The Fantasia International Film Festival will celebrate its upcoming 30th edition with an electrifying program of screenings, workshops, and launch events running from July 16 through August 2, 2026, returning to the Concordia Hall and J.A. de Sève cinemas, with additional screenings and events at Montréal’s Cinéma du Musée.
The festival’s full lineup will be announced in early July but in the meantime, Fantasia is excited to reveal a select second wave of its 2026 titles.
Here’s what’s on offer:
Cape Fear – Series Finale World Premiere
In this reimagining of CAPE FEAR, a storm is coming for happily married attorneys Anna (Amy Adams, ARRIVAL, NIGHTBITCH) and Tom Bowden (Patrick Wilson, THE CONJURING, INSIDIOUS) when Max Cady (Javier Bardem, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, MOTHER), the notorious killer they are responsible for putting behind bars, is let out of prison – and he will stop at nothing to exact revenge on the family who put him behind bars. Executive producers Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg team up with showrunner Nick Antosca (A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY, CHANNEL ZERO), who deftly crafts a singular reinterpretation of the classic thriller, in a format that deliberately allows madness to take its hold, depicting the unravelling of the Bowden family. Following in the footsteps of Mitchum and De Niro, Bardem truly shines as the charismatic maniac terrifying the Bowden family, delivering an incredible performance in his portrayal of a villain we all love to hate. Intense, unsettling and wildly entertaining, CAPE FEAR debuted on Apple TV on June 5th, while Fantasia brings the epic conclusion to the big screen, with Nick Antosca and a special guest in attendance.
God Skin – World Premiere
Desperate for money, Bangkok delivery boy Marwin discovers a clandestine arena where the wealthy wager on martial-arts matches with a high-tech twist, in the spectacular Thai action-fantasy GOD SKIN. Panna Stunt Team (veterans of the ONG-BAK films) handles the combat choreography, so top-notch action is assured as Marwin faces off against a succession of outrageous rivals. Leading man Sutthirak Subvijitra, of the MY BOO and 4 KINGS series, proves equally deft at drama, comedy, romance, and high-flying, hard-hitting stunts, but director Paween Purijitpanya (GHOST LAB, 4BIA) takes things further, as this live-action arcade game loaded with rapid-fire laughs and eye-popping visual effects takes a sharp turn into dark, dystopian techno-thriller territory. This is potent proof that Thailand’s action cinema remains among the world’s best, offering ferocious fights and fresh new ideas.
Los Vampires – World Premiere
In 1930 Hollywood, a Spanish actor (Henry Ian Cusick, LOST, MACGYVER) is cast in the night shoot of a soon-to-be-legendary vampire film, forced to imitate the English-speaking star (Thomas Kretschmann, THE PIANIST, SPECTRE) who performs the same role by day. The two actors regularly meet at the transitory hours of their shoots, and a rivalry stirs between them. All the while, a string of murders is occurring on and around the soundstage. With names respectfully altered, Craig Mitchell’s LOS VAMPIRES is a fantastical fictionalised account of the making of George Melford’s Spanish DRACULA (1931), the arguably superior version of the Universal Horror classic which had been shot overnight on the same sets Tod Browning’s landmark picture used during the day. Cusick and Kretschmann captivate as uncanny surrogates for Carlos Villarías and Bela Lugosi, while Daniela Couso (SERIAL BEAUTY), Tony-winner Jefferson Mays (INHERENT VICE), Oscar Nuñez (THE OFFICE), and Jorge Diaz (FOR ALL MANKIND) round out an immaculate cast. LOS VAMPIRES is a meticulously designed, occult-tinged tribute to the dignity of performance… and a darkly imaginative, bittersweet love letter to old Hollywood – and the forgotten struggles that made it what it was.
Tokyo Burst: Crime City
Rookie detective Aiba (Sota Fukushi, BLEACH), a native of Tokyo’s red-light district (with all the attitude and methods that entails), must team up with Cho (Uhm Ki-joon, MAN OF VENDETTA), a counterpart from Seoul with equally questionable practices, to track down a dangerous criminal spreading terror across Japan, Korea, and the Philippines. While the relationship between the two investigators is frosty at first, they’ll have to learn to work together quickly in the face of such a formidable adversary. The cult franchise THE ROUNDUP makes its way to Japan with this wild “buddy cop” film, featuring a barrage of mind-blowing fight choreography, as well as hilarious sequences worthy of the genre’s greatest classics that are sure to delight die-hard action-movie fans. The chemistry between the actors, whose enthusiasm is contagious, and the dynamic direction of Eiji Uchida (LOWLIFE LOVE) make TOKYO BURST: CRIME CITY one of the most entertaining films of the year.
