Fantasia Announces First Wave of 2021 Programming

'King Knight,' 'The Last Thing Mary Saw' and 'The Righteous' are among the many films coming to the Montreal fest

BY Megan LaPierrePublished May 19, 2021

The 25th edition of Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival will take place virtually this summer, and today we've got the first wave lineup announcement.

Running from August 5 to 25, the fest will include the world premiere of Fantasia-favourite Richard Bates Jr.'s gonzo spiritual quest King Knight, Edoardo Vitaletti's debut period occult drama The Last Thing Mary Saw and actor-turned-director Mark O'Brien's new Canadian horror classic The Righteous.

Additionally, there's the Adams Family's Hellbender, a coming-of-age like you've never seen before; the North American premiere of experimentalist Seth A. Smith's Tin Can; Agnes, the prolific Mickey Reece's exploration of memory; Shunji Iwai's lockdown-set The 12 Day Tale of the Monster That Died in 8; Joann Sfar's children's comic adaptation Little Vampire; the twisted night of Rob Schroeder's Ultrasound; Mikhael Bassilli and Luc Walpoth's suspenseful Baby Money; and the revitalized South African genre cinema's Indemnity, Travis Taute's directorial debut.

This follows the announcement of the festival's opening film, Julien Knafo's Brain Freeze, a zomcom set in Quebec.

Check out a newly shared promo video for the 2021 festival below.

Fantasia will be hosted virtually on a platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72. However, festival organizers are hoping to add some local limited-capacity in-person events near summer's end. Scheduled screenings, premieres, workshops and panels will otherwise be accessible to audiences across Canada.

The rest of Fantasia's programming — including ticket information — will be announced in the months leading up to the festival, ahead of the full lineup in late July. For more information, visit the festival site here.

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