For the fourth year in a row, Elements of Madness will officially be covering the Fantasia International Film Festival and we thought we’d offer up our recommendations of what to check out during the fest or what to keep an eye out for in wider distribution.
The 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival takes place in Montreal, Quebec from July 20th to August 9th 2023.
EoM Recommendations
Aporia
Why EoM Recommends It:
Though North American distributor Well Go USA is mostly known for focusing on Asian cinema (Burning (2018), Shadow (2019), Raging Fire (2021), The Wandering Earth (2023)), but they also distribute films from other areas, including North America-based productions, such as Synchronic (2019), Take the Night (2022), and Jared Moshé’s upcoming release Aporia. With a catalogue of products as varied and risk-taking as all the ones mentioned and more, if Well Go is putting their name behind it, I’m going to do what I can to check it out.
Official Synopsis:
Since losing her husband Mal (Edi Gathegi, For All Mankind) in a drunk-driving incident, Sophie (Judy Greer, Halloween) has struggled to manage crippling grief, a full-time job, and the demands of parenting her devastated teenage daughter (Faithe Herman, This Is Us). When her husband’s best friend Jabir (Payman Maadi, A Separation), a former physicist, reveals that he has been building a time-bending machine that could restore her former life, Sophie will be faced with an impossible choice—and unforeseeable consequences. This riveting character-driven sci-fi work from award-winning writer/director Jared Moshe (The Ballad of Lefty Brown), imaginatively grapples with the ripple effects of morally fraught choices made in the name of love and raises timely questions about ethics in technological innovation. World Premiere.
The Becomers
Why EoM Recommends It:
Upon learning about its existence, checking out Zach Clark’s Little Sister had more to do with my connection to Asheville, North Carolina, than the film, though the inclusion of Addison Timlin (Stand Up Guys) and Barbara Crampton (Suitable Flesh) did offer supportive reasoning to do so. The film is a silly and sweet dramedy that explores the ways in which the connection between siblings can survive just about anything and coming home almost always forces us to look at the distance between who we were and who we are. That Clark, through The Becomers, is once more asking the audiences to examine themselves, but this time through the lens of body-swapping aliens: I’m down.
Official Synopsis:
Back to Fantasia for the first time since the 2016 premiere of Little Sister, director Zach Clark goes extraterrestrial with his latest, The Becomers. A romantic tale of two body-swapping aliens trying to find their place on this big, dumb planet, The Becomers combines lo-fi aesthetics with Clark’s signature sharp, sardonic comic talents. An off-kilter dark comedy navigating the strange and often off-putting contemporary American landscape, at its heart The Becomers stands out as one of the great love stories of our age. World Premiere.
A still from THE BECOMERS. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
Deep Sea
Why EoM Recommends It:
Having missed Deep Sea when it screened during Tribeca Film Festival 2023, I’m eager to explore Tian Xiaopeng’s animated project which has been described as meditative due to its leaning on visuals over concrete storytelling. I love storytellers who use their medium to its fullest and it sounds as though Xiaopeng is doing just that here.
Official Synopsis:
The ocean’s depths are alive with dreams and nightmares in the emotionally courageous fantasy from director Tian Xiaopeng (Monkey King: Hero Is Back). Using a cutting-edge digital particle-animation technique to emulate traditional ink-wash painting, Tian has created a visual spectacle of unprecedented richness, which will be screened, as it deserves, in 3D. Axis section. Canadian Premiere
Empire V
Why EoM Recommends It:
You had me at “banned by Russia’s Ministry of Culture.” If they don’t want audiences to see it, then there must be something challenging to the ideology of the culture the rest of us should see. Or maybe they’re just being uppity about the novel adaptation. Either way, fuck Putin. Let’s do this.
Official Synopsis:
A disaffected student (Pavel Tabakov) follows an invitation to join “the elite” and finds himself forcibly transformed into a vampire, joining a supernatural ruling class who exercise an anonymous dictatorship over humans. Celebrated Russian-American director Victor Ginzburg (Generation P) demonstrates a striking visual imagination, perfectly complementing a story that reinvents nearly every aspect of vampire lore in clever and fantastical ways. This is the Matrix of vampire cinema. Years in the making, Empire V is both next-level blockbuster storytelling and megabudget anti-Oligarch satire, electrified with breathtaking visuals from the great Aleksei Rodionov (Come and See). Co-starring Miron Fedorov, AKA rap star Oxxxymiron, whose anti-War benefit concerts led the Russian justice ministry to condemn him as a “foreign agent.” EMPIRE V itself has been banned by Russia’s Ministry of Culture, ensuring that the citizens of its home country may never see the film. World Premiere.
