Festival
September 4, 2020
Festival
August 18, 2020
FANTASIA’S 24th EDITION BEGINS THIS THURSDAY!
ONLINE FROM AUGUST 20TH TO SEPTEMBER 2ND
Montreal, August 18th 2020 - The 24th edition of Fantasia International Film Festival will kick off this Thursday August 20th at 7:00pm online. This year the Festival will present a distinguished and virtual lineup of more than 100 features films and 180 short films accessible to movie lovers across Canada with a wild assortment of scheduled screenings, panels, and workshops taking place online from August 20 through September 2, 2020.
This 24th edition will open with a special screening of Neil Marshall’s recently completed cinematic powerhouse THE RECKONING. A poignant and horrific period thriller set in 1665 against the backdrop of the Great Plague and the subsequent witch hunts in England, THE RECKONING stars Charlotte Kirk (OCEAN’S 8, NO PANIC WITH A HINT OF HYSTERIA), Sean Pertwee (DOG SOLDIERS, DOOMSDAY), Joe Anderson (THE GREY, THE CRAZIES), Steven Waddington (THE IMITATION GAME, LAST OF THE MOHICANS), and Emma Campbell-Jones (DOCTOR WHO). A vivid, compelling and confrontational film whose themes are frighteningly pertinent to today’s concerns. This will mark the second time that a work from the esteemed British filmmaker has opened Fantasia, THE DESCENT having been the festival’s official Opening Film in 2005.
Fantasia attendees lovingly recall that the Kentucky-raised writer/director/musician was one of the first major international guests to attend Fantasia for the fest’s third edition in 1998, when it launched the International Premiere of VAMPIRES. In conjunction with awarding him a Fantasia Lifetime Achievement Award, the festival will also present a masterclass from Carpenter on August 22nd at 4.00pm, where he’ll discuss everything from his own festival origin story to his awe-inspiring career, touching on HALLOWEEN, THE FOG, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, THE THING, STARMAN, THEY LIVE, and many more. In addition, the fest will explore his recent resurgence as a touring musician and play you his latest spine-tingling single!
Among the awaited titles of this first weekend, on Friday August 21st festival attendees will be able to watch HUNTED, a survivalist thriller directed by Vincent Parronaud (Persepolis) as well as SLAXX on Sunday, August 23rd from Montrealer Elza Kephart co-produced through the Frontières coproduction Market. The feature will be preceded, at 5.00pm, by Yoav Shamir documentary THE PROPHET AND THE SPACE ALIENS which follows the founder and guru of the raelian movement, Raël. Finally, on Monday August 24th, the public will be able to discover the most hated man in wrestling after winning a highly controversial WCW World Heavyweight Championship in 2000 in YOU CANNOT KILL DAVID ARQUETTE, an unexpectedly emotional and heartfelt documentary directed by David Darg and Price James in which David Arquette attempts a rocky return to the sport that stalled his promising Hollywood career.
Fantasia’s 24th edition will be held online from August 20 to September 2. The complete program can be found online; Tickets for the Festival are on sale 10 on the Festival's website.
The 2020 edition of the festival is also made possible thanks to the support of the following partners: Association des Réalisateurs et Réalisatrices du Québec (ARRQ), Canadian Cinema Editors, Entreprises Vidéo Service (EVS), NAD - School of Digital Arts, Animation and Design, SLA Location and SPIRA, the Independent cinema cooperative.
Our generous media partners this year are Vidéotron, MATV, Teletoon, Teletoon La Nuit, Super Channel, GINX Esports TV, Exclaim!, CTVM.info and CJLO.
We are also pleased to confirm the significant financial support of institutions such as Telefilm Canada, la Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), The Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation, the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, the city of Montreal (The Direction – Cinéma, Festivals et Événements,), Tourisme Montréal and the Conseil des arts de Montréal.
For more information, visit us on the web at www.fantasiafestival.com