Deep within the bowels of that final wave of titles for this year's 30th Edition of Fantasia there were a number of free-of-charge special live events that are running during the festival.
They were easy to miss under that avalanche of information that came with the announcement but n that mix there are some very cool guests coming to speak about their films and careers.
First off, come on, a Masterclass with *the* Nicolas Winding Refn? There are also masterclasses with the visual fx group, Blood Brothers FX, and Quebecois film icons, Lousie Portal and Robert Lepage.
There is an In Conversation event with Jane Schoenbrun, their Camp Miasama stars , Hannah Einbinder and Louise Weard, and filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay. Canadian icon Bruce McDonald sits down with Fantasia programmer Justin Langlois to talk about his career. Don Hertzfeldt will talk about their career in animation while visual artist Donald Caron will talk about the posters they have made for the festival over the years. Then there is an Artist Talk between Matt Johson (Nirvana The Band The Show The Movie) and Grace Glowicki (Dead Girl).
Fans of trivia nights won't want to miss Final Exam Horror Trivia, brought up from New York where it is help every month or so by filmmaker Ted Geoghegan, Fangoria's Michael Gingold, and Hollywood Suite's Cam Maitland. It's in a bar. With like-minded horror buffs. And beer.
Severin Films is launching a game this year, Street Warriors: The Game of Cine Quinqui, part of their 20th anniversary. We all love games, right?
And finally, there is a visual lecture from a friend of many in the ScreenAnarchy family, Abraham Castillo Flores. Once a programmer at Morbido, where many Anarchists had been over the years, their maintained focus on Mexican film history will bring their lecture, The Testament of the Mexican Mummy, to the festival. Anarchists who will be there at the same time during the festival will be lined up outside the door of venue at the crack of dawn.
It's all there for you to take in. They all feature really cool people, with a lot of focus on great Canadian and Quebecois filmmakers and creators. And they are either free or very low-cost - like a cover charge low-cost.
Why wouldn't you go?
Fantasia is proud to reveal the following exciting array of special live events occurring across its 30th edition, many presented completely free-of-charge.MASTERCLASS: NICOLAS WINDING REFNModerated by film journalist and critic Katie RifeFriday, July 17, 4:00PM @ Cinéma du MuséeJoin us for a special masterclass with Danish director, screenwriter, and producer Nicolas Winding Refn, recipient of our 2026 Cheval Noir Career Achievement Award. A transformative force in world cinema since bursting out of Copenhagen at the age of 24 with the instant-classic PUSHER (1996), which simultaneously launched the careers of Mads Mikkelsen and Zlatco Buric, Refn’s visceral, often dream-like and neon-tinged filmography across the decades largely reads like a list of landmarks: BLEEDER (1999), FEAR X (2003), PUSHER 2 (2004), PUSHER 3 (2005), BRONSON (2008), VALHALLA RISING (2009), DRIVE (2011), ONLY GOD FORGIVES (2013), THE NEON DEMON (2016), the Amazon series Too Old To Die Young (2019) and Netflix’s Copenhagen Cowboy (2023), and now, the immaculate HER PRIVATE HELL (2026), which celebrates its Canadian Premiere as our Opening Film.In addition to his tremendous talents as a storyteller, Refn has been every bit as meaningful in the worlds of film preservation, curation and discussion, using his visibility and influence to shine light on under-appreciated filmmakers and works that have marked him. At this special masterclass event, the filmmaker will discuss not only his own work as an artist, but the state of cinema itself, what it means to create for the screen(s) in 2026, and the importance of preserving and contextualizing renegade cultural memory.IN CONVERSATION WITH JANE SCHOENBRUN, HANNAH EINBINDER, ALICE MAIO MACKAY, LOUISE WEARD, AND AVALON FASTSaturday July 18, 12:00PM @ Hall CinemaJoin us in celebrating a new generation of groundbreaking genre auteurs with this special group discussion between filmmakers and performers whose works intersect with their friendships and creative processes.Visionary writer-director Jane Schoenbrun (I SAW THE TV GLOW, and Fantasia 2021’s WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR) will arrive in Montreal