Festivals - Fantasia 2020 : panels and special events

By Mulder, 06 august 2020

The Fantasia International Film Festival will launch its 24th edition next month as an exciting virtual event composed of scheduled live screenings, program library, panels, and workshops, taking place from August 20th to September 2nd, 2020. The festival will be accessible across Canada, geo-locked to the country, and will maintain unique film admittance quantities in line with the cinema experience. The Fantasia Film Festival announces today a massive new assortment of feature films for its 24th edition, along with details on scheduled panels, talks, tributes, and special events. Fantasia’s section dedicated to unconventional non-fiction storytelling just keeps expanding, with seven amazing new documentaries that are sure to impress.

Featuring an artist talk with famed filmmaker Mike Flanagan, an all-star tribute to Stuart Gordon, (bad) career advice from Simon Barrett, Gary Sherman’s virtual b-day bash, and much more. While Fantasia 2020’s films are geo-blocked to Canadian audiences, all of the festival’s panels and special events are free and accessible worldwide, allowing these unique experiences to be enjoyed by fans on every corner of the Earth!

John Carpenter Lifetime Achievement Award and Masterclass
Fantasia attendees lovingly recall that the Kentucky-raised writer/director/musician was one of the first major international guests to attend Fantasia for the fest’s third edition in 1998, when it launched the International Premiere of Vampires. In conjunction with awarding him a Fantasia Lifetime Achievement Award, the festival will also present a masterclass from Carpenter, where he’ll discuss everything from his own festival origin story to his awe-inspiring career, touching on Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York, The Thing , Starman, They live, and many more. In addition, the fest will explore his recent resurgence as a touring musician and play you his latest spine-tingling single!

A tribute to José Mojico Marins
On February 19th of this year, South American cinema lost its boldest visionary with the passing of José Mojica Marins, one of the most original and inspired voices in the history of genre film. A master of confrontational filmmaking who conquered numerous obstacles, Marins’ creations are radical lightning bolts of transgression made in defiance of Brazil's then-dictatorship, whose collective glow will continue to influence and astonish generations to come. Fantasia had the honor of bringing Marins to the fest twice and of bestowing him with a Lifetime Achievement award. He will be greatly missed. In recognition of Marins’ passing, Fantasia will be presenting three of his works – At Midight I’ll take your soul (1964), The Strange World of Coffin Joe (1968) and The End of man (1971

A live talk with Brazilian filmmaker Dennison Ramalho
In addition, the festival will also present a live talk with Brazilian filmmaker Dennison Ramalho (The Nightshifter) co-screenwriter of Mojica’s acclaimed 2008 Coffin Joe comeback film, Embodiment of Evil. He will reminisce on his own history growing up inspired by the man, as well as his relationship with his friend and collaborator.

An Indigenous Kiwi Arts Action Comedy Closes Fantasia 2020
Fantasia’s 24th edition will slam into crescendo with the North American Premiere of NZ filmmaker Kiel McNaughton’s The Legend of Baron To’A . Uli Latukefu (of Taika Waititi’s upcoming Next Goal Wins) gives a charismatic turn in the leading role, supported by a talented Polynesian cast including The Matrix Reloaded’s Nathaniel Lees and Attack fo the Clones’ Jay Laga’aia. The film delivers comedy and pathos in a seamless blend of English and Tongan. While the hard-hitting fight choreography draws inspiration from pro wrestling and martial arts movies, it’s firmly grounded in its suburban setting, resulting in setpieces that celebrate the Pacific Island experience just as much as the script does. North American Premiere.

Afrofuturism : visions of the future from The Other side (Friday, August 21 – 5PM EDT)
In this lecture, Canadian film critic Carolyn Mauricette will explore how the lack of representation of BIPOC people in science fiction changed with Afrofuturism pioneers of music, film, and literature, break down the definitions of Afrofuturism, and see how the movement has influenced today’s creators towards making a whitewashed future a thing of the past. Presentation by Carolyn Mauricette

Rue Morgue : prints not dead – Genre journalism in 2020 (Sunday, Aug 23 – 4PM EDT)
Join the staff of Rue Morgue, Canada’s premiere horror and culture in entertainment periodical, for a discussion on the challenges, merits, and overall state of print journalism in an increasingly digital age.

