26TH EDITION OF FANTASIA ANNOUNCES AUDIENCE AWARDS

THE ARTIFICE GIRL, THE ROUNDUP nab Best International Feature and Best Asian Feature prizes, respectively

August 5, 2023 - The Fantasia International Film Festival wrapped its 26th edition this week on August 3rd after a triumphant, widely-attended return to a completely in-person event, full of high-energy premieres and cheering audiences. In addition to the previously announced jury prizes, the esteemed Montreal genre festival is now pleased to reveal the winners of this year’s Audience Awards.

Best International Feature

Gold: THE ARTIFICE GIRL (USA, d. Franklin Ritch)
Silver: LA PIETÀ (Spain, d. Eduardo Casanova)
Bronze: DEADSTREAM (USA, d. Joseph Winter, Vanessa Winter)

Best Asian Feature

Gold: THE ROUNDUP (South Korea, d. Lee Sang-yong)
Silver: NEXT SOHEE (South Korea, d. July Jung)
Bronze: ONE FOR THE ROAD (Hong Kong/Thailand, d. Baz Poonpiriya)

Best Animated Feature

Gold: PRINCESSE DRAGON (France, d. Anthony Roux, Jean-Jacques Denis)
Silver: INU-OH (Japan, d. Masaaki Yuasa)
Bronze: CHUN TAE-IL: A FLAME THAT LIVES ON (South Korea, d. Hong Jungpyo)

Best International Short

Gold: GUMBALL FACTORY (Germany, d. Lindsay Robinson)
Silver: FIELDTRIP (UK, d. Paul Arion, Soren Bendt)
Bronze: SPAGHETTER GETTER (USA, d. Jared Lapidus)

Best Asian Short

Gold: MOSHARI (Bangladesh, d. Nuhash Humayun)
Silver: THE ASTRONAUT AND HIS PARROT (India, d. Arati Kadav)
Bronze: ANIMA POSSESSION (Hong Kong, d. Wai Mo Chan)

Best Animated Short

Gold: SUMMER GHOST (Japan, d. Loundraw)
Silver: PERSONA (South Korea, d. Moon Sujin)
Bronze: NEW MOON (USA, d. Jeremie Balais, Jeff LeBars)

Best Canadian Feature

Gold: THE FIGHT MACHINE (Canada, d. Andrew Thomas Hunt)
Silver: CULT HERO (Canada, d. Jesse T. Cook)
Bronze: RELAX, I’M FROM THE FUTURE (Canada, d. Luke Higginson)

Best Canadian Short

Gold: BUMP (Canada, d. Maziyar Khatam)
Silver: OLDTIMERS (Canada, d. Brian Quintero)
Bronze: ONE OF THOSE GOOD LIVES (Canada, d. Joseph Carney)

Best Quebec Feature

Gold: LES PAS D'ALLURE (Canada, d. Alexandre Leblanc)
Silver: TIMESCAPE (Canada, d. Aristomenis Tsirbas)
Bronze: THE DIABETIC (Canada, d. Mitchell Stafiej)

Best Quebec Short

Gold: DANS L’OMBRE (IN THE SHADOWS) (Canada, d. David Émond-Ferrat)
Silver: BRIGHTSTAR(Canada, d. Raphaël Hébert)
Bronze: LA GUÊPE (Canada, d. Marc Beaupré)

Best Documentary

Gold: THE PEZ OUTLAW (USA, d. Amy Bandlien Storkel, Bryan Storkel)
Silver: QUE LE FAN SOIT AVEC TOI (Canada, d. Marc Joly-Corcoran)
Bronze: OUT IN THE RING (Canada, d. Ry Levey)

The dates for the 27th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival will be announced in the coming months.

The 26th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival was presented with the support of Videotron in collaboration with Desjardins and was made possible thanks to the financial assistance of Telefilm Canada, the Government of Quebec, SODEC, The Ministère des Affaires Municipales et de l'Habitation, Tourisme Québec, the City of Montreal, the Conseil des arts of Montreal and Tourisme Montréal, The Italian Cultural Institute of Montreal, KOCCA (Korea Creative Content Agency), KIAFA (Korean Independent Animation Filmmaker Association), Korean Cultural Centre in Canada