fresh off their Cannes Premiere and Palm Queer with the extraordinary TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA, starring Hannah Einbinder (HACKS) and Gillian Anderson (The X-Files). Hannah Einbinder is a gifted, Emmy-winning performer and comedian. CAMP MISAMSA is one of two feature films that she stars in this year, following Victoria Strouse’s SXSW breakout SEEKERS OF INFINITE LOVE. As part of a new vanguard of groundbreaking transgressive filmmakers, frequent Jane Schoenbrun collaborators Louise Weard (who appears in a scene-stealing performance in CAMP MIASMA) and Alice Maio Mackay will also be screening at this year’s festival. Louise Weard makes her Fantasia debut with CASTRATION MOVIE CHAPTER iii; A FRAGMENTARY PASSAGE. The film stars Avalon Fast (who also appears in CAMP MIASMA and is the celebrated director of HONEYCOMB and CAMP) as she does everything in her power to stop her partner (Henri Gillespi) from transitioning. Jane Schoenbrun also shows up as the producer of OUR EFFED UP WORLD from frequent Fantasia festival darling, Alice Maio Mackay (THE SERPENT’S SKIN). Inspired by the alien invasion genre and slacker hang out movies, the film is about a group of friends standing up against an alien invasion that threatens to swallow the whole world.FINAL EXAM HORROR TRIVIA PRESENTED BY HOLLYWOOD SUITEHosted by Ted Geoghegan, Michael Gingold, and Cam MaitlandFree admissionSaturday, July 18, 2:00PM-6:00PM @ Reggies BarAfter 40 live events in their native New York, filmmaker Ted Geoghegan and journalist Michael Gingold bring Final Exam, their long-running horror trivia showcase, to Montreal! Part eerie education and part creepy community event, these two legendary gurus of the grotesque will quiz you on all things spooky while teaching you that the genre you love has so much more to explore! To celebrate their first-ever event at Fantasia, Final Exam Horror Trivia is partnering with Canadian movie service Hollywood Suite to test your killer know-how... and remind you that horror is for everyone!HARD CORE LANGUAGE: A CHAT WITH BRUCE MCDONALDModerated by Justin LangloisMonday, July 20, 3:00PM @ J.A. de Sève cinemaWith a career spanning four decades, Bruce McDonald has proven himself one of Canada’s hardest-working directors. From short films to music videos and features, McDonald has worked with A-listers like Harold Perrineau and Elliott Page, as well as indie punk gods Joey Ramone and Henry Rollins. This prolific filmmaker has left his mark on Canadian independent film – he won a Best Canadian Feature award at TIFF for his first film, ROADKILL, in 1989, was nominated 38 more times for awards at home and internationally and won 28. Oscillating easily between film and television, 2026 Canadian Trailblazer recipient Bruce McDonald has ventured into children’s and horror series and everything in between, with a filmography that includes such loved works as HIGHWAY 61 (1991), DANCE ME OUTSIDE (1994), HARD CORE LOGO (1996), PONTYPOOL (2008), TRIGGER (2010), HELLIONS (2015) and DREAMLAND (2019), among others. In an industry that’s so precarious, he’s stayed versatile and relevant, and we’ll learn how he’s managed his career and life in a candid chat you won’t want to miss!MASTERCLASS: BLOOD BROTHERS FXModerated by Marc LamotheMonday, July 20, 5:00PM @ Reggies BarGenre cinema in Quebec is enjoying something of a resurgence with films such as TURBO KID (2015), LES AFFAMÉS (2017), BLOOD QUANTUM (2019), SLAXXX (2020), CONFESSIONS (2022), JOUR DE CHASSE (2024), HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON (2023), and JOUR DE MERDE (2023). What do all these films have in common? Notably, the involvement of a team known as Blood Brothers FX, a Montreal-based practical effects company specializing in the design, development, engineering, and production of high-quality special effects for film, television, live events, commercials, and more. At its core, it was a friendship forged over more than 30 years that united ‘Jib’ (Jean-Mathieu Bérubé) and Carlo Harrietha. The Blood Brothers team is celebrating its tenth anniversary, but sadly, Carlo, one of the two founding members, passed away in 2025. It is partly in his honor that we are holding this masterclass. The talk will be accompanied by video screenings, including a best-of compilation of their special effects and behind-the-scenes footage.THE FANTASIA POSTERS OF DONALD CARONModerated