A Must-See on the Genre Festival Circuit: Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival is Here

The 30th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival promises to be a landmark one. For three decades, Fantasia has been more than just a Montreal summer fixture; it has grown into a massive international hub for genre filmmaking while keeping its gritty, community-first soul. Back in the late 1990s, when the festival was still finding its footing at the Imperial Cinema, it was already punching well above its weight. It was during these early years that legendary Shaw Brothers star Gordon Liu came to town, and anime icon Satoshi Kon chose Montreal to host the 1997 world premiere of his debut masterpiece, Perfect Blue. Those early, chaotic days laid the groundwork for the festival’s unique reputation: a place where the biggest names in boundary-pushing cinema could show up and sit in the theater alongside a rowdy, passionate crowd.

As the years rolled on, that reputation only solidified. In 2009, Eli Roth came to Montreal to represent Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (in which he played the “Bear Jew”) for a massive North American premiere. Guillermo del Toro’s legendary 2016 masterclass—where he famously called the festival a “shrine”—remains etched in the memory of anyone lucky enough to squeeze into the room. Meanwhile, titans like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre director Tobe Hooper and An American Werewolf in London’s John Landis brought decades of horror history directly to the Concordia Hall stage. The magic of Fantasia has always been this total lack of pretension; Hollywood stars and indie legends alike walk the same hallways as the fans, bound together by a shared love for the weird, the wild, and the visceral.

The list of those who made the trek to Montreal over our years of attending is legendary. There was the sheer, chaotic energy of Robert Pattinson walking the carpet in 2017, sitting right inside the Hall Theatre alongside Josh and Benny Safdie to watch Good Time. There was Kevin Smith in 2016, visibly crying on stage after a massive ovation for Yoga Hosers before talking to us like old friends for an hour. We had Kevin Bacon in 2015 spending a whirlwind 24 hours in town for Cop Car, and the master John Woo in 2022, accepting a lifetime achievement award before treating us to a double feature of Hard Boiled and Face/Off.

Even when the talent couldn’t physically cross the globe—like South Korean icon Song Kang-ho staying home in 2017 but sending a heartfelt video for A Taxi Driver—the crowd made sure they felt the Montreal love. Just recently, in 2024, Elijah Wood walked the carpet to introduce his film Bookworm, and in 2018, Canadian genre royalty Michael Ironside brought it all full circle, presenting Knuckleball and hosting a masterclass where he regaled us with stories of filming David Cronenberg’s Scanners right here in the city.

Now, as the festival celebrates its milestone 30th anniversary this summer, the legacy continues to write itself. Last year alone was unforgettable, featuring a wonderful masterclass by composer Danny Elfman. This year, we are seeing directors like Nicolas Winding Refn return to Montreal to open the festival with his highly anticipated Her Private Hell and receive the Career Achievement Award, alongside trailblazing voices of the new genre guard like Jane Schoenbrun. We are also incredibly excited for the legendary Robert Lepage masterclass.

On the film front, we’re especially eager to catch Godhead, The Last Temptation of Becky, and Colony, the latest feature from Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho. It’s a full-circle moment for a festival that began as a niche showcase for imported Asian action films and evolved into a global powerhouse. Whether you’ve been buying tickets since the beginning or are just now standing in your first hot July queue on de Maisonneuve, the rule of Fantasia remains unchanged: expect the unexpected, respect the classics, and don’t forget to meow when the lights go down.

R34L17Y, A First Chapter: Caleb Slain’s Expressionist Take on a Church’s Urban Outreach Program

By Caleb Slain

The church’s urban outreach program was called ‘Teen Night,’ and once a week they’d round up at-risk teens and give them a pool table and healthy Christian role models. My mom said I needed good role models. My dad worked on the road and had ‘turned his back on God,’ so Youth Pastor Jeff stepped in to provide adolescent mentorship and explain manhood and sex and masturbation when I was twelve. He also explained we needed to raise $500 to earn a spot building schools in Mexico.

One time this kid, Tony, pulled a knife on Jeff, and Jeff talked him down as if Tony was waving a pool noodle. Teen Night was Michigan’s impoverished youth: a hormone-shaped splatter of Black, White, and Mexican girls and boys without options. I was haphazardly poor and one of nine children. My parents were the rare story of downward mobility in America: middle-class kids who grew up to raise their own family in the hood. On my block, that made us lucky.

Jeff welcomed Tony back the next week.

