footage for the film has been shot in Manitoba, and it will feature what is described as “cosmic imagery” to please the eyes.
Empire V Reinvents Vampires
Empire V, the latest project from Russian-American director Victor Ginzburg, promises a particularly inventive take on the vampire genre. We’ve seen vampires remade in countless different ways, from the animalistic monsters found in30 Days of Nightto the comedic take on the supernatural inWhat We Do in the Shadows.
Luckily,Empire Vpromises to be wholly unique by itself. When a young student (Pavel Tabakov) is invited to join “the elite,” he finds himself forcibly converted into a bloodsucker and suddenly thrust into an anonymous dictatorship over humans.
Related:The 10 Best Russian Movies of All Time, Ranked
Banned by Russia’s Ministry of Culture, this anti-Oligarch film will see Ginzburg’s imagination come alive with visuals provided by Aleksei Rodionov, the same cinematographer behind what is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time,Come and See. With current geopolitical tensions, it’ll be interesting to see why exactly this film was banned and what it has to say as a result.
Lovely, Dark, and Deep Is a Beautiful Nightmare
The directorial debut of Teresa Sutherland,Lovely, Dark, and DeepstarsBarbarian’s Georgina Campbell as a park ranger in a forest outpost. As mysterious disappearances start to add up on the grounds, she starts to experience strange visions that blend the past, the present, and a sinister force that’s yet to be fully understood.
Based on this, we can expect a film that elicits the same feeling you get in the isolation of the wilderness – something beautiful and serene, with something a little more ominous lurking underneath.
Campbell stars alongside Nick Blood, Wai Ching Ho, and Edgar Morais in a horror movie for the senses. Teresa Sutherland previously cut her teeth onThe WindandMidnight Mass, both criticallylauded for their tension and atmosphere. We can hopefully expect more of the same from her first feature film.
Mayhem! Marks Xavier Gens' Return
A prominent name in the New French Extremity movement,Mayhem!will mark Xavier Gens' first feature film since 2018’sBudapest. However, you might recognize him more from his work onFrontier(s), a sadistic thriller thatreveled in its over-the-top violence.
Mayhem!is trending more towards the latter, as a professional-boxer-turned-drug-smuggler ends up going on a quest for revenge littered with busted teeth and broken bones.
Set in Thailand, Nassim Lyes stars as our leading man Sam alongside Olivier Gourmet, Loryn Nounay, Vithaya Pansringarm, Mehdi Hadim, and Kenneth Won. Relying less on primal action and more on visceral fighting choreography, we can expect the next generation of revenge thrillers to start with a bang.
Mother Land Is an Animated Arctic Epic
Animated movies always seem to turn heads, and this South Korean film will be no different.Mother Land, an Arctic stop-motion movie directed by Park Jae-beom, takes a particularly unique look at the lives of the nomadic reindeer herders of the Siberian tundra.
When Krisha’s mother falls ill, the young girl opts to follow the advice of her village shaman. That is, she must follow the North Star in search of the great red bear of legend.
There’s a beautiful charmassociated with stop-motion filmsthat’s hard to find elsewhere. Maybe it’s the hundreds of hours of work put into making these models move and bend. Maybe it’s the way they move about in tangible space and how they react to real lighting in real environments. Whatever it might be, you’re able to expectMother Landto thoroughly entertain with its unique setting, characters, and story.
People Who Talk to Plushies Are Kind
People Who Talk to Plushies Are Kindwears its story on its sleeves. Nanamori, a sophomore student, joins the Plushies Club in order to more freely express his emotions with stuffed animals. Is it a safe space? Is it a paradise? Or is it just a distraction? Ultimately, who’s to say? We’ll get their perspective in addition to two other students in this off-beat Japanese film.
An exploration of kindness and tolerance in Japanese society,People Who Talk to PlushiesAre Kindlooks to be a positively delightful film experience from the same director behind21st Century Girl, Yurina Kaneko. If you’re able to’t wait to see it, you can also read the original novella written by Ao Omae that the film was based on.
Richelieu Takes on Modern Slavery
Ariane Castellanos and Marc-André Grondin co-star inRichelieu, a gut-wrenching examination of an unfortunately real practice. Ariane is hired as an interpreter by a man named Stéphane for his group of Guatemalan workers. When Ariane witnesses the abuse he puts his workers through, all he expects from her is a job well done. But, when she’s face-to-face with what needs to be done, does Ariane have the courage to do what’s right?
Araw and emotional picturethat weighs the impacts of complicity, we’ll be asked to question how doing the same in our own lives can have just as negative an impact on those around us. The next time you don’t speak out when you witness something wrong, you may think back toRichelieuand wish you had done differently.
The Sacrifice Game Is a ’70s Chiller Thriller
Dripping with gore,The Sacrifice Gamecomes to us from Jenn Wexler, who previously directed the 2018 punk rock filmThe Ranger. Now, she’s back in this stylish thriller starring Mena Massoud, Olivia Scott Welch, Gus Kenworthy, Georgia Acken, Madison Baines, and Chloe Levine. Said to involve “school girls, power-mad killers, and occult prophecy,” it’ll be a throwback to an era of sideburns and questioned authority.
Related:10 Most Underrated 70s Horror Movies That Deserve More Love
The film will be written by Jenn Wexler and Sean Redlitz and shot in Quebec. Described as a “breakneck horror film,” it’ll make its world premiere at Fantasia, leaving plenty of time to get excited about its eventual debut.
Tokyo Revengers 2 Is a Live-Action Manga Film
Tokyo Revengers 2- Part 1andTokyo Revengers 2 - Part 2will both be making their international premieres at Fantasia this year. Fans of the manga series and the previous film directed by Tsutomu Hanabusa won’t want to miss the next exciting installment in this off-the-wall series.
When Tekemichi gets a blast from the past as Mio, his love interest, perishes in a freak accident, he’s tasked with going back in time to save her. Along the way, he must find out how his association with the Tokyo Maji Gang subsequently ruined his life.
The original manga series is one of the bestselling of all time as of 2022, and given that this film issplit into two parts, we can expect it to fully cover the “Bloody Halloween” arc following the first film.
What You Wish For Gambles With Dark Comedy
What happens when a chef with gambling problems finds himself taking on the life of someone else? You getWhat You Wish For. A film written and directed by Nicholas Tomnay, who was previously responsible forThe Perfect Host, it promises to be a film that takes you to the edge of your seat as the stakes continue to rise.
Nick Stahl stars as our financially-troubled culinary master, along with Tamsin Topolski, Randy Vasquez, and Penelope Mitchell.What You Wish Formakes its world premiere at Fantasia, with a wider release hopefully coming soon after.
Where the Devil Roams Is a Traveling Horror Show
The Adams Family, comprised of Toby Poster, John Adams, and Zelda Adams, return to the big screen withWhere the Devil Roams. A family of traveling sideshow performers leave a bloody trail as they search for eternal lifein Depression-era America.
Similar to the family’s previous Fantasia premieres,The Deeper You DigandHellbender, the Adams Family will tell a terrifying tale of familial power dynamics with a personal perspective you won’t find elsewhere.
Directing, writing, and acting, there’s no part of the process thateach member of the Adams familyisn’t familiar with. While there’s something inherently unique about seeing a movie made by an entire family, the creativity and effort poured into their films make them more than just an intriguing novelty.
