The 30th Edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival is set for July 16 — August 2 in Montreal. This year sees some extremely exciting world premieres plus a solid contingent of Australian features and shorts. New work by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein (Freaks), Agnieszka Smoczyńska (The Lure), Jenn Wexler (Ranger) Larry Fessenden (Habit), and Fantasia legends the Adams Family are just a taste of what audiences will find.
Nadine Whitney picks some of the titles she is most excited about.
Our Effed Up World — Alice Maio Mackay
Australian wunderkind Alice Maio Mackay has genre films in her blood. From her vampire feature length debut So Vam through to her witchy wonder The Serpent’s Skin there isn’t much Alice has missed in her prolific career.
Produced by Jane Schoenbrun Our Effed Up World mixes the slacker comedy of Clerks with an Invasion of the Body Snatchers science-fiction joint. Imagine the least prepared people having to save the world from alien invasion from the local video store. Featuring Annapurna Siram, Sara Thompson, Jess McLeod, Scott Major, Karis Oka, and a special appearance by Alexei Toliopoulos as “video store guy” — Our Effed Up World is a special blend of comedy, b-movies, the Scooby gang, and a surprisingly tender piece about friendship.
Nightborn — Hanna Bergholm
A very wise friend of mine said to me of Hanna Bergholm’s debut feature Hatching that it was very “Nadine coded.” She was right, I adored it. The Finnish director’s second feature Nightborn stars Seidi Haarla as Saga and Rupert Grint as her English husband Jon. Living in an isolated part of a Finnish forest Saga and Jon’s relationship is tested after the birth of their son, of whom Saga suspects something upsetting and uneasy is emanating.
Touted as gruesome, darkly comic, and impeccably directed and acted, Nightborn sounds extremely “Nadine coded” and as I’m recommending it, I’m going to trust it is.
Motherwitch — Minos Papas
Speaking of films that are “Nadine coded” a period-set Cypriot folk horror is catnip. Read the summary and yearn.
“Eleni (Margarita Zachariou) is a painter isolated from her wider community and consumed by unbearable grief after losing all three of her children in a senseless accident. In desperation, she enters into a Faustian pact with chthonic feminine forces to bring them back. Filmed on location in an abandoned settlement in Cyprus and making sublime use of its mountainous rural terrain, Motherwitch weaves fairy tale, dark Gothic ambience, mythology, and stunning practical effects into the fabric of folk horror.”
Penny Lane is Dead — Mia’Kate Russell
Another Australian gem set to shine bright in Montreal is Mia’Kate’s brilliantly messed up mid-eighties set slasher Penny Lane is Dead. The film landed on my Best Of list for Australian films last year for its razor-sharp focus on gender norms back in the days of yore (when I was a teen).
Year 12 is over, and the “perfect” Penny Lane (Bailey Spalding) is having a slumber party (sans parents) with her best friend Amy (Alexandra Jensen) and her girlfriend Toni (Tahlee Fereday) in her coastal home. The Angels’ anthemic Will I Ever See Your Face Again? plays over a montage sunbaking girls and surfing guys. The future’s so bright for law school accepted Penny, that she has to wear shades. She’s in love with a gorgeous woman, she’s popular, and she’s entirely herself. A dark post-punk cloud is on the horizon in the form of Penny’s unstable cousin Kat (Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn) who turns up uninvited and unwanted with an appetite for revenge. Kat also brings with her a loser Brian Mannix styled boyfriend Angus (Ben O’Toole) who also happens to be a minor player in a major amphetamine operation. Also in tow are his “crew” including Rodowsky (Fletcher Humphrys) a loose unit, and the “I’m way too old for this shit” Merrick (Steve Le Marquand). North America, do not sleep on this instant Australian classic.
Godhead — Mark H. Rapaport
When I came across Mark H. Rapaport’s previous feature Hippo I was seriously stuck as to how I’d even describe the pitch black comedy. Hippo is terrific and I put my faith in Godhead being just as messed up.
From the Fantasia synopsis:
“Rapaport plunges us back into his wickedly strange imagination, re-teaming with his Hippo star Kimball Farley. This equally baffling and engrossing film examines the intertwining blood structures where fanaticism and obligation meet. The film follows eccentric twins (Farley and Sarah Coffey) who proclaim themselves prophets, blurring reality and delusion as they draw a priest into their supposedly divine mission. A darkly comic work that examines the limits of dogmatic belief, the film’s formal identity reflects themes of unreal truth and fanaticism in an increasingly fragmented world. Claustrophobic and uncertain, Godhead pulls us into the headspace of religious indoctrination. It’s an offbeat film for our offbeat audience, and a movie for the freaks trying to find their place in this unforgiving world.”