No kid at Teen Night had travelled outside America. Many hadn’t left West Michigan. For us, the first chance to see the world cost $500 and meant building schools in Mexico or Guatemala on road trips that turned church buses into hotbeds for teen pregnancy. I never went on the trips, but I saw what caged and lonely kids will do to earn that slice of freedom.

The characters in R34L17y are based on real people. They hurt themselves and each other. They make us laugh and let us down. Like lush black-and-white memories of a soft-focus America, I remember more fondly than it deserves. When you grow up at Teen Night, the world beyond your neighborhood is a theory. You don’t know your life is tragic. You’re easy to judge, and we do.

Tony never brought a knife back on Tuesday nights. After a while, we became friends. As much as anyone could be friends with Tony. I remember he liked to ask new kids, ‘What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?’

Think about it. Stop and think about it. What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?

I dug a grave a week after my seventeenth birthday in the glow of a minivan’s headlights. I knew my girlfriend had been abused by her mom’s boyfriend before we dated, then one day I found out it never stopped. The adults she told didn’t believe her. Maybe due to his status, or hers. I’m lucky there were dogs at his house that night. I’m lucky that grave stayed empty. But what if one decision was all anyone ever knew about me? What if one teenage brain with no concept of consequence got life before learning what life is?

It happens in America. It will keep happening in America.

Tony went to prison a year later.

Caleb’s short film is available on request. The whole project includes 5 more parts, which we can share with you also.

Directors Pierre Friquet’s and Adam Leipzig’s The Long Game on Prime Now

The Long Game: Saurabh Netravalkar, Between Two Worlds follows the remarkable journey of Team USA cricket star Saurabh Netravalkar as he balances life as an elite athlete and engineer. Directed by two-time Academy Award winner Adam Leipzig, and Pierre Friquet this Willow Original explores the sacrifices, opportunities, and decisions that shaped his path from India to the United States.

Every element—from the traditionally rooted, often meditative score to the brilliant dramatic pacing and animated sequences—is both gorgeous and incredibly effective. The way Friquet & Leipzig use animated interludes to manifest the “ghosts” of cricket star Saurabh Netravalkar’s past is a standout; it’s a beautiful, haunting touch.

The film also masterfully navigates the socio-political tension between India and Pakistan. The framing of Indian urbanity, particularly the chaotic beauty of Mumbai, offers a striking and visually rich contrast.
Ultimately, The Long Game is a necessary shot of hope. It hits you right where it counts.

The central subject is deeply endearing, and Saurabh Netravalkar’s journey is a testament to human resilience. Friquet & Leipzig build an intense, gripping suspense during the USA-Pakistan match that keeps you entirely locked in. On top of that, it serves as a brilliant primer on cricket, a sport still widely misunderstood or ignored in our corners of the world.

At its core, this is a deeply moving documentary. It’s an inspiring, family-friendly story about triumph that will hit home for the kids just as much as the adults.

Read The Wall Street Journals’ Review.

Ce que les Romains nous apprennent sur le branding

Author Meredith Hambrock Wins The Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour

There are announcements that make you smile, and then there are those that confirm you’re exactly where you need to be.

Canadian writer Meredith Hambrock has just won the 2026 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. With a $25,000 purse, this isn’t just an award—it’s a national institution, honouring the legacy of humourist Stephen Leacock since 1947.

Meredith won for her razor-sharp novel, She’s A Lamb!. It follows Jessamyn St. Germain, an actor fueled by the absolute certainty that she is destined for superstardom.The novel is also a brilliant homage to The Sound of Music—the exact show Jessamyn is dying to star in at a Vancouver theatre. While the world might see her as delusional, the book tracks her relentless quest, brilliantly exposing the sheer depths she’ll sink to for her shot.

It’s incisively funny, wildly smart, and the momentum doesn’t stop on the page. The book is already slated for a feature film adaptation by 4am Film Studios, with the screenplay adapted by none other than Meredith herself. Talk about total creative control.

Meredith is a novelist and television writer. She’s no stranger to the literary spotlight—her story You Should Go Over There was longlisted for the 2016 CBC Short Story Prize, and she’s also the author of the novel Other People’s Secrets.

See the review in the Literary Review of Canada (Crushing It).

Other past winners include Patrick deWitt, Wayne Johnston, Heidi L.M Jacobs, Robertson Davies, Pierre Berton, Farley Mowat, Paul Quarrington, Mordecai Richler, Stuart McLean, Terry Fallis, Susan Juby and Cassie Stocks.