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The Fantasia International Film Festival returns for its 28th edition taking place once again in Montreal from July 18 to Aug. 4. As usual this year’s programme includes a host of new and classic features from East Asia .
China
- 100 Yards – martial arts drama set in 1920s Tianjin.
- A Legend – Epic historical drama from Stanley Tong starrying Jackie Chan.
- The Umbrella Fairy – Chinese animation revolving around the spirits of a sword and umbrella.
Hong Kong
- The Avenging Eagle – classic historical action from Sun Chung.
- A Chinese Ghost Story II – sequel to the romantic classic starring Leslie Cheung.
- Killer Constable – Kuei Chih-Hung’s horror-inflected classic.
- Out of the Shadow – drama from Ricky Ko following a masked vigilante.
- Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In – A generational divide echoes around a beer hall filled with a defeated sense of bonhomie until finally finding a point of rest in Tomu Uchida’s elliptical single set drama. Review.
Japan
- Baby Assassins Nice Days – latest in the popular series of slacker hit girl comedies.
- Brush of the God – drama in which a young woman inherits her grandfather’s kaiju legacy.
- Confession – latest from Nobuhiro Yamashita starring Toma Ikuta and Yang Ik-june as two men hiking in memory of a late friend.
- Don’t Call it Mystery – Totono is one again swept into intrigue in this big screen instalment of the TV drama.
- Fly me to the Saitama: From Lake Biwa with Love – Osaka is on the March in the sequel to the popular comedy.
- Ghost Cat Anzu – animation co-directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita in which a young girl is entrusted to an immortal Ghost Cat.
- House of Sayuri – horror from Koji Shiraishi in which a family moves into a house in the country which turns out to be haunted.
- Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp – latest in the sprawling Monogatari series
- Love and Pop – classic compensated dating drama from Hideaki Anno.
- Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain – striking animation from Kenji Nakamura.
- Penalty Loop – a man trapped in a timeloop of vengeance begins to realise the fallacy of revenge in Shinji Araki’s absurdist drama.
- Samurai in Time – a samurai retainer is suddenly catapulted into the modern age and the set of a jidaigeki.
- Swimming in a Sand Pool – a group of high school girls ponder the role of gender in their lives while shovelling the sand in Nobuhiro Yamashita’s charming teen comedy.
- Tatsumi – a fisherman/cleaner for a drug gang teams up with his ex-girlfriend’s sister to avenge her death.
- Teasing Master Takagi-san – adaptation of the popular manga picking up with Takagi’s return to Japan.
- This Man – eerie folk horror from Tomojiro Amano.
- The Ying-Yang Master Zero – lavish historical fantasy from Shimako Sato
Korea
- 4pm – a couple find themselves plagued by an eerie house guest after moving to the country.
- Brave Citizen – a former boxer stands up against a bullying culture.
- FAQ – quirky drama in which a girl makes friends with a bottle of makgeolli.
- The Killers – anthology film featuring four tales of hired killers.
- The Roundup: Punsishment – Ma Dong-seok returns to investigate the death of a Korean in the Philippines in the latest instalment in the Roundup series.
- The Tenants – a man finds himself in a waking nightmare after taking in some eccentric tenants.
Thailand
The Fantasia International Film Festival runs in Montreal, Canada, July 18 to Aug 4. Full details for all the films along with scheduling and ticketing information are available via the the official website, and you can also keep up with all the latest news via the festival’s official Facebook page, X (formerly Twitter) account, Instagram, and Vimeo channels.
Windows on Worlds 