The First Slam Dunk
Why EoM Recommends It:
GKids Films frequently distributes my favorite animated films of each year. Sometimes they’re genre-pushing (Unicorn Wars (2022)), sometimes they’re joyous (Pompo: The Cinéphile (2022)), sometimes they’re life-affirming (Marona’s Fantastic Tale (2020)), and sometimes they are just a rock’n good time (Promare (2019)). It’s because of this that, even though I know nothing about basketball, I’m willing to take a chance with their manga adaptation The First Slam Dunk.
Official Synopsis:
Basketball has always given Ryota and his teammates a sense of purpose, and they’ll do whatever it takes to win the championship, in The First Slam Dunk, the first new feature-length film from the globally cherished franchise in 33 years. An incredibly dynamic, electrifying underdog story loaded with inspiring moments, it’s the latest entry to Takehiko Inoue’s iconic franchise that’s had a huge impact in Japan. Written and directed by Inoue himself, making his directorial debut, his love for basketball is evident from start to finish through the stunning mix of CG and hand-drawn animation. The First Slam Dunk not only made history at the Japanese box office as one of the Top 10 highest-grossing anime films of all time but also won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Animation of the Year. Axis Section. Canadian Premiere.
Journey to the West
Why EoM Recommends It:
The title of Dashan Kong’s Journey to the West borrows from the 16th century Chinese novel that’s been adapted in many forms over the years and usually involves various Chinese religious figures. I’m curious to know if this is intentional, with the mockumentary framing of a search for aliens resulting in some Monkey King mischief or will some other surprise be revealed.
Official Synopsis:
Tang Zhijun, the middle-aged, down-and-out editor-in-chief of a science fiction magazine, embarks on a final journey to find aliens. A workplace mockumentary tour-de-force! Camera Lucida section. Canadian Premiere.
A still from JOURNEY TO THE WEST. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
Killing Romance
Why EoM Recommends It:
Who hasn’t found themselves in a shitty situation relationship-wise and wondered if there was a way out? In Killing Romance, they go the comedic thriller route and it includes musical numbers?!?! Sounds like an absolute break from the traditional narrative approach, creating an opportunity for something unique and surprising.
Official Synopsis:
A disgraced star (Lee Ha-nee, Phantom) and her bumbling student neighbour who can talk to animals (Gong Myoung, Extreme Job) decide to do away with her awful husband (Lee Sun-kyun, Parasite), but the best laid plans of the unlikely duo are dubious at best. Director Lee Won-suk, who won an Audience Award at Fantasia 2013 for How To Use Guys With Secret Tips, delivers his best feature to date with this madcap musical comedy. Imaginative, hilarious, and visually sumptuous, this film conjures up superb tableaus that borrow as much from comic strips as from Hollywood classics. Canadian Premiere.
A still from KILLING ROMANCE. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
Kurayukaba
Why EoM Recommends It:
After the incredible surprise that was Inu-Oh at last year’s Fantasia, if you’re telling me that there’s another mixed-genre animated adventure set within the Roaring Twenties era of Japan (Taishō era: July 1912 – December 1926), then this film shoots straight to the top of the list in terms of curiosity. Not being familiar with any of director Shigeyoshi Tsukahara’s work creates an opportunity for wonder and exploration.
Official Synopsis:
Equal parts crazy cartoon caper, shadowy film noir, nostalgic escapade, and steampunk fantasy, Kurayukaba is a retro-flavoured anime reimagining of the freewheeling Taisho era, Japan’s equivalent of the Roaring Twenties. It’s the long-awaited personal project of director Shigeyoshi Tsukahara, whose resume includes stage design for adventurous pop-rock superstars Sekai no Owari. Preceded by a pair of rare short films by Tsukahara, Fantasia’s world premiere of Kurayukaba is a chance to discover a distinctive emerging talent in the anime field. Axis Section. World Premiere.
