Fantasia 2015: And The Awards Go To...

19TH EDITION OF FANTASIA CONCLUDES WITH KEVIN BACON, TITANS, AND OVER 100,000 SPECTATORS

 

North America's Longest-Running Genre Festival Wraps Banner Year, Awards Top Honors to Sion Sono's TAG

 

 

Montreal, Wednesday 5 August 2015 - After 23 unbelievable, uninterrupted days of screenings, today marks the Closing Night of the 19th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival. Known worldwide as North America's longest-running genre film festival, Fantasia returned triumphantly to Concordia University's Hall and J.A De Sève Theatres, and secured record numbers at Montreal's McCord Museum, la Grande Bibliothèque, Yuk Yuk's Comedy Club, and Parc de la Paix in the Quartier des spectacles. For the sixth consecutive year, the acclaimed festival succeeded in attracting more than 100,000 spectators for 195 indoor screenings, three outdoor screenings, eight virtual reality films, and numerous special events.

 

Cheif among the festival's 22 buzzed-about World Premieres were LUDO from Nikon and Q, Ken Ochiai's NINJA THE MONSTER, MOMENTUM by Stephen S. Campanelli,  ANGUISH by Sonny Mallhi, Yoav and Doron Paz's JERUZALEM, CHERRY TREE by David Keating,  Jacob Gentry's SYNCHRONICITY, and the 11-filmmaker omnibus TALES OF HALLOWEEN. Other sold-out films of note included Takeshi Kitano's RYUZO AND THE SEVEN HENCHMEN, Marvels' ANT-MAN from Peyton Reed, THE VISIT by Michael Madsen, Gilles Paquet-Brenner's DARK PLACES, and Closing Night selection ATTACK ON TITAN from Shinji Higuchi.

 

Additional highlights of Fantasia 2015 included appearances from director Jon Watts and actor/co-producer Kevin Bacon to celebrate the Canadian Premiere of COP CAR; Michael Ironside, Laurence Leboeuf, and Munro Chambers attending the eagerly-awaited Canadian premiere of TURBO KID (from Montreal-based directors Anouk Whissell, François Simard and Yoann-Karl Whissell); a focus on genre filmmaking from the African Nations; and the attendance of director Keiichi Hara and screenwriter Miho Maruo at the North American premiere of MISS HOKUSAI, the festival's opening night film. Fantasia is also immensely proud to have hosted the debut international performance of Glass Eye Pix's acclaimed live horror radio show TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE, with its sold-out "Fantasia Edition" directed by Larry Fessenden, Glenn McQuaid, and Douglas Buck, and starring genre favorites Tony Todd and Jeremy Gardner.

 

917 international guests, including more than 400 film industry professionals, flocked to Montreal over the course of this year's three-week festival and its Frontières Market. The festival team is delighted to have welcomed over 100 international journalists, including esteemed representatives from The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Screen International, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, Indiewire, and Le Monde.

 

FANTASIA UNVEILS ITS 2015 AWARD-WINNERS

 

The Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to announce the names of the winners of its awards at its 19th edition. The prizes were awarded by the juries of each category.

 

CHEVAL NOIR AWARD - FEATURE FILMS

The jury, presided over by Andrew Frank (VP of Sales and Acquisitions, Mongrel Media) and composed of Roxanne Benjamin (filmmaker), François Létourneau (writer and actor), Ian Rattray (co-founder, Film4 Frightfest), and Ryan Turek (director of development, Blumhouse Productions), awarded the following prizes:

 

Cheval Noir Award for Best Film: TAG by Sion Sono

 

Award for Best Director: Malik Bader for CASH ONLY

 

Award for Best Screenplay: Tomoe Kanno for LA LA LA AT ROCK BOTTOM

 

Award for Best Actor (unanimous): Subaru Shibutani for LA LA LA AT ROCK BOTTOM

 

Award for Best Actress (unanimous): Reina Triendl for TAG

 

Special Mention for Sion Sono's TAG for its creative, surprising, and monumental opening kill sequence.