by Rupert BottenbergFree admissionMonday, July 20, 5:00PM @ York AmphitheatreThe annual poster art is one of the key elements in defining any film festival’s identity, and that’s certainly the case at Fantasia. The festival can look back proudly over three decades of amazing imagery, masterfully crafted and rich in imagination – just like the weird, wild, and wonderful films that Fantasia unfailingly showcases. Several distinctive and talented Montreal artists have conjured up memorable poster designs through the years, but one has done the most by far. Illustrator Donald Caron has, since the festival’s earliest days, conjured up visions that catch the eye and encapsulate the spirit of Fantasia. The illustrator will be joined by Fantasia’s Director of Animation Programming, Rupert Bottenberg, for a nostalgic review of those posters through the years, assuring interesting insights into the artist’s craft, the lore of fantastic cinema, and the history of Fantasia!AN EVENING WITH DON HERTZFELDTModerated by Marc LamotheTuesday July 21, 5:30PM @ Cinema du MuséeDon Hertzfeldt’s short films are renowned for their blend of absurd black comedy and profound existential philosophy. Through simple, hand-drawn “stick figures”, his work explores the vulnerability of the human mind, the folly of man and human nature, the meaning of life, and our place in a vast and often indifferent universe. An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt is a conversation with one of the most important animators of the last 50 years, featuring screenings of seven of his most beloved short films. Over the years, fans of Fantasia and DJ XL5’s events have been treated to a barrage of his gags and reflections – sometimes absurd, but often existential – on the big screen. We’ll discuss his early career, influences, inspirations and, of course, his greatest films – all alongside screenings of the artist’s most memorable, groundbreaking works!THE TESTAMENT OF THE MEXICAN MUMMYA multimedia lecture from legendary Mexican film historian and curator Abraham Castillo FloresFree AdmissionFriday, July 24, 5PM @ York AmphitheatreTHE TESTAMENT OF THE MEXICAN MUMMY is a performative lecture that traces a media archeology of mummy horror cinema made in Mexico. In this dimension of folk-pop, opposites coexist: legend and history, imagination and reality, anthropology and the desecration of tombs, and of course, the absurd that makes it all possible. Through film fragments, unpublished photographs and literary references, we’ll discover the different facets of cursed love, sacrifices, and promises of vengeance that are perpetuated in all these films. We will also examine the peculiar detail that identifies the mummies of San Angel and those of Guanajuato: they are corpses on display that to this day continue to generate income. Their testament is a schizoid experience, between the sacred and the profane, where Abraham Castillo Flores will be your guide. However, doubt not, it will be the mummies who take over the microphone. They have a lot to share.SEVERIN FILMS’ 20TH ANNIVERSARY: STREET WARRIORS: THE GAME OF CINE QUINQUI BOARD GAME LAUNCHHosted by Severin Films producer Kier-La Janisse and game designer Zach ClarkFree admissionSaturday, July 25, 2:00-4:00PM @ Reggies BarJoin us in celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Severin Films with the launch of their latest boardgame, STREET WARRIORS: THE GAME OF CINE QUINQUI. In STREET WARRIORS, you and your friends control gangs of juvenile delinquents in the slums of 1980s Madrid. You’ll send your gang out to cop items and commit crimes, while corrupt policemen get in your way and reporters roam the streets looking for tomorrow’s sordid headlines.This collaboration between Severin Films and Living Lunch Novelties was designed by Zach Clark (creator of the LURID COVE boardgame and director of THE BECOMERS), with artwork by Johny Bekavac at Visibly Wasted, based on a commission by Severin producer Kier-La Janisse to accompany the new 4K restoration of the PERROS CALLEJEROS trilogy. Both Kier-La Janisse and Zach Clark will be present at the boardgame launch!MASTERCLASS: LOUISE PORTALModerated by Marc LamotheSunday, July 26, 4:00PM @ York AmphitheatreAt first glance, Louise Portal is an actress who has championed and challenged every conceivable and inconceivable genre. Through her career, we trace the history of Quebec cinema, from