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by Walter Chaw There is such a thing as a “festival glow”: the consequence of seeing something new in the company of other zealots while the creators, more often than not, crouch in the wings, hungry for first reactions. There are catered parties and lanyards and the promise of “breaking” the next hot moment, or catching the crest of it before it peaks. It’s a social-media phenomenon now, but distribution companies were always caught up in it. Every year, Sundance will produce a “sure thing” that’s only that one time out of ten. I can’t say I’ve always been immune to the effects of the glow. Biases are hard to root out, and there’s a reason filmmakers want their films to debut at certain festivals and maybe not others. Imagined to be egalitarian, festivals are, after all, anything but. Still, I’ve always loved Canada’s Fantasia Festival, a celebration of genre that has consistently programmed the outer limits of the proverbial envelope in defiance of any boardroom interest that might water down its presentation. Each year I’ve done it, I’ve seen at least one movie that made my end-of-year list. Whenever I sit down to watch a Fantasia film, I expect to see a new favourite.
I’m thrilled, it goes without saying, to be covering the festival for another year. I can’t wait to see The Count of Monte Cristo from filmmakers Alexandre de la Pateliére and Matthie Delaporte, a new, epic take on Dumas’s lush tale of vengeance served ice-cold; Tony Ching Siu-Tung’s long-awaited A Chinese Ghost Story II; Brush of the God, the latest from The Mighty Peking Man director Keizo Murase; and Alice Maio Mackay’s intriguing play for a new holiday classic, Carnage for Christmas. Ant Timpson and Elijah Wood partner for Bookworm, while the Adams Family present their latest, Hell Hole. Top it all off with archival screenings of Monte Hellman’s Cockfighter hosted by Kier-La Janisse and Cube from the great Vincenzo Natali, and, folks, we got ourselves an event. The Fantasia Festival runs from July 18 to August 4; see you at the movies.
