After weeks of speculation about Fantasia’s financial health and a day of strike action last week, festival employees unanimously adopted the agreement in principle on Tuesday. It was a close call, but the big event for genre cinema can begin. And it opens Thursday night with the adventure comedy Bookwormby New Zealander Ant Timpson.
For the occasion, the film’s headliner and star of the Lord of the RingsElijah Wood, will walk the red carpet at Concordia University’s Hall Theatre. He will be accompanied by his acting partner, young Nell Fisher, who has just joined the cast of the series Stranger Things.
Fantasia has established itself as a festival of choice for the world premiere of Bookwormfive years after welcoming Come to Daddyby the same director. The film follows Mildred, an 11-year-old bookworm who receives a visit from her American father in New Zealand, whom she has never met. To strengthen their bond, they go together into the wilderness in search of the Canterbury panther, a mythical creature that fascinates the little girl.
“It’s an absolutely charming story, which offers magnificent panoramas of the New Zealand landscapes,” observes Mitch Davis, artistic director of Fantasia. “We are very proud to present it, especially since Ant Timpson already has good ties to Quebec, having produced Turbo Kid (2015) by the RKSS collective. »
Eclecticism
As always, Fantasia’s programming impresses with its eclecticism, ranging from Canadian premieres of highly anticipated blockbusters to auteur gems, from the bloodiest to the most touching.
Among the Quebec films to watch, we note Hunting dayAnnick Blanc’s first feature film which was critically acclaimed at South by Southwest.
The tireless André Forcier will present Ababouinéclosing the event. This period comedy, which depicts a group of unruly children going to war against the clergy in 1950s Quebec, stars Éric Bruneau, Rémy Girard, Réal Bossé and Mylène Mackay.
Fantasia will also be an opportunity to see a premiere the count of Monte Cristoa fresco inspired by the story of Alexandre Dumas carried by Pierre Niney. With a budget of 42.9 million euros, extremely rare for a French production, “the film has nothing to envy from Hollywood blockbusters”, maintains Mitch Davis. “At the same time, it is a complex work, with impressive staging, which earned a 12-minute standing ovation at Cannes.”
Among the lesser-known proposals, Mr. Davis recommends: Ritaby Guatemalan Jayro Bustamante, is making its world premiere. This fantasy drama, inspired by the true story of 41 women who burned to death in an orphanage in Guatemala in 2017, “recalls the magical realism of Guillermo del Toro’s early feature films and touches our hearts,” the programmer emphasizes.
In addition to the festival’s extensive Asian selection, curated by Nicolas Archambault and King-Wei Chu, Mitch Davis recommends Electrophilia by Lucía Puenzo, about a young woman who undergoes disturbing physical and psychological changes after being struck by lightning. “Both subversive and very powerful, this film reminds me of Crash Cronenberg, with its retro aesthetic inspired by the 1990s.
The entire Fantasia program, which is playing in six Montreal venues until August 4, is available online.