Special Events
Artist Talk: Charles band
Moderated by Rue Morgue Magazine’s Michael Gingold
In celebration of THE PRIMEVALS’ world premiere at the festival, Fantasia presents a special artist talk with legendary American independent producer Charles Band, founder of Empire Pictures and Full Moon Productions.
With 50 years in the business and over 300 feature films under his belt, Charles Band shows no signs of slowing down. In 1975, he produced his first horror picture, MANSION OF THE DOOMED. In 1978, he formed MEDA (later renamed MEDIA) Home Entertainment, the first independent home-video distribution company in North America, which famously released John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN among many others. In 1979, Band produced the classic TOURIST TRAP. He went on to form Wizard Video in 1981, releasing everything from THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE to Fulci's ZOMBIE, as well as Atari 2600 game versions of several horror classics before anyone was trying that kind of thing. Band continued to produce and direct his own films during this era, including the 3D feature PARASITE, which featured Demi Moore in her first starring role. In 1983, he founded Empire Pictures Entertainment. The production company produced as many as 12 theatrical features a year, including some of the biggest cult hits of the ’80s, including GHOULIES, TROLL, and perhaps most significantly, Stuart Gordon’s RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND and ROBOT JOX. At the end of the decade, Band pioneered the independent direct-to-video feature with the formation of Full Moon Entertainment and with it, the creation of PUPPET MASTER, which has gone on to become the most successful direct-to-video film series of all time. Band’s company created many well-known video franchises throughout the ’90s and into the new millennium, from SUBSPECIES to TRANCERS and beyond. He continues to produce films under its banner to this day.
Saturday, July 22 – 4 PM | FREE
Artist talk: Larry Kent
Join us for a special artist talk with the legendary Larry Kent, Canada’s first underground feature filmmaker, presented as part of our celebration of the ground-breaking director as this year’s recipient of Fantasia’s Canadian Trailblazer Award.
Cited by David Cronenberg as “a heroic figure,” Larry Kent made films “so ahead of their time” (to quote Atom Egoyan) that many eventually fell out of official circulation. Situated somewhere between the vivid indie dramas of John Cassavetes and the lurid melodramas of Doris Wishman, with atypical protagonists and narratives that compassionately (and confrontationally!) addressed a multitude of social issues, Kent’s films brought new vitality to Canadian cinema — and time has only added to their potency.
Kent’s career is a unique window into nearly every foundational aspect of Canadian independent cinema and his work across six decades of history has given him a dozen lifetimes of adventures. A famously wonderful raconteur, he is a man with a multitude of stories to tell that shed personal light on the people and events that shaped much of what we know today as Canadian independent film. You won’t want to miss this.
Tuesday July 25 – 5:30PM | FREE
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Jour de merde – Special screening
Maude is going through a very difficult period in her life. Caught between an abusive partner, an ungrateful child, a job at risk, and a callous boss, she has to go to visit and record and interview with a reclusive man who initially refuses to be spoken with. A friendship, or at least a certain mutual respect, develops between the two, until Maude's angry partner decides to show up at the shoot. A strange spiral of violence, survival, and emancipation is set in motion involving Maude, her son, the man, and his apparently troubled family. Kevin T. Landry's film deserves to be seen or re-seen. Here's your chance to discover or revisit this film and, at the same time, discover some of its secrets. The secret’s in the sauce, as they say...
The Fantasia Festival, the Kino movement and the team behind the film JOUR DE MERDE (2023) team up for a new experience that's both entertaining and educational. The film will be screened in its entirety, followed by four presentations in which Kevin T. Landry (director), Isabelle Giroux (actress), Lou Scamble (actress and script consultant), and Macha Houssart (producer) comment on their favourite scenes on screen, explaining their approach, the technical aspects, and the challenges of each one. This activity will demystify certain aspects of the profession. The presentations will be filmed for later viewing. – Translation: Rupert Bottenberg
Tuesday July 25 – 6:30PM | FREE
Learn MoreArtist Talk: Jimmy McDonough
Moderated by Author and Journalist Ralph Elawani
If there was such a thing as a “gold standard” of exploitation cinema historians, Jimmy McDonough would be it. This scene has many champions, but McDonough's landmark 2001 Andy Milligan biography THE GHASTLY ONE distinguished him as a writer whose work excelled not merely in recounting the life and career of a one-of-a-kind filmmaker, but the era in which he lived and thrived. Subsequent biographies of Neil Young, Russ Meyer, Tammy Wynette, and Al Green once again showcased his unique understanding of these great artists, and now, on the eve of the publication of what promises to be his most exhaustive and absorbing book, THE EXOTIC ONES (published by FAB Press), Fantasia is proud to present Jimmy McDonough in conversation with journalist Ralph Elawani to discuss both an extraordinary career and perhaps his most fascinating subject matter yet, the Ormond Family, the notorious Nashville mother-father-son trio who cranked out a wild bunch of movies, from Lash LaRue westerns to a stripper-gore-musical outrage then, finally… a string of extreme Baptist extravaganzas. Two of the latter will be screening together elsewhere at the festival in new restorations, billed under the title DOOMED AMERICA.
