This year’s edition of Fantasia features 20 movies produced by Concordians
Santiago Menghini’s Regret plays August 22 and 30 at Fantasia.
The 24th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival will take place virtually from August 20 to September 2, including the premiere of more than 50 short films written and produced by local talent.
This year’s event features 20 films by Concordians, including Grooves, directed by recent film production graduate Danielle Caron (BFA 20). The film is winner of the university’s 2020 Fantasia Award.
Set in the late 1960s, Grooves is the story of a family and the hardships they endure while dealing with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in their own unique way. The 10-minute short film will premiere internationally at the festival.
Caron explains how her own life was the main inspiration for this short film.
“This story is very close to my heart and I now get the chance to share my personal story, which is all I truly ever wanted,” she says.
“As a recent graduate, it’s often difficult to get that first film out there. I am so lucky to have been given the opportunity to finish university with a film already lined up for presentation. It’s helping my professional career in so many ways.”
Caron adds that she now has enough funds to complete the production of the film.
“I loved getting to work with so many different artists and creators. It’s amazing that they will be able to showcase their work through this film,” she says. “That’s why I love cinema — it brings so many people together.”
Here are 19 other films directed by Concordians that will be presented at the genre film festival. Some are programmed at specific times while others are available on demand.
Wednesday, August 26, at 7:10 p.m. and Tuesday, September 1, at 3 p.m.
Rowan goes on a weekend cabin trip with her best friend and her unfriendly boyfriend. She begins to feel left out and starts to witness late-night visions and nightmares, which make her increasingly unstable. The 79-minute feature thriller directed by Amelia Moses (BFA 16) captures the vulnerability and discomfort of a young woman and targets topics of self-harm and isolation through the eyes of a complex character.
Sunday, August 30, at 7 p.m.
Simon Gionet (BFA 19) directs a short, suspenseful story of a female clerk who agrees to help a man whose vehicle breaks down during her night shift at the remote gas station. As she helps repair the man’s car in the vacant parking lot, the driver’s intentions leave the woman on guard.
Family Feast is a horror story that is part of a larger collection of 24 short films that recently won the South African HORRORFEST Award and the feature film award at the Hexploitation Film Festival. Directed by Rémi Fréchette (BFA 12), the story presents a dark side of a family during Quebec’s holiday season.
Saturday, August 22, at 10 p.m.
This short horror features Alex, a young girl who finds herself ill and struggles in the venue bathroom of a metal concert. Current film studies student Vincenzo Nappi won the award for best special effects at the Flamingo Film Festival 2020 for First Bite.
Sunday, August 30, at 7 p.m.
A short poetic animation by current MFA student Narges Haghighat (BFA 17) presents the heartbreaking realities of violence against women in three parts.
Myriam Guimond’s Les Ratées premieres at Fantasia on Saturday, August 22, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, August 22, at 8 p.m.
Three young teenagers who self-proclaim as “Les Ratées” come across a library where strange events take place. The short science fiction film directed by Myriam Guimond (BFA 16) pays tribute to the club of failures in Stephen King’s famous novel, It.
Sunday, August 30, at 7 p.m.
A short documentary by Eric Piccoli (BFA 13), Mon père, Elvis is an intimate portrait of the director’s father, Richard Piccoli, who worked as an Elvis Presley impersonator. The showing offers an insight into his life as he hits the stage one last time at 70 years old. Piccoli’s 15-minute short won best film for the Shoot No Matter What! Award from Festival REGARD and Special Jury Award Documentary Short from Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival.
Parc à chats (Cat Park)
Rachel Samson (BFA 19) presents the animated chronical of a cat’s misadventures in a park. The one-minute short is part of the My First Fantasia program at this year’s festival.
This short film is directed by Concordia production student Zachary Ayotte alongside Dany Foster. It tells the story of a young and imaginative girl named Leila who tries to escape the boredom of her everyday life. She thinks her new boyfriend is the key to a fresh start, but soon realizes that things are not always what they seem.
Saturday, August 22, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, August 30, at 9:30 p.m.
A film by Santiago Menghini (BFA 12) follows a man who must survive a dreary night with his inner demons after the death of his father. The 16-minute short horror story recently won the Midnight Jury Award at SXSW 2020.
Rien de beau ici (Nothing to See Here)
This short comedy tells the story of Emmanuelle, a girl whose pet cat has been missing for two months. When she realizes there’s a cat killer in her neighbourhood, the young woman makes it her job to find her animal, until she crosses paths with an uptight neighbour. Gabrielle Vigneault-Gendron (BFA 17) recounts a contemporary tale that mixes dark humour and suspense in the 16-minute short film.
Sunday, August 30, at 7 p.m.
This 15-minute short film directed by Sara Bourdeau (BFA 08) centres around the story of Roseline. The major actress is on the verge of playing the biggest role of her career but is challenged by the sudden reality of her deep, dark secret.
Sunday, August 30, at 7 p.m.
Taking place in the small Quebec town of Saint-Tite, Florence Pelletier’s (BFA 14) 12-minute short presents a family living their last weekend together at the rodeos of their town’s Festival Western.
Saturday, August 29, at 7 p.m.
Katia Shannon (BFA 14) portrays Amanda, a young girl who is on the verge of starting her new life, but is faced with panic as soon as her body comes to a standstill. She is forced to expose her deepest vulnerabilities in order to survive.
Rachel Samson’s Temps de glace premieres at Fantasia on Saturday, August 29, at 7 p.m.
Temps de glace (Ice Time)
Saturday, August 29 at 7 p.m.
In a short animation, Rachel Samson (BFA 19) illustrates a young girl daydreaming on the sidelines of a hockey rink.
Saturday, August 22, at 10 p.m.
Concordia animation student Devan Marinaccio portrays a young man who gets invited to a beautiful woman’s apartment but is thrown off by the strange older woman she lives with.
Rémi Fréchette’s Vendredi 13: La fille de ’89 will play at Fantasia.
In a seven-minute horror film directed by Rémi Fréchette (BFA 12), a bounty hunter brings back the object of notorious serial killer Jason Voorhees to an old shop owner.
Wapikoni (Missing Offering and In Your Heart)
Current animation student Raymond Caplin’s films Missing Offering (L’offrande oubliée) and In Your Heart are included in Fantasia’s Wapikoni program. It showcases a selection of 17 special films aimed at amplifying the voices of Indigenous talent through film and music.
For more information on screenings and tickets, visit the Fantasia International Film Festival website.