Corpus – World Premiere
A bold and visceral horror vision, CORPUS is the transfixing feature debut from filmmaker Corrin Evans, whose work explores death, eroticism, and the supernatural. Co-written and produced by Lily Cowles, who also stars, CORPUS is a body horror yearn-and-burn. Erotic and surreal, the film lands brilliantly as a meditation on identity, desire, and the lethal cocktail of longing, vulnerability, and control.
It’s the summer of 1998 in New York City; Sayo (Jeff Wahlberg, EUPHORIA), a soulful nightlife photographer and small-time drug dealer, is invited to a party upstate by his long-time friend and unrequited love, a movie star on the rise: Vince Marlowe (Brodie Townsend, HEARTBREAK HIGH). Together with their rowdy friend Ross (Michael Vlamis, POOLS), they drive to a remote, bucolic manor in hopes of some summer debauchery. But when they arrive, they discover that the promise of a party is actually three mysterious women – Billie (Lily Cowles, ANTEBELLUM), Wren (Nuha Jes Izman, YELLOWJACKETS), and Cata (Ching Valdes-Aran, THE EQUALIZER) – whose disturbing agenda draws the boys into a dark web of seduction and terror.
Someone’s Daughter – World Premiere
When the law fails you, who do you turn to? Over a decade ago, Sam (Pascale Bussières, MA VIE EN CINÉMASCOPE, FRONTIÈRES) successfully defended her client Paul (François Arnaud, HEATED RIVALRY, FUCKTOYS, THE BORGIAS) against rape accusations. Years later, the victim’s father kidnaps both the lawyer and his daughter’s alleged assailant, leaving them stranded in the Canadian wilderness with only each other to turn to. It’s a happy reunion for Paul, but the deeper they wander together, the more Sam finds herself questioning what really happened all those years ago and what’s coming for her today. In SOMEONE’S DAUGHTER, director Wiebke von Carolsfeld (THE SAVER, STAY) carefully ponders the morality of her characters and the role of law versus justice, weaving a tense tale of revenge and survival. Against a breathtaking tableau of northern backcountry, the leads deliver solid performances. Bussières’s grounded stoicism plays exquisitely well in contrast to Arnaud, who is as charming as he is chilling.
Cherry and Virgin – World Premiere
Ami and Ryo have a lot in common. They’re both around 30 years old, both draw, both are prone to brutal self-criticism – and neither has ever had sex. The duo is awkward, uncertain, and confused. In their own weird way, the pair have great chemistry… but will it lead them to the bedroom – and beyond? Following his short animated mockumentary A JAPANESE BOY WHO DRAWS (Fantasia 2019), Masanao Kawajiri returns with CHERRY AND VIRGIN, an understated romantic dramedy that showcases his unique speciality. Kawajiri tells stories about people who draw and presents them as they would draw themselves. The filmmaker’s skill at mimicking a multitude of styles is remarkable, and he puts it to use brilliantly in the service of surprising and insightful studies of ordinary lives. A patient and precise storyteller with a visual language as expressive as his dialogue, Kawajiri’s sardonic wit and harsh candour offset and even elevate the strong sense of compassion that permeates CHERRY AND VIRGIN.
The Glorious Dead – World Premiere
A small-town sheriff (Toby Poser) and her young deputy (Zelda Adams) wake to find the world they believed in no longer exists. Blood drips from faucets, people and pets are missing, and fleshy creatures walk the woods. Soon, the dirt can’t keep the dead down. Anger and fear spread through the community. Co-written and co-directed by John Adams and Toby Poser, the latter of whom also stars, and co-starring Zelda and Lulu Adams, THE GLORIOUS DEAD is a personal genre vision that speaks to the increasing horrors of American life in times of enormous, instigated division while retaining the interpersonal poetry, imagination, and dark humor that its creators are renowned for. This will be the sixth consecutive work from the singularly talented filmmaking family to World Premiere at Fantasia following the festival’s launches of THE DEEPER YOU DIG, HELLBENDER, WHERE THE DEVIL ROAMS, HELL HOLE, and MOTHER OF FLIES, the latter having won our 2025 Cheval Noir Award for Best Feature. In their words: “This film takes dangerous fundamentalism at face value and asks what remains for the rest of us.”