A limited number of books will be available for sale and signing. This will be Jimmy McDonough’s only Canadian appearance on THE EXOTIC ONES’ book tour. Miss it and you’ll regret it forever.
Wednesday, July 26 – 5:30PM | FREE
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Career Masterclass: Roadkill Superstars
Moderator: Andrew Mack, Screen Anarchy
RKSS, the initialism for Roadkill Superstars, is an internationally beloved filmmaking trio consisting of Canadian film directors François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell. Their debut feature film TURBO KID (2015) emerged from the Frontières International Co-production Market, world premiered at Sundance and quickly attained an adoring cult following across the world. Their sophomore feature, the horror mystery SUMMER OF ’84 (2018) launched at SXSW to wide acclaim. The trio’s third feature, WE ARE ZOMBIES, will have its World Premiere as the Closing Night Film of Fantasia this year. They are currently in post-production on their fourth feature, WAKE UP. RKSS effectively came-of-age at Fantasia over the years, first in the festival’s audience and then on its screen with their early short film works becoming regular crowd favourites. Presented by Frontières, this masterclass will guide the audience through the career of these exciting Quebec filmmakers.
Friday July 28 – 3PM | FREE
Learn MoreTERROR IN THE AILIEN REALMS Book Launch and Live Reading
Driven by a profound nostalgia for roaming video rental stores to find cool movies to watch by judging what VHS box artwork would entice or beguile, filmmaker and artist Pat Tremblay has created a series of horror movie posters with the assistance of AI. He then invited talented individuals within the horror scene to write imaginary reviews for them. The result is TERROR IN THE AILIEN REALMS: TRANSDIMENSIONAL HORROR MOVIE POSTERS & THEIR FILM REVIEWS, a captivating mixture of styles, ranging from the enigmatic and alluring to the outrageously hilarious. The dimensional doors to the AIlien Realms have opened, and you can now read what horrific and crazy films this AI world has created, for better or for worse!
Reviews by authors such as Stephen R. Bissette, Vincenzo Natali, Benson & Moorhead, Jay Baruchel, Jennifer Reeder, Karim Hussain, Joel Potrykus, Buddy Giovinazzo, Rodney Ascher, Ted Geoghegan, Alan Jones, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Simon Rumley, Tim Lucas, Jörg Buttgereit, Isaac Ezban, Dennison Ramalho, Miguel Llanso, Steve De Jarnatt, Mike Mendez, and many more!
Sixteen of these contributors will be attending the launch event, including Benson & Moorhead, George Mihalka, Elza Kephart, Dave Alexander, Gary Sherman, Eric Falardeau, Lee Paula Springer, Chris Bavota, David Lawson, and Michael Gingold and some will do live readings of their reviews!
Learn more by visiting www.ailienrealms.com
Friday, July 28 - 5PM
Discover Maywa Denki
Visit any variety store or musical instrument shop in Japan, and it’s likely that you’ll find a rack devoted to a novelty toy synthesizer called the Otamatone, a strange device with a small but dedicated global fan base. Coming in a variety of sizes, the simple electronic musical instrument with the appearance of a cartoon eighth note, first issued in 2010, is the best known of the many creations of Maywa Denki. The Tokyo-based company reconciles high art and lowbrow commerce, democratizing creativity while legitimizing silly fun as a noble pursuit.
At the heart of Maywa Denki is its co-founder, inventor, musician, artist, and entrepreneur Novmichi Tosa. On the cultural map, he could be situated somewhere between Devo and Blue Man Group, Harry Partch and Alexander Calder, and Akihiro Yokoi and Aki Maita (inventors of the Tamagotchi). His latest project, with his Maywa Denki colleagues and anime development firm Slowcurve Co., is the OTAMATOONS series of short, wordless video vignettes, using MIDI and animatronics to bring the Otamatone and its assortment of associated kawaii noisemakers to life.
Not only is Fantasia proudly presenting the world premieres of the first five OTAMATOONS, which will pop up before various features films in our schedule, the festival is welcoming Tosa-san himself for DISCOVER MAYWA DENKI, a special, free artist talk/workshop event. It’s an introduction to Maywa Denki’s history, an encounter with its most popular products in action, an unveiling of the OTAMATOON series, and a chance to meet Tosa-san in person, as well as purchase Maywa Denki items rarely seen in North America!
