Ari Aster’s Eddington will serve as the opening film for the 29th Fantasia International Film Festival, held from July 17 to August 3, 2025, across Montreal venues, setting the tone for a roster that blends renowned filmmakers and fresh cinematic voices. With screenings at Concordia Hall, J.A. de Sève cinemas, and Cinéma du Musée, this year’s festival celebrates bold genre experimentation and a commitment to cinematic diversity, making Ari Aster’s Eddington opening Fantasia 2025 film festival a must-watch event for movie enthusiasts.
Ari Aster’s Eddington Launches a Boundary-Pushing Festival
The 29th edition of North America’s iconic genre film festival promises a dynamic lineup, launching with Ari Aster’s hotly anticipated Eddington. This marks Aster’s fourth feature following celebrated hits like Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid. Eddington focuses on a tense 2020 standoff between Sheriff Joaquin Phoenix and Mayor Pedro Pascal in the small town of Eddington, New Mexico, where community fractures escalate dangerously. Supporting cast includes Austin Butler, Emma Stone, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Michael Ward, and Clifton Collins Jr., highlighting the film’s star power and genre pedigree.
Takashi Miike and International Favorites Galore
Japanese master Takashi Miike brings a trio of films—Nyaight of the Living Cat, Blazing Fists, and Sham—in a testament to his prolific storytelling and versatility. The festival’s second wave also touts films from acclaimed and emerging global directors. Among them, Together, a body-horror relationship drama helmed by Michael Shanks, and The Wailing, an intergenerational curse narrative by Pedro Martín-Calero, signal Fantasia’s embrace of both chilling horror and inventive forms of storytelling from every continent.
Fresh Voices and World Premieres
Izabel Pakzad makes her feature debut with Find Your Friends, a sinister thriller tracking a group of young women whose wild getaway in the desert spirals dangerously once they conflict with the locals. The movie boasts a cast including Helena Howard, Bella Thorne, Zión Moreno, Chloe Cherry, and Sophia Ali, and explores the thin line between camaraderie and confrontation, culminating in a revenge-driven finale.
Kazakh Scary Tales, brought to life by Adilkhan Yerzhanov, channels occult horror with folklore roots, as a police investigator played by Kuantai Abdimadi gets ensnared by regional witchcraft and the terror of the Albasty. Fantasia will present the first three episodes from this series as a single feature—its first showing anywhere in the world—with a stellar ensemble featuring Anna Starchenko, Dinara Baktybayeva, Daniyar Alshinov, Yerken Gubashev, and Sanjar Madi.
Mickey Reece’s Every Heavy Thing, another world premiere, blends pitch-black comedy with a conspiracy thriller as ordinary man Joe (Josh Fadem) gets dragged into chaos after witnessing a murder. The eclectic cast—Vera Drew, Tipper Newton, John Ennis, and Barbara Crampton—helps anchor Oklahoma’s idiosyncratic culture in Reece’s signature style.
Themes of Identity, Change, and Survival
Debut filmmaker Ava Maria Safai presents Foreigner, a blend of coming-of-age, horror, and comedy set in 2004, focusing on Yasamin, an Iranian immigrant seeking acceptance in a new school. When her quest draws supernatural consequences, the film delivers a modern twist on the immigrant journey and the struggle for self-definition. Rose Dehgan, Chloë MacLeod, and a vibrant supporting cast bring both the fun and darkness of adolescence alive.
Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist Life, based on Akiko Higashimura’s manga, chronicles a young woman’s confrontation between her manga dreams and the demands of a stern art instructor. Mei Nagano shines as Akiko, and Yo Oizumi embodies a mentor whose unpredictability challenges tradition and creativity alike. Director Kazuaki Seki’s adaptation delivers a universal message about finding one’s voice despite setbacks—a theme echoed throughout the Fantasia lineup.
Buffet Infinity by Simon Glassman, in its world premiere, is a cosmic horror comedy where dueling restaurants in Westridge County clash amidst cults, sentient eateries, and absurdist local ads. The offbeat humor pays homage to Canadian comedy traditions while weaving genre elements in new directions.