A still from KURAYUKABA. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
Late Night with the Devil
Why EoM Recommends It:
I first heard of Late Night with the Devil when it premiered at SXSW 2023, mostly due to everyone talking about David Dastmalchian’s (Dune; The Dark Knight; Ant-Man trilogy) captivating performance, but was unable to cover it as remote press. The same thing happened with the Overlook Film Festival, so this is my public declaration that I’d like to check this out for myself, even if I regret it later, being the ginormous chicken that I am.
Official Synopsis:
A career-best performance by David Dastmalchian headlines this innovative and nightmarish horror treat in which a live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms. Accurately hailed by Stephen King as “absolutely brilliant”. Official Selection: SXSW 2023. Overlook 2023. Canadian Premiere.
David Dastmalchian as Jack Delroy in LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
Lovely, Dark, and Deep
Why EoM Recommends It:
As mentioned above, I am a ginormous chicken, so I haven’t seen the Netflix-bound Mike Flannigan projects like Midnight Mass, but its reputation has reached my borders. With so many talking about how incredible the writing is, I would be terrible at my job if I didn’t get curious about the directorial debut of one of its writers, Teresa Sutherland. Her story uses a setting of isolation that’s been used countless times, yet there lingers a hint of promise given past work. That’s reason enough to put on my hiking boots and go wandering where I typically dare not.
Official Synopsis:
Lovely, Dark and Deep is the hotly anticipated directorial debut of Teresa Sutherland, screenwriter of The Wind and a writer on Midnight Mass. Laced with stunning visuals, this ominously beautiful, deeply frightening nightmare is anchored by a captivating lead performance from Barbarian’s Georgina Campbell. Campbell plays a park ranger in an isolated forest outpost, the site of multiple mysterious disappearances, and she is plagued by visions blending the past and present with something even more sinister. This transfixing film oozes an immersive, fever dream atmosphere. Also starring Nick Blood, Wai Ching Ho and Edgar Morais. World Premiere.
Georgina Campbell in LOVELY, DARK, AND DEEP. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
Mayhem!
Why EoM Recommends It:
Also released under the name Farang, the film Mayhem! stars Nassim Lyes of The Last Mercenary (2021) as someone running from their past being forced to face it. Now, stories like this typically come with violence and, given Lyes’s resume, that one is likely to come with the kinds of fisticuffs that fans of The Night Comes for Us (2018), Avengement (2019), and Violent Night (2022) get excited for. Let’s get it on!
Official Synopsis:
Xavier Gens (Frontier(S), Gangs of London) is back! Sam, (Nassim Lyes) a professional boxer recently released from prison, breaks probation, flees to a faraway island in Thailand, and starts a family there. But when he’s blackmailed by a fierce local Godfather (Olivier Gourmet) into becoming a drug smuggler, things go straight to hell.. and then some! A blood-soaked revenge roller coaster, Mayhem! starts slow and seething before exploding off the screen with tendon-snapping tension and unbelievably ferocious fight choreography of the sort that’s seldom seen in modern film. Also starring Loryn Nounay, Vithaya Pansringarm, Mehdi Hadim and Kenneth Won. World Premiere.
Nassim Lyes as Sam MAYHEM!. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
Mother Land
Why EoM Recommends It:
I’m not familiar with any of Park Jae-beom’s prior works, but the visual style of his directorial debut, stopmotion either clay or wooden figures appeals for the craftsmanship that an artist must have in order to pull off a feature in this manner.
Official Synopsis:
When the health of Krisha’s mother takes a turn for the worse, the village shaman offers her wisdom: follow the North Star to the Ancient Forest and find its guardian and master, the great red bear of legend. The first South Korean stop-motion feature film in almost half a century, director Park Jae-beom’s animated adventure Mother Land is an exquisitely crafted snowbound fantasy with a potent emotional warmth at its core. It explores the lives and lore of the nomadic, indigenous reindeer herders of the sparse and unforgiving Siberian tundra. North American Premiere. Axis Section.
A scene from MOTHER LAND. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
Pett Kata Shaw
Why EoM Recommends It:
Horror in the United States typically leans on gore and shock whereas my experience with foreign horror is something more creeping, chilling, and psychological, aspects I’m far more willing to subject myself to than violence on top of violence. So when I read the description and it said that Jordan Peele (Get Out; Us; Nope) was impressed by it, then I’m going to want to do the same. That’s a recommendation one cannot ignore.