Simon gives bad carer advice : A talk with Simon Barrett (Monday, Aug 24 – 5PM EDT)
Simon Barrett, screenwriter of The guest and You’re next (and director of the upcoming Seance), unsuccessfully attempts to answer the questions he is most commonly asked about the increasingly inexplicable business of filmmaking.

Narratives of Resistance in Folk Horror(Tuesday, August 25 - 3PM EDT)
With panelists Kinitra Brooks (author, Searching for Sycorax: Black Women’s Hauntings of Contemporary Horror), Bernice M. Murphy (author, The Rural Gothic in American Popular Culture), Michelle Latimer (director: The Inconvenient Indian), and Mikel Koven (author, Film, Folklore, and Urban Legends); Moderated by Kier-La Janisse (director/producer, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror). In anticipation of Severin Films’ upcoming documentary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror, this panel looks at folk horror from different perspectives rather than as a specifically British phenomenon. From Dybbuks to Conjure Women and Ozark Witches, join us as we investigate folk traditions as a source of empowerment for marginalized communities that have endured cultural erasure.

The United beat of sex and art THE - Reshaping Cinematic Ecstasy through the Modern Female Gaze on Sexuality (Tuesday, August 25 - 5PM EDT)
With panelists Nicole Bazuin (Modern whore), Josie Hess (Morgana), Isa Mazzei (Cam), Morgana Muses (morgana), and Isabel Peppard (Morgana); Moderated by pornographer/writer Stoya, co-creator of ZeroSpaces Join us for a sex-positive conversation with women who are bringing new meaning to sex on screen, in pleasure, in work, in the mainstream, in porn, alone, with a man, with a woman, or... a ferris wheel.

Score Salvations : The art of Saving soundtracks(Wednesday, Aug 26 – 5PM EDT)
A talk with the sonic archeologists at La-La Land Records, featuring panelists Matt Verboys, author Jeff Bond, Neil S. Bulk, Dan Goldwasser, composer Joe Kraemer, and legendary producer/mixer Mike Matessino; Moderated by Concordia Film professor Randolph Jordan At the forefront of the movement to bring new life to lost and out-of-print soundtracks is La-La Land Records, a California-based label specializing in musical resurrection. In recent years, this label and its team of producers-cum-sonic-archeologists have obtained access to archives previously all but inaccessible. They are responsible for restoring and releasing a number of definitive and key genre scores from across the decades, from composers such as Ennio Morricone, Bernard Herrmann, Franz Waxman, Elmer Bernstein, Danny Elfman, Hideakira Sakurai, David Shire, Leonard Rosenman, Dimitri Tiomkin, Basil Poledouris, Jerry Goldsmith, John Carpenter, and John Williams, among many others. Join us for a talk with some of La-La Land’s key team of holy grail rescuers to discuss the agonies and ecstasies of soundtrack preservation work.

A miskatonic tribute to Stuart Gordon (Tuesday, August 27 - 5PM EDT)
With panelists Bruce Abbott, Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Dennis Paoli, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, and Brian Yuzna; Moderated by Graham Skipper. Stuart Gordon, who we lost earlier this year, is inextricably tied to Miskatonic. Not only by continuing the legacy of the fictional Miskatonic University in his iconoclastic Lovecraft adaptations, but by christening the very first branch of the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies with a masterclass on the challenges of adapting “the unfilmable” H.P. Lovecraft for the screen. Two years later, Stuart’s Frontières project Purgatory was the very first project submission of the initiative, making him integral to the founding of not only Miskatonic, but Frontières as well. Here we bring together his closest collaborators from stage and screen to celebrate the life of this pioneering director who invigorated his community and never ceased to surprise and inspire.

