Fantasia’s 30th Anniversary Must Watch Films
Every summer, I start the season off by counting down to the Fantasia International Film Festival.
My countdown actually started earlier this year in April, before any film was announced, as Fantasia debuted their killer 30th anniversary poster.
Featuring my favorite Shakespeare play, MACBETH, and the three Grey Sisters from Greek mythology, artist Donald Caron depicts three generations of sorceresses, one for each of Fantasia’s three decades. They gather joyously around a cauldron, summoning the festival’s iconic Cheval Noir through tendrils of mist.
It’s a stunning visual to showcase how Fantasia has spellbound genre filmmakers and film-goers alike for 30 years.
This year I expect nothing less than from over 100 filmmakers from across the globe.
The only bad thing about Fantasia – I can’t catch every film they offer.
However, I always have a list of a few films I don’t want to miss.
So grab some popcorn and get comfortable as we take a look at the magic that will start July 16.
My 7 Films to Watch
BUDDY
Writer/Director – Casper Kelly
As a child, many of us may have looked up to a children’s TV character, but along with that love, there was probably also an apprehension to that character. There was usually something that just seemed a little off, and if you were to meet that character in real life, your first instinct was to probably hide over running to give a hug.
Writer/director Casper Kelly used this common conundrum to create BUDDY.
It’s always fun to take look back at childhood trauma, right? Plus, you get Keegan-Michael Key as Buddy so you get some comedic relief too.
SYNOPSIS:
Trapped inside the off-kilter world of a ’90s children’s television show, a young girl (Delaney Quinn, IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU) and her friends fight to escape a bloodthirsty, control-freak dinosaur mascot named Buddy (Keegan-Michael Key, KEANU). This is his world. They’re just (barely—and not always) living in it. Buddy can bend time and space. When wounded, he can heal himself. The show has gone on for years, through generations.
FERINE
Writer/Director – Andrea Corsini
I am not mother. Partly due to choice; the other part due to medical reasons. But any film that dives into motherhood fascinates me. Maybe because I haven’t and won’t get to experience it, and I feel the need as a woman to support the (blessing/burden) that is unique to us.
I can’t wait to see how FERINE tells the story of motherhood.
SYNOPSIS:
Excited to explore a new chapter in life, wealthy and influential art collector Irene (Carolyn Bracken, ODDITY, YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER) has just adopted a baby through a surrogate arrangement. This exploration will take on unexpectedly darker shapes when a sudden tragedy shatters Irene’s world, grief tearing through her to such paralyzing extremes that primal, violent instincts begin to guide her in ferocious ways. Her path fatefully crosses with Dama (Caroline Goodall, SCHINDLER’S LIST, HOOK), a lavishly wealthy trafficker of exotic predator animals. Dama recognizes that Irene has become a mercurial predator herself. A morbid bond forms between them. Few in the vicinity will be safe.
THE FOX
Writer/Director – Dario Russo
Jai Courtney blew me away in DANGEROUIS ANIMALS and I’m curious to see how he does in this black comedy around masculine insecurity.
SYNPOSIS:
Set in a parallel reality where animals talk, hustle, swear, and scheme, THE FOX opens with Nick (Jai Courtney, DANGEROUS ANIMALS, THE SUICIDE SQUAD) discovering that his fiancée Kori (Emily Browning, AMERICAN GODS, SLEEPING BEAUTY) is cheating on him. Forced to come to terms with the fact that their relationship has simmered, he’s devastated. All seems hopeless until Nick captures a fox (Olivia Colman, THE FAVOURITE, THE LOBSTER), who offers unconventional marital advice in exchange for being let free. That advice? She tells him of a magic hole that he should push Kori into, with a promise that she’ll emerge a changed woman. One who will adore him unconditionally, and who will never, ever leave. Not exactly a man of depth, Nick thinks it just may be the thing to do, unaware that there may be a bigger plan in play.
MOTHERWITCH
Writer/Director – Minos Papas
If you have read any of my past reviews, you may see a pattern, and that is I LOVE folktales, fairy tales, mythology, and any re-imagining or retelling of them. MOTHERWITCH is another film set to explore motherhood, but it is also a re-visioning of Demeter’s story and her loss of Persephone.
SYNOPSIS:
Eleni (Margarita Zachariou), a painter, is isolated from her wider community, consumed by unbearable grief after losing all three of her children in a senseless accident. In desperation, she enters into a Faustian pact with feminine chthonic forces to bring them back. To do so, she must gain the trust of a lonely and abused local boy, Michalakis (Sifis Katsoulakis), a fellow painter seeking refuge from his violent father. Yet once the ritual is enacted, the real nightmare begins, as Eleni’s psychic wound spills outward into the surrounding community through the manifestations she has unwittingly invited in.
PAPAYA
Director – Kellen Priscilla
You may be wondering if this film has accidentally been included to my list which already has some pretty heavy themes. It’s not a mistake. Lately, I’ve been drawn back to the whimsy of children’s books and how they can help influence younger generations. I saw this brightly colored film and immediately wanted to devour it.
SYNOPSIS:
A tiny papaya seed from the Amazon sees the light of day, and begins to dream of flying like butterflies, and seeing the world. With the help of the natural elements, it remains in constant motion, which not only prevents it from taking root, but also allows it to travel across Brazil. It will, of course, discover colors, animals, insects, birds, and the Amazon rainforest with its exceptional biodiversity, but it will also catch a glimpse of humanity, agriculture that is not always ethical, and the devastation wrought by cities on natural habitats. Is it possible for a papaya seed to change the course of events? Often, all it takes is being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes, all it takes is knowing where to put down roots.
THE PERIL AT PINCER POINT
Writers/Directors – Jake Kuhn, Noah Stratton-Twine
Humor is good for the soul and is needed now more than ever. To see a dry-humored film that “will have Monty Python fans feel right at home” on Fantasia’s program is something I don’t want to miss.
SYNOPSIS:
Jim Baitte, a perpetually unmotivated sound designer, is working on the latest production from celebrated yet tyrannical B-movie auteur P.W. Griffin. Tasked with capturing audio to elevate the film's climactic finale, Jim is sent to the remote island where the movie was shot. Once there, he finds himself drawn into the islanders' strange customs and bewildering folklore. As reality begins to blur with fiction, Jim must decide just how much he is willing to sacrifice in pursuit of the perfect sound.
WHEN YOU OPEN THE DOOR
Writer/Director – Katagiri Eriko
It can be difficult to do any kind of retelling of the werewolf myth. However, I appreciate the angle director Katagiri Eriko is going for and I am eager to explore it.
SYNOPSIS:
Eriko Katagiri’s WHEN YOU OPEN THE DOOR starts with a dream. A red-headed doll, a steamy glass, and the sounds of summer mix in with a grandfather clock. Miki, a 27-year-old working in an architectural firm, wakes up in her small apartment, pulled out of her sleepy memory. Miki’s world is quiet and strange, but it will soon be interrupted by a transformative experience that will change her forever. Miki’s life, a kind of daze of memory, dream and reality, starts to collapse. As she pieces together what happened to her, she starts to have memories of a wolf bite, but no one believes her. Katagiri’s film tackles feminine isolation and alienation in a unique and powerful way. The film has a languid numbness; a strange rhythm that’s both uncomfortable and infectious. Viewers who allow themselves to be carried into Miki’s mind will soon find themselves pulled into one of the most unique werewolf stories ever put on the big screen.
The 30th anniversary of Fantasia International Film Festival will be held July 16th to August 2nd. Visit https://fantasiafestival.com/en/ to see the entire program and purchase tickets.