I’m intrigued and ready for some American surrealism. Consider me seated.
Recluse — Henry Chaisson
Toby Poser and Kimball Farley (along Aussie Jess McLeod) are this year’s Fantasia hardest workers. Toby stars in The Glorious Dead and Kimball in Godhead and they both join Xander Berkeley, Sasha Frivola, and Mia Vallet in Henry Chaisson’s stylish contemporary Gothic Recluse.
I’ve written about the haunting and uncanny aspects of Chaisson’s debut which revolves around Joan (Sasha Frivola) a sound recordist returning to her childhood home after her estranged father Lawrence Wyatt (Xander Berkele) a famous artist was burned in a mysterious fire in his studio. Toby Poser plays Wyatt’s loyal housekeeper Lydia who isn’t entirely pleased to see Joan and especially wants her to stay away from her son Todd (Kimball Farley). Nurses have quit because there’s something very wrong with the whispering walls of the Wyatt mansion where there has been one death in the past and the case of Joan’s missing mother.
If you enjoy brilliantly atmospheric puzzles with incredible art design and out-of-this-world sound design, Recluse is just the ticket.
The Fox — Dario Russo
I’m a simple soul. I’m hanging out to see a magpie voiced by Sam Neill swear at a fox voiced by Olivia Colman. You might need more details about Australian director Dario Russo’s debut.
Billed as a “darkly comic folktale” The Fox stars Jai Courtney as a hunter who makes a deal with a fox to find a way to get his cheating girlfriend Kori (Emily Browning) to be his ‘perfect woman.’ Human actors include Damon Herriman, Claudia Doumit, Miranda Otto, and Zlatko Burić. Honestly, I’m glad they’re there, but I’m really keen on the bitch fights between Magpie and Fox.
The Glorious Dead — The Adams Family
It simply is unimaginable to not have America’s greatest DIY horror directors Toby Poser, John Adams, and their daughters Zelda and Lulu, bringing one of their works to Montreal to debut. This year it’s The Glorious Dead.
Fantasia says: “A small-town sheriff (Toby Poser) and her young deputy (Zelda Adams) wake to find the world they believed in no longer exists. Blood drips from faucets, people and pets are missing, and fleshy creatures walk the woods. Soon, the dirt can’t keep the dead down. Anger and fear spread through the community. Co-written and co-directed by John Adams and Toby Poser, The Glorious Dead is a personal genre vision that speaks to the increasing horrors of American life in times of enormous, instigated division while retaining the interpersonal poetry, imagination, and dark humor that its creators are renowned for.”
I say it’s Toby, John, Zelda, and Lulu… hence a goddamn must see.
Los Vampires — Craig Mitchell
I’m a sucker (pun necessitated) for movies about movies and with Los Vampires being described as being awash in murder and mysticism I’m sold on Craig Mitchell’s take on duelling Draculas in 1930 while two versions of Bram Stoker’s tale are filmed on the same set. Tod Browning’s Dracula gets the day shift and George Melfor’s Spanish Draculá takes the night.
Fantasia says of its World Premiere: “Henry Ian Cusick and Thomas Kretschmann captivate as uncanny surrogates for Carlos Villarías and Bela Lugosi. Los Vampires is a meticulously designed, occult-tinged tribute to the dignity of performance... and a darkly imaginative, bittersweet love letter to old Hollywood – and the forgotten struggles that made it what it was.“
Ferine — Andrea Corsini
Ferine sounds so much like my cup of tea that I might actually start drinking tea.
Fantasia synopsis:
“Ferine follows Irene (Carolyn Bracken), a wealthy and influential art collector whose life is shattered by a sudden, shocking tragedy. In the wake of her grief, a primal instinct awakens, pulling her beyond reason and transforming her from within. She encounters Dama (Caroline Goodall), an enigmatic trafficker of exotic predator cats, who realises that Irene herself has become an unpredictable, dangerous predator. Soon, a dark bond forms.
It features sumptuous visual design, volcanic emotion, and transgressive flashpoints of violence, and comes complete with a lush orchestral score from the legendary Pino Donaggio. Ferine is a breathtaking genre achievement, anchored by extraordinary performances from Bracken and Goodall, and also featuring Elisabetta Caccamo and Paola Lavini.”
Fantasia 30 also features shorts by Australian directors. Trading Cards by Radheya Jang, Echoes in Time by Gemma Lee, and Headphones by Steven Arriagada.
Visit the Fantasia International Film Festival page for more details and bookings.