Friday, July 28 – 7PM | FREE
Learn MoreGeneration Genre - Life is a long journey from short to feature films
This year, four genre films have graced our screens and stirred up a lot of discussion. It was essential to speak with these creators and reflect on the long journey from short to feature film in Quebec. The panelists are Lawrence Côté-Collins (BUNGALOW), Pascal Plante (LES CHAMBRES ROUGES), Kevin T. Landry (JOUR DE MERDE), and Edouard Tremblay (FARADOR). Together, we will watch their respective debut films, discuss their journeys, and analyze a scene from each of these inspired creators' most recent feature films.
Sunday July 23 – 1:30PM | FREE
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DARK MATTER PRESENTS: HAUNTED REELS Book Launch and Live Reading
Featuring Jay Baruchel, Sarah Bolger, Benson & Moorhead, C. Robert Cargill, Gary Sherman, Jared Moshe, and more!
Do everything in your earthly power not to miss this star-studded book launch event for DARK MATTER PRESENTS: HAUNTED REELS, a new genre fiction anthology curated by producer and co-founder of Rustic Films, David Lawson Jr., and published by Dark Matter INK. This incredible anthology includes 28 stories that span genres including science fiction, horror, alternate history, and new weird, each written by a noteworthy genre filmmaker, many of whom are Fantasia alumni — and in four cases, are showing new films in this year’s lineup!
This event features live readings by the authors in attendance, including Jay Baruchel, Sarah Bolger, Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Jared Moshe, C. Robert Cargill, Lola Blanc, David Lawson Jr., Gary Sherman, Cecil Reed, Izzy Lee, Malachi Moore, Owen Egerton, Janina Gavankar, and more, along with a lively discussion about the collection of stories and the filmmakers’ experiences exercising different creative muscles writing in a short-story format. In addition, it will provide attendees an opportunity to purchase the book and have it signed by 20 of its authors.
For more information on the book, including its full lineup of authors, visit: https://darkmattermagazine.shop/pages/haunted-reels
Saturday, July 29 – 3:30PM | FREE
PANEL: BIPOC Futures in Canadian Genre Film
Representation of BIPOC filmmakers in Canadian genre film is growing, with films like BLOOD QUANTUM by the late Jeff Barnaby, NIGHTRAIDERS by Danis Goulet, and NO GHOST IN THE MORGUE by Quebec-based Marilyn Cooke, plus many others, but what steps did they take to bring their projects to reality?
Sunday July 30 – 2PM | FREE
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CONFERENCE: 50 YEARS OF ARRQ - 50 YEARS OF GENRE CINEMA IN QUEBEC
This year, the Association of Directors and Producers of Quebec (ARRQ) celebrates its 50th anniversary. It's the perfect opportunity to look back on 50 years of cinema in Quebec. Moreover, it's an opportunity to revisit 50 years of genre cinema in Quebec and trace its evolution in the company of those who have paved the way for the creation of genre films over these five decades. Among the guests at this roundtable discussion, we have Yves Simoneau (INTIMATE POWER, IN THE BELLY OF THE DRAGON), Roger Cantin (THE ASSASSIN PLAYED THE TROMBONE, MATUSALEM), Érik Canuel (THE PIG'S LAW, BON COP BAD COP), Éric Tessier (AT THE THRESHOLD, 5150 ELM'S WAY), and Myriam Bouchard (MY CIRCUS, MYSELF, DECEMBER 23rd).
Tuesday August 8 – 3PM | FREE
Learn MoreEscale Sanglante
Fantasia Festival is delighted to present to you "Bloody Stopover," a special event as part of the famous television series "On the Road to Horror."
Tuesday August 8 – 6PM | FREE
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Kino Fantasia Night
Les plus grands classiques ont été présentés en première lors du Festival Fantasia, découvrez-les sous un nouvel angle en participant à cette soirée défis qui présentera tous les courts métrages réalisés pendant le mois de juillet par des kinoïtes, suite à l’appel de films lancé par Kino Montréal et Rémi Fréchette. Vous pourrez assister à la projection spéciale des défis de 4 minutes qui revisitent des classiques pour leur donner une nouvelle vie !
THÈME : Sélectionner 1 film parmi cette liste et le revisiter à sa façon :
SKINAMARINK
RINGU
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
TURBO KID
UNFRIENDED
HARD BOILED
THE DESCENT
BON COP BAD COP
SHIN GODZILLA
GOOD TIME
SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD
BATTLE ROYALE
BIRDEMIC
[REC]
MANDY
DURÉE : 4 minutes (générique inclus)
FORMAT : h264 (1920 x 1080p) en .mov ou .mp4
DATE LIMITE POUR L’ENVOI DES FICHIERS : le 1er août
Veuillez nous informer de votre désir de participer au défi et du film choisi au courriel suivant: info@kino00.com
Vous pourrez envoyer votre film sur cette boîte courriel et inclure dans votre sujet «Défi Kino» suivi du titre de votre film.
Tuesday August 8 – 8PM | FREE
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