Official Synopsis:
Bangladeshi folklore is rife with ghosts and unforgiving spirits, all deeply connected to its people’s collective history of injustice and societal dread. Pett Kata Shaw, an anthology inspired by oral legends from Bangladesh, is written and directed by Nuhash Humayun, the breakout star of Bangladeshi horror cinema. Winner of the Midnight Shorts Competition at SXSW as well as a Gold Audience Award at Fantasia 2022, his short film Moshari is the first Bangladeshi production ever to qualify for an Academy Award, catching the attention of Jordan Peele and Riz Ahmed. Reinvented in a contemporary setting, the spine-chilling tales of Pett Kata Shaw don’t shy away from issues such as mental health, religion, climate change, and gender roles. North American Premiere.
A scene from PETT KATA SHAW. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
Restore Point
Why EoM Recommends It:
Though not a fan of Minority Report (2002), which is namedropped in the description, I’m intrigued by the concept of systems breaking down in an environment where the system is supposedly perfected. If we can bring back the dead, what does it say about the meaning of life? If we can solve any murder by talking with the victim, what does it say about the way humanity has adapted to killing instead of dissuading the practice? If something can be restored, is it still made whole? I like these questions and I’m curious enough to see if Restore Point answers them.
Official Synopsis:
2041. People have a constitutional right to experience one full life. If someone dies an unnatural death, they are revived. All that’s needed is to regularly create a restore point – a backup where one’s memory is saved like a computer. Murder is nearly impossible. Nearly. A detective (Andrea Mohylová) attempts to solve the violent killing of a couple after only one of the victims (Václav Neužil, Zatopek) is brought back to life. The first Czech science-fiction feature in over 40 years, Robert Hloz’s Restore Point is a provocative and visually sumptuous neo-Noir creation that’s already being likened to Minority Report. Official Selection: Karlovy-Vary 2023. North American Premiere.
A scene from RESTORE POINT. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
River
Why EoM Recommends It:
You had me at “… time travel maestro Junta Yamaguchi (Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes) is back.” Plain and simple. I love Infinite Two Minutes and recommend it to everyone since seeing it at Fantasia 2021. Catching the follow-up project is an absolute must.
Official Synopsis:
Mikoto (Riko Fujitani) works as a waitress at the Fujiya Inn, in a wintry valley town near Kyoto. As she stares momentarily into the river nearby – a blink, a lifetime – something feels off: the inn is looping… two minutes at a time! Micro-budget time travel maestro Junta Yamaguchi (Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes) is back, offering a savvy update to his innovative “tiny loop” concept. River culminates into a multifaceted portrait of place as the various guests, employees, and hosts band together to solve the mystery of the valley stuck in time. North American Premiere.
A scene from RIVER. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
Shin Kamen Rider
Why EoM Recommends It:
Having recently watching Shin Godzilla (2016) and Shin Ultraman (2022) in the run-up to the Shin Ultraman home release, I now feel compelled to see the fourth film in the Shin series, even if none of the projects are connected. Though I’m not as big on Ultraman as Godzilla, these two Shin stories are a breath of fresh air in the kaiju/tokusatsu sci-fi action fantasy subgenre, which compels me to see what director Hideaki Anno (Shin Godzilla) will do with the bike-riding hero.
Official Synopsis:
The masked, motorcycle-riding dark superhero Kamen Rider embarks on a rampage of destruction to stop an evil organization, in Hideaki Anno’s latest tokusatsu reimagining, this time of the enormously popular superhero franchise. Special Screening.
Sosuke Ikematsu as Takeshi Hongo in SHIN KAMEN RIDER. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
Stay Online
Why EoM Recommends It:
Having not seen too many screenlife pictures, my interest here stems more from the narrative concept of Stay Online, which uses the current invasion of Ukraine as the basis for the narrative, rather than the execution. Will there be enough creativity in the execution and gravity in the performances to outweigh any potential ickiness from using the war as a backdrop? Time will tell.