Wind Breaker
A new arrival in the small town of Makochi, Sakura (Koshi Mizukami, KOWLOON GENERIC ROMANCE) is determined to take control of Furin High School – known for its formidable fighters – by knocking its leader out with a few well-aimed punches to the face. Instead, he discovers a tight-knit group of young people working to protect their community from the Shishitoren gang, which aims to sow chaos in order to gain more power. Will he be able to overcome his reluctance to trust others and rise above his bellicose ambitions? With its charismatic, over-the-top characters, breathtaking fight choreography, breakneck pace, and superb direction by veteran Kentaro Hagiwara (TOKYO GHOUL), WIND BREAKER doesn’t just dazzle the most ardent fans of action cinema. It offers a galvanizing reflection on the need to unite our forces against the intimidation and brutality of those who seek only to dominate and take everything they can. This adaptation of Satoru Nii’s epic manga fits perfectly into the current global context and will soothe your frustrations in the best possible way.
Big Break – World Premiere
Years after Simple Town split up, three comics reunite with their successful ex-collaborator, leading to a fight for their lives (and careers) as dark secrets are revealed, and these washed-up comedians learn what it really means to kill! Jumping from the stage to the big screen for their feature film debut, New York’s cult comedy darlings Simple Town wield their knack for absurdist situational comedy like an axe to the horror genre. With an all-star team of indie producers including Richie Doyle (IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU), Conor Hannon (THE PEOPLE’S JOKER), Graham Mason (INSPECTOR IKE – also the editor of TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA), Ani Schroeter (BUNNYLOVR), and Sarah Wilson (DAD & STEP-DAD), BIG BREAK navigates the harsh realities and moral dilemmas that come with being a part of the entertainment industry, and greets them with a punch(line), finding humor in the struggle and relatability in its cast of characters. Directed by Ian Faria, BIG BREAK recalls underground American horror-comedy classics while carving out a space entirely its own thanks to Simple Town’s special brand of chaotic cringecore sketch comedy.
The Mutation
Se-oh, a Black man born to two white Korean parents, is tired of feeling like a stranger in his homeland due to reactions to his skin color. He spends everything he has on a luxury suitcase containing his most precious possessions, to offer it to someone who would like to join him on a two-day road trip. Sora, a lesbian who lost her partner to suicide due to a forced marriage, decides to join this journey where landscapes, memories, sorrows, and hopes will intertwine. Embark on this magnificent, introspective voyage helmed by director and screenwriter Shin Su-won (MADONNA), who displays exceptional sensitivity and intelligence in guiding the viewer to a destination that will restore faith in humanity by tackling realistic, often harsh themes. The duo of Han Hyun-min and Lee Zoo-young deliver masterfully nuanced performances as two outsiders with whom we wish we could spend more time once the final credits roll. THE MUTATION brilliantly exposes human beauty and complexity and will make you want to take a walk with a stranger.
I Love Paris – World Premiere
Shot in a mockumentary style, I LOVE PARIS is an explosive and vibrant vampire film that’s equal parts funny, dynamic, and haunting. Avoiding the traditional pitfalls of mockumentary filmmaking , I LOVE PARIS feels real but never forgets to keep its audience entertained. The film stars an explosive and hypnotic Aminata Thiboult as Paris, an aspiring musician who gets vampirized mid-shoot, giving all new meaning to the underground nightlife. Not just a vampire movie, this is a music film where the beats actually hit. I LOVE PARIS captures an improvisational style that blends comedy, music, and horror to draw in the audience. With obvious comparisons to WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, director Nicky Murphy brings in a dash of Tony Scott’s THE HUNGER – creating a vampire story that’s funny, pulses with youth and ambition, and blends down-under humor with effortless French cool.
Penny Lane is Dead
A fierce and fantastic feature debut from writer / director Mia’Kate Russell, spiked with dark humor and gendered rage, PENNY LANE IS DEAD explodes off the screen with heart-pounding tension and personality to spare. A blood-drenched re-working of Ozsploitation survival / vengeance thrillers that hits hard yet through sheer force of charisma becomes something exhilarating, all while speaking to deeper themes of gendered violence and internalized misogyny. It’s the summer of 1986. Penny Lane (Bailey Spalding, NORTH SHORE) has just landed her university acceptance and is primed for celebration. She and friends Toni (Tahlee Fereday, BLUE CANARIES) and Amy (Alexandra Jensen, TALK TO ME) head out to a distant beach house for a wild “no dick event.” Things take a dark turn when Penny’s toxic cousin Kat (Sophia Wright-Mendelsohn, YEAR OF) crashes the party uninvited, with awful intentions. Soon, her boyfriend (Ben O’Toole, BLOODY HELL) arrives with friends. Circumstances spiral and the girls suddenly find themselves in a savage fight for survival… A breakout smash when it premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival, PENNY LANE IS DEAD is about to tear into domestic theatrical release abroad, and makes its first out-of-country visit at Fantasia.
