The winners of the Montreal International Fantasy Film Festival

Il International Fantasy Film Festival of Montreal concluded its 25th edition with the screening in person The Great Yokai War - Guardians by Takashi Miike which sold out. The big winners in animation this year included feature films cryptozoan e mad god as well as the Indian short film Seen It were among the worthy winners of this year's animated award.

Fantasia has adopted a hybrid format for the 2021 festival, returning to Festival Scope and Shift72 for the Canadian geo-blocked virtual component and holding in-person screenings at Montreal's historic Cinéma Impérial and Cinéma du Musée. Between digital and physical screenings, the festival boasts over 100.000 views that include ticket sales, badge purchases and streaming events. Over 500 record-breaking journalists from around the world have been credited for Fantasia, which also saw an increased presence in the industry with numerous distribution and sales acquisitions announced outside the festival, including pickups from Shudder, Utopia and Oscilloscope Films. and the sales acquisitions of XYZ and Vanishing Angle.

In addition to films, the festival featured a number of virtual events accessible from anywhere in the world, most notably with masterclasses held by Japanese director Shunji Iwai and Oscar-winning stop-motion animator and director. Phil Tippett, which were honored with a Career Achievement Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award respectively.

The 25th edition of Fantasia included 25 world premieres of feature films, 12 international and 34 North American premieres, with 24 countries represented in the full line-up, and its strongest Quebec film program to date. The animation and related highlights included the world premiere of Maya Tippett's short documentary about her father, Worse Than the Demon; the North American premieres of feature films including Masashi Ando and Masayuki Miyaji's The Deer King (The king of deer), by Joann Sfar Little Vampire (The little vampire), Poupelle of Chimney Town Studio 4 ° C, Hayop Ka! The story of Nimfa Dimaano, Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (Luck favors Mrs.Nikuko), Pompo: the cinephile and the documentary by Pascal-Alex Vincent Satoshi Kon, The Illusionist; and an eclectic assortment of international short films.

The winners of the Fantasy 2021 animation are:

Axis: Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation
Jury - president Hefang Wei (animator, co-founder of Weilaï Productions, artistic director of Kazak Productions), Ashkan Rahgozar (author, director, founder and CEO of Hoorakhsh Studios) and Kalp Sanghvi (director, writer, co-founder of Ghost Animation Collective).

Best feature: cryptozoan (USA, d. Dash Shaw) | "This film is a psychedelic anthem, it is a modern and fascinating mythological painting, and it is also a strong political metaphor".

Special Mention of the Jury: Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (Luck favors Mrs.Nikuko) (Japan, d. Ayumu Watanabe) | “The award for the mention of the jury goes to Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko thanks to his creative storytelling and extraordinary animation ”.

Best Short Film - Gold: Seen It (India, d. Adithi Krishnadas) | “This film immediately impressed me in terms of graphic style. Enchanting images and brilliant representation of disturbing experiences with the use of humor. "

Best Short Film - Silver: Ghost Dogs (USA, d. Joe Cappa) | “This film is about the feelings of a dog during midnight. The author's sense of humor and the restlessness of the environment arouse a strange and fantastic emotion in the viewer ”.

Best Short Film - Bronze: Domino world (France, d. Suki) | "For the important message of the film, its exceptional animation and music."

L'Écran Fantastique Award
Presented by Yves Rivard, Canadian correspondent
“The Prix L'Écran Fantastique 2021 is awarded to Phil Tippett's animated feature film mad god. In addition to being an uncompromising work, the film seduces with its nightmarish qualities with open eyes. Delusional, baroque, cruel, inventive, this film, visibly influenced by creators such as Lovecraft, Bosch, Jules Verne, Svankmajer and Kubrick (!), Perfectly embodies the spirit of Heavy Metal, so dear to a large segment of fantasies. We bet that with each vision new answers will be given to the many mysteries of his narrative ”.

Audience awards

Best Animated Film - Gold: mad god (USA, d. Phil Tippett)
Best Animated Film - Silver: Hayop Ka! The story of Nimfa Dimaano (Philippines, Fr Avid Liongoren)
Best Animated Film - Bronze: The Deer King (Japan, Fr Masashi Ando and Miyaji Masayuki)

Most innovative film of the Festival: mad god (USA, d. Phil Tippett)

Best International Short Film - Bronze: Death and the Winemaker (Death and the winemaker) (Switzerland, d. Victor Jaquier)

Best Documentary - Bronze: Satoshi Kon, The Illusionist (France / Japan, Fr Pascal-Alex Vincent)

The Fantasia International Film Festival will return in 2022. www.fantasiafestival.com.