Fantasia Festival Returning For Its 28th Year — Films to Watch Out For

The Fantasia International Film Festival will be entering its 28th year, premiering international films and hosting special events, being held from July 18 to August 4th!

Get your popcorn ready folks, as Fantasia Festival will be making a return as it celebrates its 28th year of showcasing films from across the world and hosting special events. Taking place from July 18th to August 4th, 2024, the Fantasia is a cultural and professional destination for the international film industry and movie lovers across the world.

As we get seated with our buttery popcorn at the Fantasia Festival, we thought it would be nice to list some of the big international movies that may be worth checking out!

Fantasia Festival 2024 Movies to keep an eye on:

Cuckoo – Germany, Premiering on July 30th

Directed by Tilman Singer, Cuckoo tells a story about Gretchen (Hunter Schafer, Euphoria ) living in the States with her divorced mother as she tries to stay away from her father, who wants to drag her across the country with his new wife. Yet when they find themself with Luis, Beth and Alma in the Bavarian Alps, they find themselves at the same location where their father and stepmother are redesigning a local resort. Working for Herr Konig, Gretchen is offered a desk job at his hotel. From the first night on the job, they encounter strange things around her and random attacks by a freakish woman, but Gretchen has no idea how bizarre things will get.

Azreal – USA, Premiering on August 2

Directed by E.L Katz, Azreal is set in the post-apocalypse as Azreal (Samara Weaving, Ready or Not ) and her partner Kenan (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, FEMME ) escape from a cult of mute religious fanatics. As they lose their ability to speak, they must traverse the forest to escape from their captor and keep their freedom. But after Azreal falls back into the clutches of evil and learns she will be sacrificed to please the ancient evil that lurks within the shadow of the trees, she must fight to escape the cult’s grasp and regain her and Kenan’s freedom!

The G – Canada, Quebec, and USA, Premiering on July 26

Being directed by Karl R. Hearne, The G focuses on topics from neglect, abuse, and fraud that are too frequent for many people during the final years of their lives. An insensitive bureaucracy would offer little help to the elderly, and unfortunately, Ann Hunger and her ill husband Chip would be an easy mark to be swindled. Soon, Ann would be left with no husband, no money, and no home other than a depressing facility she is locked up in. With everything taken away from her with nothing left to lose, the tormentors will soon find out about the dark secret of her own.

A Legend – China, Hong Kong, Premiering on August 3

Directed by Stanley Tong and Jackie Chan, who plays the protagonist , A Legend is about a professor’s past life as a soldier from ancient China, haunting him. As he leads an expedition team, he investigates a glacial destination as he looks for a connection to his past that was chaotic as he fought alongside a young woman where he battled against armies, sacrificed many people, and escaped to a mysterious sacred place. Leading his team in a present timeline, his journey is filled with dangerous obstacles, and what matters in the end is whether the past and present will collide in the undiscovered country.

Timestalker -United Kingdom, Premiering on July 31

Timestalker is a rom-com film directed by Alice Lowe. The film follows a story about Agnes (writer and director, Alice Lowe, Prevenge ) in 1688 Scotland as she attends a village-square execution. At the moment, she locks eyes with the condemned (Aneurin Barnard, Dunkirk ), thinking this is who she is destined to be with, but dies in the process as she rushes toward him. In her dying breath, she vows to find him in her next life, and over the next century, she will be reincarnated to find her love, but she will meet the same fate every time. Will Agnes ever move on from trying to chase the love of her life?

Special Event hosted by Fantasia Festival!

Outside of the films being debuted, the Fantasia Festival will also host many Special Events worth looking forward to. From meeting artists to attending workshops, here are the Special Events that will be held during the festival!

• Artist Talk: Mike Flanagan – July 21st at 5 PM, a special talk to learn about Flanagan’s creative process behind creating many modern horror films.
• The Second – July 20 at 4 PM, Every Frame a Painting will be premiering The Second starring Paul Sun-Hyung Lee ( Kim Convenience ).
• Makgeolli Workshop – July 25 at 5 PM, Fantasia and the Korean Cultural Centre Canada will host English and French Mageolli workshop sessions.
• LIVE Podcast: Colors of the Dark – July 25 at 5:15 PM, hosted by Dr. Rebekah Mckendry and Elric Kane with Chuck Russell as a special guest.
• Book Launch: I SPIT ON YOUR CELLULOID – July 26 at 5:15 PM, Fantasia will host a launch for I SPIT ON YOUR CELLULOID , an evolution of women in horror cinema from 1896 to the present day, written by Heidi Honeycutt.
• Drawing Monsters: A Ghoulish Chat with Artist Gary Pullin – July 27 at 2 PM, join Gary Pullin as he discusses his career, art, and influence.
• Table Ronde – Le Metier De Productrice De Film De Genre Au Quebec – July 27 at 3 PM, a french event.
• Her Horror Legacy: A Discussion on Women Directing Horror Movies – July 27 at 4 PM, join Heidi Honeycutt and a range of contemporary filmmakers discussing the historical and modern impact of women directing horror movies.
• Voivod: Revel Robots – July 29 at 4 PM – 7 PM and July 30 at 12:30 PM to 6 PM, Fantasia and BBAM! Gallery hosting a Rebel Robot exhibition showcasing original work to celebrate Voivod’s 40-year legacy.
• Table Ronde: LA Representation Du Felquiste Au Cenema Quebecois – August 4 at 3 PM, A french event.
• Korean Culture Boxes Exhibition – Being held throughout the festival from Fantasia and Korean Cultural Centre Canada, guests can open the Hansik Box to experience Korean food culture and the Hanbok Box to experience traditional Korean clothing.

For those who are huge movie buffs, the Fantasia Festival will be held from July 18 to August 4, 2024, in Montreal, Canada. To learn more about the festival and purchase the tickets, you can visit Fantasiafestival.com !