Tunnels: Sun in the Dark
While films such as APOCALYPSE NOW, FULL METAL JACKET, and PLATOON hardly glorified the massive military misadventure in Southeast Asia, they offered only the American perspective. Award-winning writer/director Bui Thac Chuyen (ADRIFT, GLORIOUS ASHES) provides a counterpoint with a powerful war film that’s intelligent, empathic, convincing, and intense. TUNNELS: SUN IN THE DARK follows a band of poorly equipped resistance fighters preparing to defend the vast network of crude tunnels underneath Cu Chi district against the hell that their enemies are on the verge of unleashing. Great pride is evident in the ingenuity and camaraderie of the combatants, but Bui demonstrates wise restraint, avoiding the excesses of propaganda productions. Nevertheless, TUNNELS was an unprecedented box-office smash on its home turf, with clever, claustrophobic camerawork (shot largely in the actual Cu Chi tunnels), a subtle and affecting score, and strong performances by its three leads. TUNNELS is an essential and overdue alternative reflection on a conflict no less relevant after half a century.
Nightborn
With dreams of starting a perfect family, Saga (Seidi Haarla, COMPARTMENT NO. 6, ICEBREAKER) and her British husband Jon (Rupert Grint, the HARRY POTTER series, SERVANT) move to the isolated house where she spent much of her childhood, deep in the Finnish forest. As soon as their baby is born, despite the reassurance of all around her, Saga knows there’s something terribly wrong with her son. Their marriage begins to crack and Jon struggles to support his wife, but only Saga suspects the terrible truth about her newborn. The sophomore feature from gifted Finnish filmmaker Hanna Bergholm (HATCHING), NIGHTBORN launched in official competition at this year’s Berlinale and Fantasia is proud to be the site of its North American birthing. A deeply uncomfortable, viscerally gruesome, and darkly humorous look at the emotional rollercoaster of new parenthood through a genre prism, NIGHTBORN is stylishly directed and anchored by an astonishing, one-of-a-kind lead performance from Haarla.
Backstage Madness
Creating a script is already challenging, especially when everyone except the writer wants to control the creation. A 70-year-old screenwriter struggles to protect his artistic ideals as his producer keeps interfering. Desperate to find that balance, the writer comes up with an extreme idea to spark inspiration, sending the creative process spiraling into madness. Drawing from his own experience, Kyrgyz director Amanbek Azhymat’s debut feature BACKSTAGE MADNESS sharply exposes the absurdity, exploitation, and ridiculousness of the film industry, with bold visual inspiration from Quentin Tarantino, while also capturing a creator’s struggle to preserve even a small piece of his dream. Featuring excellent performances from non-professional actor Bolot Tileberdiev and popular music artist Kuralbek Chokoev, BACKSTAGE MADNESS brings up the age-old question: how does one balance personal creative vision with market demands?
Nameless
Security-camera footage has captured evidence of a vicious murder at a café, but the police are baffled that the suspect can slash people to death without even holding a weapon. Who is this man? How is he able to kill without a blade or a gun? Why is he shrouded in mystery? Based on star Jiro Sato’s own web-manga, NAMELESS is a compelling and gripping psychological thriller directed by Hideo Jojo, and another brilliant feature with the insanely talented Sato in its lead role. Jojo takes the Japanese thriller genre to the next level with superb pacing, visceral suspense, and remarkable character development. NAMELESS will make sure you forever remember its name.
Zsazsa Zaturnnah
A pink meteor transforms shy, gay hairdresser Ada into a stunning superheroine, who must defend her village from giant mutant animals, wretched zombies, and anything else thrown at her by the militant, misandrist Amazonistas from Planet X. Previously adapted as a live-action film in 2006 and (of course) a flamboyant stage musical, ink-slinger Carlo Vergara’s Zsazsa “komiks”, high-camp parodies of iconic Filipina superheroine Darna, have earned prestigious awards and enormous popularity among the Queer community of the Philippines. Zsazsa now returns to the screen, and who better to bring Vergara’s screenplay to life than Avid Liongoren (SAVING SALLY, HAYOP KA!) and his team at Manila’s Rocketsheep Studio. Liongoren is striving to give Pinoy animation, for too long simply a sweatshop for foreign productions, its own authentic voice, and he’s found a perfect vehicle in the hilarious, heartfelt, and high-impact adventure ZSAZSA ZATURNNAH.