the Quiet Revolution to the present day. French and Quebec films intertwine to form an impressive body of work comprising over 70 different roles, spanning both television and cinema. The discussion will, of course, focus on her early days, her major film roles and some of her voice-over work, including POLYESTER… Louise has no regrets, absolutely none, and she stands by everything, truly everything. An unfiltered discussion and a unique event with one of the greatest ladies of Quebec’s star system. Trailers and film clips will punctuate the session to help the audience get a better sense of context.ARTIST TALK WITH MATT JOHNSON IN CONVERSATION WITH GRACE GLOWICKIWednesday July 29, 5:00PM @ Cinéma du MuséeAs part of Fantasia’s 30th anniversary celebrations, join us for a special artist talk between two of Canada’s most brilliant and beloved new wave film talents.Toronto-born actor, screenwriter, producer and director Matt Johnson blasted onto the scene with his radically distinctive indies THE DIRTIES (2013), which won Best Narrative Feature at Slamdance and had its Canadian Premiere at Fantasia, and OPERATION AVALANCHE (2016), which premiered at Sundance and had its Quebec Premiere at Fantasia, in addition to the adored cult series Nirvana The Band The Show. His third feature, BLACKBERRY (2023), premiered in competition at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival and went on to break all Canadian Screen Awards records with 14 wins, including Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Direction, and Performance in a Leading Role (Comedy), becoming the most awarded film in CSA history. Johnson then directed NIRVANA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE (2025), which premiered at SXSW and was acquired by NEON, and this year’s TONY, which will be released by A24 on August 7. He returns to Fantasia this year as a producer on Carly Balestreri’s THE TWO YEAR RULE (2026).Grace Glowicki blew minds with her feature debut TITO (2019), which she wrote, directed, and starred in. The film premiered at SXSW, winning the Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award, before going on to win the Audacity Award at Oldenburg. Her second feature, THE DEAD LOVER (2025), premiered at Sundance and went on to play Rotterdam, SXSW, and TIFF. As an actor, Glowicki has appeared in a slew of acclaimed, singular works, including STRAWBERRY MANSION (2021) and BOOGER (2023), both of which screened at Fantasia. She also appears in THE HEIRLOOM (2024) and HONEY BUNCH (2025), for which she won a Canadian Screen Award for Performance in a Leading Role. Glowicki returns to Fantasia this year as the star of Emily Lawson’s MAN EATING PUSSY (2026).MASTERCLASS: ROBERT LEPAGEModerated by Marc LamotheSaturday, August 1, 3:00PM @ J.A. de Sève cinemaA masterclass with Robert Lepage offers a glimpse into the creative process of one of the province’s most important artists. This discussion will focus on his six feature films and seek to demystify how one of the province’s greatest scriptwriters and directors for stage and screen – acclaimed across the globe – has managed to produce films that are genuine cinematic landmarks. Just like Jean Cocteau, Robert Lepage’s cinema is not filmed theatre, but a reflection on the power and potential of cinema. Trailers and film clips will punctuate the session to help the audience better understand the context.Plus, after the festival ends...A FIVE-WEEK 30TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING SERIES AT THE CINÉMATHÈQUE QUÉBÉCOISEAugust 7 - September 19 @ Cinémathèque QuébécoiseIn celebration of Fantasia’s three decades of curation, the Cinémathèque québécoise and the festival are proud to present Fantasia: 30 Years of Exhilaration / 30 ans d’euphorie, a special retrospective screening series. Running from August 7 to September 19, 2026, the program showcases an eclectic mix of works selected from across Fantasia’s history, featuring visionary filmmakers including Johnnie To, Agnieszka Smoczyńska, Takashi Miike, Edgar Wright, Kim Jee-woon, Matt Johnson, Quentin Dupieux, Stephen Chow, Sean Baker, Na Hong-jin, Éric Tessier, Tetsuya Nakashima, Anders Thomas Jensen, Marina de Van, Rintarō, Lau Kar-Leung and more. Several titles will be presented in rare 35mm prints, many drawn from the Cinémathèque’s vaults.Explore the full lineup at www.cinematheque.qc.ca/fr/cycles/fantasia-30-ans-deuphorie