The Hollywood Outsider – Film and Television Podcast | Reviews An award-winning film and television podcast for the fan in all of us
On this episode of The Hollywood Outsider podcast, we talk exclusively about the Fantasia International Film Festival. What the festival is, how it works, and especially, what movies we saw that you should keep an eye out for.
The Fantasia International Film Festival is one of the largest international film festivals dedicated to genre films and is celebrating its 25th year in 2021. The festival is located in Montreal, Canada, and in a mostly digital format for movie-lovers and critics from August 5-25, 2021, including screenings, premieres, panels, and workshops. The festival took a heightened focus on Japanese cinema this year “in celebration of the key role that Japan’s culture has played across Fantasia’s history”.
So sit back and relax. You’re about to experience the Fantasia International Film Festival from the comfort of your own home.
Discussed on this episode of The Hollywood Outsider Movie and TV Podcast:
- Thoughts on the Fantasia International Film Festival
- Reviews of several film premieres screened at the festival, titles listed below along with the Fantasia International Film Festival 2021 Award winners
- Please support The Hollywood Outsider and gain immediate access to bonus content, including Patreon exclusive podcast content like our monthly Bad Movie Night, by visiting Patreon.com/ TheHollywoodOutsider
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| Title | Description |
| #Blue_Whale | A provincial Russian town is ravaged by a wave of inexplicable teen suicides. Rebellious and sharp-witted schoolgirl Dana (Anna Potebnya, SAMA DURA) grieves for her younger sister, a once-happy kid who suddenly withdrew and stepped in front of a train. Desperate to learn what happened, Dana explores her sister’s online history, discovering a sinister social-media game that encourages youths to take an escalating series of self-harm challenges – 50 tasks in 50 days. Beginning with actions designed to alienate them from friends and family, the challenge breaks its victims lives apart to push them past any point of return. Hungry for answers and out for revenge, Dana registers for the game, opening a doorway into the cruelest of hidden online worlds. One that will jeopardize the lives of everyone she cares about. |
| Agnes | Overflowing floral arrangements, taxidermied lions and frosted cakes serve as the backdrop for this dreamy film about a priest and a neophyte sent to investigate rumours of demonic possession at a convent. The odd pairing matches a dissident priest (a smarmy Ben Hall, who also starred in CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER) with a bright-eyed innocent Benjamin (Jake Horowitz), both of whom will be met with temptation as the strange goings on at the convent test their faith, and that of a specific nun, Agnes (Hayley McFarland). |
| Baby Money | Minny (FEAR THE WALKING DEAD’s Danay Garcia) is pregnant. Great news, right? Not exactly. This was unexpected and not exactly welcome, but she and her boyfriend, Gil (MR. ROBOT’s Michael Drayer), love each other and are sticking with it. But babies are expensive and neither’s prospects are the best, so a quick break-in with Tony (Travis Hammer) and Dom, and they’re in for some quick money to help start a new life together. The job goes real south real fast, however, and Dom and Gil are on the run real quick. They find themselves hiding out in the home of Heidi (Taja V. Simpson), a nurse who treated Minny and her cerebral palsy-afflicted son, Chris (Vernon Taylor III, who has palsy in real life). Now they’re all in a hostage situation with a hot property they need to sell off fast so they can try to make it the hell out of there before the cops find them. It’s not how anyone wanted this to go, but this is what you have to do to make BABY MONEY these days. |
| Broadcast Central Intrusion | PULL FROM SXSW – In the late 90s, a video archivist unearths a series of sinister pirate broadcasts and becomes obsessed with uncovering the dark conspiracy behind them. Cast: Harry Shum Jr., Kelley Mack, Chris Sullivan, Jennifer Jelsema, Arif Yampolsky, Justin Welborn, Michael B. Woods, Steve Pringle Country: United States |
| Don’t Say Its Name | Two women (the magnetic Sera-Lys McArthur & Madison Walsh) set out to find answers to the mysterious, brutal murders happening to their Indigenous community. MADISON WALSH, SERA-LYS MCARTHUR |
| Glasshouse | Kelsey Egan’s dystopian fairytale GLASSHOUSE follows Mother (Adrienne Pearce) and her three daughters — romantic Bee (Jessica Alexander), sensible Evie (Anja Taljaard), and child of nature Daisy (Kitty Harris) — occupy the titular glass building, which has been completely sealed off to protect its occupants from a dementia-inducing toxin called the Shred that’s poisoning the air outside. On top of their responsibilities, sentry duty and harvesting the extensive crops that keep them alive, the two older sisters must tend to their brother Gabe (Brent Vermeulen), who is unable to care for himself due to past exposure. Fearful of becoming like the lost souls who wander the abyss outside, the family keep a grasp on their past by performing sacred rituals. When Bee breaks the rules and lets an injured stranger (Hilton Pelser) into their midst, the family dynamic is shattered forever, as hidden truths upend the illusions the women have worked so hard to protect. |
| Hellbender | A lonely teen discovers her family’s ties to witchcraft. ZELDA ADAMS, TOBY POSER. Directors – John Adams, Zelda Adams, Toby Poser |