Official Synopsis:
An urgent Ukrainian screenlife film that will have your heart in your throat, shot against the actual Russian invasion, Stay Online is the gripping feature debut from Eva Strelnikova. Katya (Liza Zaitseva), a volunteer from Kyiv fighting against the invasion of Ukraine, uses a laptop donated to the resistance and comes into contact with the young son of the computer’s original owner, who is desperately in search of his missing parents. Her attempts to help the child will see her risk all she holds dear. Being the festival where screenlife storytelling was first introduced to audiences with Unfriended in 2014, Fantasia is especially proud to be World Premiering this landmark film, an intimately human thriller about war, made in war. World Premiere.
Liza Zaitseva as Katya in STAY ONLINE. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
Sympathy for the Devil
Why EoM Recommends It:
A two-hander featuring Joel Kinnaman (The Suicide Squad) and Nicolas Cage (Pig) where nothing is at is seems and Cage is let off the leash? Not a matter of if I’ll see this, but when. Thankfully it’s being distributed by RLJE Films with a theatrical release of July 28th, so if you can’t make it to Fantasia, there’s still a chance to check out this wildness for yourself.
Official Synopsis:
Award-winning director Yuval Adler (Bethlehem) reunites with Joel Kinnaman following 2020’s The Secrets We Keep and brings Nicolas Cage on board to deliver one of the most intense performances of his career in Sympathy for the Devil. After being forced to drive a mysterious passenger at gunpoint, a man finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where nothing is as it seems. This riveting crime thriller will leave you breathless. International Premiere.
Vincent Must Die
Why EoM Recommends It:
Frankly, what intrigues me here is that the description suggests a changing of genres throughout the film while also maintaining a high intensity. It’s hard enough to keep the engine of a film revving, but to do it with shifts in tone and genre? That’s a challenge I’m curious to see if it gets met or not.
Official Synopsis:
Random strangers have suddenly started attacking the otherwise unremarkable Vincent (Karim Leklou) with murderous intent. As things spiral violently out of control, he is forced to flee and change his life completely. Coming to Fantasia hot off its acclaimed Cannes Critics Week debut, Stéphan Castang’s phenomenal Vincent Must Die (Vincent doit mourir) is a high-energy kaleidoscope of genres – at once a horror, comedy, romance, fantasy and thriller – all working together. This is a thoughtful, pure-cinema experience to be savoured and reckoned with. North American Premiere.
Karim Leklou as Vincent in VINCENT MUST DIE. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
What You Wish For
Why EoM Recommends It:
Having not seen The Perfect Host (2010), I have no expectation for writer/director Nicholas Tomnay’s new film. Instead, I’m intrigued solely based on the premise of a dark comedy and thrills. Executed well, they offer fun in the shadows of life and the chance to ask ourselves questions regarding our baser instincts.
Official Synopsis:
A chef with gambling problems (Nick Stahl) flees to the Latin American villa of an old friend who appears to be living an extraordinary life. Envy soon turns to greed and then to something more unsettling for the chef when he assumes his friend’s life. A Hitchockian, edge-of-your-seat descent into moral compromise with generous servings of dark humour, shock and surprise, What You Wish For is the gripping sophomore feature of writer/director Nicholas Tomnay (The Perfect Host). Grounded by a career best performance from Stahl, the film co-stars Tamsin Topolski, Randy Vasquez and Penelope Mitchell. From the producers of The Florida Project. World Premiere.
L-R: Nick Stahl as Ryan and Tamsin Topolski as Imogene in WHAT YOU WISH FOR. Photo courtesy of Fantasia International Film Festival.
Additional Recommendations
Head to EoM for reviews of five additional films that are screening during Fantasia 2023:
- My Animal (Sundance)
- Molli and Max in the Future (SXSW)
- With Love and a Major Organ (SXSW)
- The Roundup: No Way Out (Theatrical)
- Suitable Flesh (Tribeca)
About Fantasia International Film Festival
In August 2022, the Fantasia International Film Festival will celebrate its 25th edition. Located in the heart of beautiful Montreal, Fantasia is a cultural and professional destination point, and since its first edition, the festival’s ever-growing popularity has attracted the attention of the international film industry alongside a legion of attendees from across the world. Every facet of the filmmaking chain is increasingly represented with in-person delegates at the festival: directors, actors, producers, studio representatives, distributors and festival programmers, who get to experience the legendarily enthusiastic, taste-making audience of Fantasia.
Share this:
Categories: Coming Soon, In Theaters, Recommendation, Reviews
Leave a Reply