Bookworm (opening movie)
After an unfortunate event, a smart teenager must settle for her biological father, a failed magician she doesn’t know, as a camping partner. Ant Timpson (producer of Turbo Kidfrom RKSS) has a lot of ideas. After Come to Daddywhere Elijah Wood played a man reconnecting with his father in an isolated cabin, the director directs the actor in Bookwormwhere he gives the reply to the promising Nell Fisher (Evil Dead Rise). A charming tale of initiation and adventure with breathtakingly beautiful images, Bookworm takes us to New Zealand in the footsteps of the legendary Canterbury panther.
July 18, 6:30 p.m., SGWU Alumni Auditorium (Theatre Hall). Ant Timpson, Elijah Wood, and Nell Fisher will be in attendance.
Manon Dumais, The Press
4PM
Taking advantage of a sabbatical year, a professor (Oh Dal-soo) and his wife (Jang Young-nam) finally realize their dream: to live far from the city. Barely settled, they receive a visit from their neighbor (King Hong-pa). Mute and irritable, but punctual and diligent, the retired cardiologist will return each day at 4 p.m. and leave again at 6 p.m. Then ensues a war of nerves as fierce as it is comical. Adaptation of Catilinariansone of Amélie Nothomb’s funniest and most twisted novels, this psychological thriller about aging by South Korean Jay Song respects its literary roots while taking amusing liberties with the original story.
July 18, 9:30 p.m., SGWU Graduate Auditorium (Theatre Hall)
Manon Dumais, The Press
Confession
During a mountain expedition in the middle of winter, a man (Yang Ik-june), injured in the leg and believing he is dying, confesses to his friend (Tôma Ikuta) that he killed their girlfriend (Nao Honda) 16 years before. However, there is a chalet nearby… Psychological thriller by Japanese Nobuhiro Yamashita, whose Fantasia also presents Swimming in a Sand Pool (July 18 and 23) and Ghost Cat Anzu (July 21), Confession is both a suffocating closed-door setting and a thrilling game of cat and mouse. Between delirium and nightmares, the whole thing is based on a playful and judicious use of locations.
July 19, 6 p.m., SGWU Graduate Auditorium (Theatre Hall)
Manon Dumais, The Press
The count of Monte Cristo
Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre De La Patellière, screenwriters of the diptych The three Musketeerspublished last year, step behind the camera for a reinterpretation of another Alexandre Dumas classic, The count of Monte Cristo. In the title role, Pierre Niney (Black Box, Yves Saint Laurent) is transformed in a brilliant way. From the valiant Edmond Dantès to the vengeful count, the actor manages to make this radical transformation, the result of 14 years in prison, credible. He is surrounded by a solid cast that includes a Laurent Lafitte in great shape. Even rarer than in The three Musketeersthe action is impressive, like the photography of Quebecer Nicolas Bolduc.
July 19, 8 p.m., SGWU Graduate Auditorium
Pascal LeBlanc, The Press
Meet the Artist: Mike Flanagan
In less than 25 years of career, Mike Flanagan has established himself as much through his cinema as through his series in the hearts of horror fans. About the series The Haunting of Hill Houseoffered on Netflix, didn’t Stephen King say that she was close to genius? Came to Fantasia in 2011 to present Absentiathe prolific screenwriter, director and editor will be back to receive the 2024 Cheval Noir de Fantasia Honorary Career Award. The award presentation will be followed by an interview hosted by the author, critic and former editor-in-chief of the magazine Fangoria Michael Gingold.
July 21, 5 p.m., at the Museum Cinema, free admission
Manon Dumais, The Press
The law of the pig
To honor the career of Érik Canuel, who died on June 15, Fantasia will posthumously award him the 2024 Denis-Héroux Prize. The ceremony will be followed by a screening of The law of the pig from the filmmaker to whom we also owe The last tunnel, The Survenant And Good Cop, Bad Cop. Written by Joanne Arseneau, this thriller tinged with dark humor features a compulsive gambler (Isabelle Richer) and her surrogate mother sister (Catherine Trudeau) who, after the former steals their marijuana harvest, run into trouble with two crooks (Sylvain Marcel and Jean-Nicolas Verreault). Crazy and exhilarating.
July 22, at 9 p.m., at the J. A. de Sève room
Manon Dumais, The Press
Check out the full Fantasia schedule