| Ida Red | Career criminal Ida “Red” Walker (Oscar winner Melissa Leo) is battling a terminal illness while serving a 25-year prison sentence in the outlaw state of Oklahoma. She has little time left to live. Under Ida’s tutelage, her son, Wyatt Walker (Josh Hartnett), has sustained the family business, alongside his uncle, Dallas Walker (Frank Grillo). When a job goes awry, local detective and Wyatt’s brother-in-law, Collier (George Carroll), is joined by FBI agent Lawrence Twilley (William Forsythe) to track down the responsible party. |
| Indemnity | An ex-fireman finds himself on the run for a crime he has no memory of in this subversive, high-tension South African action thriller. Director – Travis Taute; Jarrid Geduld as theo |
| King Knight | What makes a good witch nowadays? A deep sense of spirituality and communion with nature? Devotion to a tight-knit group of like-minded free spirits? A successful Etsy shop and a sick set of Tarot cards? Living the dream alongside his beautiful life partner Willow (WESTWORLD’s Angela Sarafyan), the revered high priest of a modern Californian coven, Thorn (CRIMINAL MINDS’ Matthew Gray Gubler) has it all… as well as a secret past that may or may not be as dark as his wardrobe. And much like the tides pursuing the moon, our past tends to follow us around. So, when his beloved uncovers said secret on the night of their Beltane celebrations, Thorn sets out on a soul-searching journey back to his hometown. Starring: Matthew Gray GublerAngela SarafyanAndy Milonakis Director: Richard Bates Jr |
| Last Night at the Strip Club | Documentary short |
| Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break | PULL FROM SXSW – A needy charity-shop worker is set on winning the big national talent show. But when the actions of 5 selfish people cause him to miss his audition, he sets out to seek deathly revenge. It’s 1 lunch break, 5 spectacular murders. |
| The Righteous | THE RIGHTEOUS takes full advantage of the dreary otherworldliness of Newfoundland as it centres on a former priest who left the church to start a family, only to be gripped by tragedy after the death of his child. One night, he and his wife are visited by a young stranger who turns their life upside down. With unexpected twists and turns, the film’s destabilizing tension creeps into your bones like a damp chill you can’t quite shake off. |
| Ultrasound | After his car breaks down, Glen spends one hell of an odd night with a married couple, setting into motion a chain of events that alter their lives plus those of several random strangers. Director- Rob Schroeder; Vincent Kartheiser, Chelsea Lopez |
| 2021 Fantasia Award Winners | |
| Career Achievement Award | Shunji Iwai & Phil Tippett |
| Lifetime Achievement Award | Shunji Iwai & Phil Tippett |
| Cheval Noir Award for Feature Films | |
| Best Film | Voice of Silence, South Korea |
| Director: Hong Eui-jeong | |
| Best Director | Igor Legarreta |
| Film: All the Moons, Spain/France | |
| Best Screenplay | Mark O’Brien |
| Film: The Righteous, Canada | |
| Best Score | John Adams |
| Film: Hellbender, USA | |
| Best Actor | Yoo Ah-in |
| Film: Voice of Silence, South Korea | |
| Best Actress | Zelda Adams |
| Film: Hellbender, USA | |
| Jury Special Mention – Cinematography | Director: Imanol Nabea Film: All the Moons, Spain/France |
| Jury Special Mention – Rising Star | Actor: Sienna Sayer Film: Martyrs Lane, UK |
| Jury Special Mention – Sound Design | Stef Lernous Film: Hotel Poseidon, Belgium |
| New Flesh Award for Debut Film | |
| Best Film | The Sadness, Taiwan |
| Director: Rob Jabbaz | |
| Special Jury Mention | Film: Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, Japan Director: Junta Yamaguchi |
| Special Jury Mention | Film: Office Royale, Japan Director: Kazuaki Seki |
| International Short Film Competition | |
| Best Film | Vulnerability, Japan |
| Director: Eiji Tanigawa | |
| Best Director | Cory Williamson |
| Film: Silly Human, USA | |
| Best Screenplay | Steph Kwiatkowski |
| Film: Rachels Don’t Run, USA/France | |
| Best Actress | Victoria Villier |
| Film: Inheritance, USA | |
| Best Actor | Ian Cramer |
| Film: Other Bodies, USA | |
| Special Jury Mention | The Tenant, Spain |
| Director: Lucas Paulino & Ángel Torres | |
| Special Jury Mention | Henchmen, Singapore |
| Director: Alistair Quak | |
| Jury AQCC – Camera Lucida Award | |
| AQCC-Camera Lucida Prize | The Story of Southern Islet, Malaysia |
| Director: Chong Keat Aun | |
| Special Jury Mention | Midnight in a Perfect World, Philippines |
| Director: Dodo Dayao | |
| Axis: Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation | |
| Best Feature | Cryptozoo, USA |
| Director: Dash Shaw | |
| Special Jury Mention | Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko, Japan |
| Director: Ayumu Watanbe | |
| Best Short Film – Gold | Seen It, India |
| Director: Adithi Krishnadas | |
| Best Short Film – Silver | Ghost Dogs, USA |
| Director: Joe Cappa | |
| Best Short Film – Bronze | Mondo Domino, France |
| Director: Suki | |
| Audience Awards | |
| Best Asian Feature – Gold | Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, Japan |
| Director: Junta Yamaguchi | |
| Best International Feature – Gold | All the Moons, Spain/France |
| Director: Igor Legarreta | |
| Best Canadian Feature – Gold | Dreams on Fire |
| Director: Philippe McKie | |
| Best Documentary – Gold | Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror, USA |
| Director: Kier-La Janisse | |
| Best Animated Feature – Gold | Mad God, USA |
| Director: Phil Tippett | |
| Most Groundbreaking | Mad God, USA |
| Director: Phil Tippett | |
| Best International Short – Gold | Digital Video Editing with Adobe Premiere Pro: The Real-World Guide to Set Up and Workflow, South Korea |
| Director: Hong Seong-yoon | |
| Best Canadian Short – Gold | Freya |
| Director: Camille Hollett-French |