Motherwitch
Eleni (Margarita Zachariou) is a painter isolated from her wider community and consumed by unbearable grief after losing all three of her children in a senseless accident. In desperation, she enters into a Faustian pact with chthonic feminine forces to bring them back. Filmed on location in an abandoned settlement in Cyprus and making sublime use of its mountainous rural terrain, Minos Papas’ MOTHERWITCH weaves fairy tale, dark Gothic ambience, mythology, and stunning practical effects into the fabric of folk horror. The film becomes a profound exploration of motherhood, grief, and the act of creation itself, fueled by compelling performances from leads Zachariou and Sifis Katsoulakis. The historical backdrop of English-occupied Cyprus in the 1880s adds further layers of unease and colonial violence to its richly textured world.
Sekiro: No Defeat
The Divine Heir of the sacred land of Ashina has been kidnapped for malevolent purposes. His sworn protector, the stoic shinobi Sekiro, must rescue the child because the fate of all Ashina depends on it. Adapting SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE, the award-winning 2019 video game from FromSoftware, the highly anticipated anime adventure SEKIRO: NO DEFEAT sees the war-torn Japan of the Sengoku period further fractured by conspiracy, betrayal, and bloody boss battles to beggar belief. Exquisitely visualized and breathtaking in its frequent, furious fight scenes, it’s the work of director Kenichi Kutsuna and the innovative anime studio Qzil.la. They reinvigorate the ninja genre with a fresh, sharp look and feel, and elevate an already excellent video game to cinematic glory.
Niko
In dystopian Seoul, with curfew and lockdown in effect, broke screenwriter Niko suddenly disappears. As her boyfriend Jeremy and new bestie Ji-eun try to locate her, they become unexpectedly intertwined in a love triangle. In the meantime, Niko is on a journey of self-discovery, slowly but surely finding her lost hope in humanity and romance. Writer/director Julien Birban Levy’s feature debut demonstrates his passion for both Asian and French cinema. Even if it’s taking place during the end of the world, he manages to depict Seoul as a lively character in and of itself. Tiffany Young of the iconic K-Pop group Girls’ Generation shines in her feature acting debut, bringing lots of emotion and personality to the titular role and offers great chemistry with her co-star Sandor Funtek. With mesmerizing performances from the main cast and Levy’s pulsating cinematic look, NIKO is a love letter to both the romance genre and the city of Seoul.
The Origin of Ultraman
Six decades to the day since the broadcast of the first ULTRAMAN episode, Fantasia salutes this key figure in the festival’s history with a special screening of Tsuburaya Productions’ heartwarming and informative anniversary documentary, overseen by no less than award-winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda. Combining critical insights, fascinating memories from surviving team members, and personal reflections from the likes of Hideaki Anno, Hideo Kojima, Nicolas Winding Refn, and Guillermo Del Toro, THE ORIGIN OF ULTRAMAN is an essential tribute to the red-and-silver champion of cosmic order from Nebula M78, whose stature as an icon of Showa era tokusatsu matches that of Godzilla, Astro Boy, and the Tokyo Tower itself.
Born in the Jungle
During her Venezuelan summer vacation in the 1950s, nine-year-old Elizabeth joins her family deep in the rainforest, where they live with the Pemon tribe near Devil’s Mountain. There, she must do everything she can to find her brother, who has become lost in the wild. Elizabeth’s journey takes a new turn when she realizes she must also save a mythical creature and bring it back to Mount Tepui. Fresh from its world premiere at Annecy, Edmunds Jansons’s animated delight BORN IN THE JUNGLE, based on a screenplay by Lote Eglīte and Līga Gaisa, is a co-production between Latvia, Poland, and the Czech Republic, a family film boasting stunning visuals, vibrant colors, and a plot brimming with adventure.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
Visionary writer-director Jane Schoenbrun (I SAW THE TV GLOW, WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR – Fantasia 2021) will arrive in Montreal fresh off their Cannes premiere and Palm Queer win with the Canadian premiere of TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA, starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson. After years of slapdash sequels and waning fandom, the Camp Miasma slasher franchise is handed over to an enthusiastic young director for resurrection. But when she visits the original movie’s star, a now-reclusive actress shrouded in mystery, the two women fall into a blood-soaked world of desire, fear, and delirium.
Find out more about Fantastia Fest 2026.
Bloody Flicks 