Fantasia's must-see films

There are more than 150 films playing at the 17th edition of Fantasia, the popular genre film festival that begins screening films at Concordia on July 17. Concordia NOW asked Fantasia programmer Simon Laperrière to name three films he would recommend to festival visitors

1. Mondomanila
The opening film of the Camera Lucida section is a Filipino film set in the slums of Manila, which delivers a harsh view of the abject poverty that exists there. “It’s not always pleasurable, but it’s brilliantly made,” Laperrière says. “It’s also a very playful film with a lot of humour and comedy; and it’s a musical. It will definitely be interesting for an audience looking for challenging cinema.”



2. 11 25 The Day Mishima Chose His Own Fate
This film by Japanese director Koji Wakamutsu retells the final days of the internationally acclaimed and controversial writer, Yukio Mishima, who committed ritual suicide after mounting an unsuccessful coup d’état. “It’s a very, very powerful film about militantism and the limits of political sacrifices,” Laperrière says. “It’s beautifully directed, and the actor playing the role of Mishima is absolutely amazing.”



3. Errors of the Human Body
This film, which marks Australian Eron Sheean’s feature directorial debut, is a medical thriller set in an imposing research institute in Germany. Researchers believe they have found a human regeneration gene, capable of curing all sorts of terrible ailments. Meanwhile, among the main characters, things are not going so well.

“What makes it unique is a nihilist poetry that exists throughout the film,” Laperrière says. “It’s about people trying to save lives, but they don’t even think once about saving their own lives … they are lost in their own personal nightmares. The final sequence is amazing!”




Related links:
•  Fantasia Film Festival 2012
•  “Fantasia Returns with a Vengeance” — NOW, July 11, 2012
•  “Concordia and Fantasia Film Festival Formalize Partnership” — NOW, June 13, 2012