Gary Sherman’s virtual birthday Bash (Friday, Aug 28 - 5PM EDT)
We love Gary Sherman. You surely do too. A trailblazing US filmmaker and longtime member of the Fantasia family, we can’t imagine what the genre would look like without the inspiration he’s brought to it through such singular classics as DEATH LINE, VICE SQUAD and DEAD & BURIED, to name a few, not to mention the influence he’s had on so many careers. On Friday, August 28, Gary’s turning 75 and we’re going to toast with him, alongside an assortment of special guests that will include John McNaughton, Jeremy Dyson, C. Robert Cargill, William Lustig, Kier-la Janisse, Steven Poster, Jovanka Vuckovic, Joe Renzetti, and others to celebrate his life and career. You’ll be able to ask questions and give him birthday wishes as well. Join us… and mind the doors!

The New York State of horror(Saturday, August 29 – 3PM EDT)
New York City has long been a stalking ground for cinematic creatures big and small, slashers and spectres, devils, and deviants. Author/filmmaker Michael Gingold (AD NAUSEAM) takes you on a tour through the city's history in horror films, from expensive studio fare to down-and-dirty independents, spotlighting resident auteurs such as Larry Fessenden, William Lustig, Abel Ferrara, Larry Cohen, and Frank Henenlotter, and how the many sides of the city were explored and exploited by filmmakers. Presentation by author/filmmaker Michael Gingold

Torn from the page into light : Mike Flanagan on Literary Adaptations and Personal Horror Creation - A Live Post Mortem Event (Sunday, August 30 – 3PM EDT)
Writer/Director Mike Flanagan ranks among today’s most exciting genre talents, with directorial credits that include Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game,Before I Wake, Oculus, Hush, Absentia, and Netflix’s The House on Haunted Hill all in less than a decade. He’s also one of the rare filmmakers able to effectively tackle complex literary works and adapt them to the screen in ways that not only do justice to the original material, but bring heartfelt new dimensions into play. How many filmmakers can say that they’ve successfully adapted works from both Stephen King and Shirley Jackson? The answer, of course, is one. Join Fantasia for a special artist talk that will see Mike Flanagan in conversation with filmmaker and Post Mortem founder Mick Garris, himself no stranger to adapting Maine’s favourite son, having directed The Stand, Bag of bones, Riding he bullet , Desperation, Sleepwalejers and the 1997 TV mini-series version of The shining. Both filmmakers have been to Fantasia multiple times, but the festival has never had the ability to feature them together. Until now.

Genre film as political and social commentary (Sunday, August 30, 5PM EDT)
Featuring panelists: Gigi Saul Guerrero, Elza Kephart, Natasha Kermani and Amelia Moses, and more. As the voices behind the camera become increasingly diverse, genre cinema continues to grow, evolve, and reinvent itself to better serve these stories, Film Fatales invites a distinguished group of women directors to discuss the power of genre cinema as a tool for social and political commentary.

Boutique video labels and film festival communities in pandemic times (Monday, August 31, 5PM EDT)
With panelists Donato Totaro, Peter Rist and Randolph Jordan (Concordia Film Faculty), Lee Paula Springer & Chris Bavota (directors, Dead Dicks), Louise Buckler and Mike Hewitt (Arrow Video). Concordia film faculty converse with Fantasia-favourite filmmakers and video label representatives about maintaining cinephile communities during pandemic times

Apprenticeship of evil : Dennison Ramlho on Jose Mojica Marins (Wednesday, Sept 2, 5PM EDT)
This year South American cinema lost one of its boldest visionaries with the passing of José Mojica Marins. As part of our tribute to the departed artist, award-winning Brazilian filmmaker Dennison Ramalho, long-time friend and protégé of Marins, will give a profound live talk. He will reminisce on his own history, of growing up inspired by the great man’s work, and the evolution that came with the two meeting and developing both a friendship and creative relationship with the legendary director that endured through the years. The talk will close with a question period open to the virtual audience. As the history and future of Brazil’s cinema is currently under threat in unconscionable ways, we feel it especially urgent to present a talk of this nature, both out of love for Mojica and in solidarity with Brazilian artists and the hardships they currently face. Presentation by Dennison Ramalho

Fantasia is also proud to be screening over 200 shorts in its line-up, including the directorial debut of Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things, IT).

For more information, visit us on the web at www.fantasiafestival.com

(Source : press release)