 

 

NEW FLESH AWARD - FIRST FEATURES

The jury, presided over by Patrick Ewald (CEO, Epic Pictures) and composed of Dave Alexander (Editor-in-Chief, Rue Morgue Magazine), Jimmy Beaulieu (comic artist), and Emico Kawai (Producer and International Sales, Nikkatsu Corporation), awarded the following prizes:

 

New Flesh Award for Best First Feature Film: CRUMBS by Miguel Llanso

 

A Special Mention awarded to THE BLUE HOUR by Anucha Boonyawatana, for the artist's courage and vision.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION PRIZE

The jury, presided over by John McNaughton (filmmaker) and composed of Matthew Hays (journalist) and Francesco Simeoni (Film preservationist, director of Arrow Video), awarded the following prizes:

 

Award for Best International Short Film: MAURICE by François Jaros

 

A Special Mention awarded to LA SÉANCE by Edouard de La Poëze, for its atmosphere, décor, and wardrobe.

 

 

SATOSHI KON AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ANIMATION

The jury, presided over by Benoit Godbout (filmmaker and artistic director) and composed of Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre (filmmaker) and Johanne Ste-Marie (filmmaker), awarded the following prizes:

 

Satoshi Kon Award for Best Animated Feature Film: MISS HOKUSAI by Keiichi Hara

 

A Special Mention awarded to POSSESSED by Sam, for its playful homage to horror cinema

 

Satoshi Kon Award for Best Animated Short Film: MISSING ONE PLAYER by Lei Lei

 

A Special Mention awarded to GHOST CELL by Antoine Delacharlery, for its technical and visual excellence.

 

Satoshi Kon Award for Best Family Short Film: UNE HISTOIRE D'OURS by Gabriel Osorio

 

A Special Mention awarded to LA MOUFLE by Clémentine Robach, for the charm and beauty of its animation and story.

 

 

BARRY CONVEX AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FEATURE FILM 

The Winner of Spectacular Optical's 2015 Barry Convex Award for Best Canadian Feature or Co-Production is Larry Kent's SHE WHO MUST BURN. Whether with words or imagery, Larry's films have always been ferocious and critically engaged with the culture he creates them in. The award is accompanied by a $1000 prize, thanks to The Paul A. Ray Memorial Fund. 

 

 

PRIX AQCC 2015

The jury, composed of Céline Gobert, André Lavoie et Jean-Marie Lanlo, awarded the Prix AQCC to BRIDGEND by Jeppe Ronde.

 

 

PRIX SÉQUENCES

The jury, composed of Pascal Grenier, Maxime Labrecque and Mathieu Séguin-Tétreault, awarded the Prix Séquences to MISS HOKUSAI by Keiichi Hara, with a Special Mention for THE BLUE HOUR by Anucha Boonyawatana.

 

 

PRIX L'ÉCRAN FANTASTIQUE

The Prix L'Écran fantastique, judged by Yves Rivard, was awarded to SYNCHRONICITY by Jacob Gentry.

 

 

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Best Asian Feature:

Gold Prize - LOVE & PEACE by Sion Sono

Silver Prize - Poison Berry In My Brain / A Hard Day (TIE)

Bronze Prize - Robbery

 

Best European, North or South American Feature:

Gold Prize - THERAPY FOR A VAMPIRE by David Ruhm

Silver Prize - Marshland

Bronze Prize - Børning / Turbo Kid / Shamer's Daughter (THREE-WAY TIE)

 

Best Canadian or Quebec Feature:

Gold Prize - TURBO KID by Anouk Whissell, François Simard, and Yoann-Karl Whissell

Silver Prize - Bite / Demolisher (TIE)

Bronze Prize - Limoilou

 

Best Animated Feature:

Gold Prize - MISS HOKUSAI by Keiichi Hara

Silver Prize - Possessed

Bronze Prize - The Case of Hanna and Alice

 

Best Documentary:

I AM THOR by Ryan Wise

 

Guru Prize for Best Action Feature:

BIG MATCH by Choi Ho

 

AddikTV Prize for Best Thriller or Suspense Film:

MARSHLAND by Alberto Rodriguez

 

Most Innovative Short or Feature:

THEY LOOK LIKE PEOPLE by Perry Blackshear

 

Best Short Film:

Gold Prize - GOLD FISH by Michael Konyves

Silver Prize - Fools Day

Bronze Prize - Iris

 

 

The Fantasia International Film Festival would like to thank its sponsors and media partners for their invaluable support. For this 19th edition, the festival was proud to count of the support of 30 sponsor partners, ten media partners, and over 125 advertisers.

 

The 20th anniversary edition of The Fantasia International Film Festival will take place in Montreal from July 14 to August 2, 2016.