The 28e edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival continues until August 4. Here are our suggestions of the week.
Born of Woman
Program of eight short films from six countries, Born of Woman 2024 honors female directors who dare to explore genre cinema. Revealed in Antigoneby Sophie Deraspe, Nahéma Ricci plays in Izzyby the Dutch Yfke van Berckelaer (the delightful Lili), a woman who refuses to let society impose on her the personalities she must adopt. We will also see the prodigious actress in Hunting dayAnnick Blanc’s first feature film, which will have its Canadian premiere at Fantasia (1er August, 7 p.m., SGWU Alumni Auditorium, Theatre Hall) before hitting theaters on August 16.
July 28, at 4 p.m., at the JA de Sève hall
The Umbrella Fairy
In the wondrous world masterfully staged by Jie Shen in his first animated feature, objects possess a spirit that transforms into a fairy. Qingdai and Wanggui are the fairies of two objects made from the same piece of jade, an umbrella symbolizing peace and a sword sowing death. When the latter disappears from the palace of relics, the former sets out to find her. Inspired by the aesthetics of ancient Chinese engravings, this thrilling coming-of-age tale of graceful beauty presents images with vibrant colors and delicate textures, which move with remarkable fluidity.
July 28, 4:15 p.m., SGWU Graduate Auditorium (Theatre Hall)
The fantastic weekends of Quebec cinema
Among the 10 thematic programs of 10 short films presented by Les fantastiques week-ends du cinéma québécois is the macabre Remember you are going to die. Figure on this menu Dying in silenceby Émile Lavoie, co-written and co-produced with Camille Mongeau. Set in the countryside in a humid and gloomy atmosphere, this short film features a man (Hugo Giroux, distressing) who, after burying a decapitated corpse, receives a visit from his neighbor (Camille Mongeau, creepy) who is looking for her sister. A film with delicious black humor carried by a keen sense of the codes of horror.
July 28, at 7 p.m., at the Museum cinema. In the presence of the film crews.
The Tenants
In Seoul, on the verge of being evicted from his apartment, Shin-dong (Kim Dea-gun) decides to sublet his living room. However, an eccentric man (Heo Dong-won) and his equally odd wife (Park So-hyun) set their sights on the bathroom instead. Soon after, he discovers that another tenant is living in the ceiling. Yoon Eun-kyung’s second feature film (Hotel Lake), a promising South Korean director and screenwriter, this nightmarish black-and-white fable about urban loneliness, job insecurity and the housing crisis happily evokes Parasiteby Bong Joon-ho, The tenantby Polanski, and Doubleby Dostoevsky.
July 29, at 2 p.m., at the JA de Sève room and August 4, at 7:15 p.m., at the JA de Sève room.
Voivod: We Are Connected
PHOTO DENIS GERMAIN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Rocky, Snake, Chewie and Away from the group Voïvod at the ADISQ Gala in 2022
Written, directed, edited and produced by Felipe Belalcazar (Death by Metal), this documentary condenses into 150 minutes more than 40 years of Quebec rock history. From the beginnings of the bums from Jonquière, the late Piggy, Snake, Blacky and Away, up to their first Juno, Voivod: We Are Connected goes beyond tour anecdotes. Multiple experts and metalheads dissect the group’s creativity, its singularity and its longevity. A film in the image of Voïvod: authentic, unique and chaotic. As a complement to the program, discover the multiple talents of drummer Michael “Away” Langevin at the BBAM gallery! by visiting the exhibition Rebel Robots.
July 29, 9:15pm, SGWU Graduate Auditorium (Hall Theatre), with the documentary filmmaker and the group. July 29, 4-7pm, and July 30, 12:30-6pm, BBAM Gallery! (free admission).
Cube
In 1997, Vincenzo Natali (Nothing, Splice) is launching a lockdown thriller at the Toronto International Film Festival that will change the game of genre cinema and earn him the award for Best Canadian First Feature. Shot in a minimalist setting, teeming with ingenious ideas, with a staging that commands admiration, Cube features six strangers who wake up to discover they are trapped in a mysterious building made up of interconnected cubic rooms, some of which contain deadly traps. Before the screening of the restored 4K version of CubeFantasia will present Vincenzo Natali with the 2024 Canadian Pioneer Award.
July 30, at 7:15 p.m., at the JA de Sève hall. In the presence of the director and actor David Hewlett.