Exploring Communities, Family, and Cultural Histories
Carboard City (Ville Jacques Carton) stands out by blending documentary and fiction in a poetic depiction of Longueuil, featuring Jean-Marc Desgent’s fight to preserve his neighborhood’s history against urban development. Directors Jean-Marc E. Roy and André Forcier craft a poignant tribute to resilience using archival footage and performances by beloved Quebec actors like Gaston Lepage, France Castel, Sandrine Bisson, Charlotte Aubin, and Michèle Deslauriers.
Old Guys in Bed brings humor and heart to late-blooming romance, following Paul, a 60-year-old film historian (Duff MacDonald), navigating the modern dating world in Jean-Pierre Bergeron’s directorial debut at age 73. The film explores themes of connection and self-discovery, contributing a rare, gentle, and nuanced perspective.
Animation and Genre-Defying Narratives
The Girl Who Stole Time, directed by Yu Ao and Zhou Tienan, offers a touching animated story inspired by personal loss. Qian Xiao, voiced by Liu Xiaoyu, receives a magical pendant that manipulates time and soon faces danger and adventure. The voice cast also features Wang Junkai, Zhou Shen, and Huang Bo. The film promises a heartfelt mix of emotion and humor, evidenced by directorial intent:
This very moment of being together is the gentlest magic we have against time.
—Yu Ao and Zhou Tienan, Writer-Directors.
Juliet & The King, an animated musical comedy from Ashkan Ragozar and Hoorakhsh Studio, follows Nasser-al-Din Shah’s cultural adventures and romantic entanglements as he seeks to bring Shakespeare to Iran. Drawing from Persian history and classical aesthetics, the film bridges Eastern and Western narratives in an imaginative, lighthearted style.
Pushing Genre Boundaries: Horror, Surrealism, and Satire
Takashi Miike’s films are joined by a slate of works challenging genre norms. New Group, directed by Yuta Shimotsu, is a terrifying exploration of cult mentality in Japanese society as high schooler Ai sees her world unravel into surreal danger. Similarly, Death Does Not Exist and Lucid expand the possibilities of experiential horror at the festival.
The festival’s Animation Plus and Underground offerings include pastiche, experimental film, and regional folk storytelling, ensuring something for every taste. Tamala 2030: A Punk Cat in Dark, for instance, and international premieres like Reflection in a Dead Diamond, show how animation and live-action collide in the context of today’s anxieties and social change.
Major Titles and International Spotlights
Fantasia’s additional second wave brings together compelling features across the globe. Latvian folk fantasy Dog of God by Raitis Ābele and Lauris Ābele merges dark folklore with subversive animation, while Bangladesh’s Dui Shaw by Nuhash Humayun adapts the success of Pet Kata Shaw into new social critiques explored through chilling anthology tales.
Other standouts include Lurker, an American psychological drama starring Théodore Pellerin and Archie Madekwe about obsession and fandom, and Noise from South Korea, which leverages supernatural horror through expert sound and tension. Belgian-French co-production Reflection in a Dead Diamond, led by Fabio Testi, gives a fresh homage to 1960s Euro-spy thrillers with a vibrant, imaginative twist.
The School Duel, set in a dystopian Florida, touches on pressing political issues with a harrowing tale of youth violence and notoriety. Alice Maio Mackay’s The Serpent’s Skin brings queer and supernatural themes together in a romance that confronts prejudice and evil, while Toshiaki Toyoda’s Transcending Dimensions blurs sci-fi, noir, and the supernatural in a brain-twisting narrative.
North American and Canadian Premieres: A Global Showcase
With official selections from major festivals including Tribeca, SXSW, Berlin, San Sebastián, and more, Fantasia 2025 will welcome the North American premieres of films like New Group, Blank Canvas, and The Girl Who Stole Time, as well as Canadian premieres of titles such as Lurker, The Serpent’s Skin, Lifehack, and Japanese Avant-Garde Pioneers, Amélie Ravalec’s documentary on the art movements shaping a generation.
These premieres ensure that Montreal remains a vital cinematic hub for both established directors and emerging talents, reflecting the global reach and ambition of the Fantasia International Film Festival.
Anticipation Builds for the Official Full Lineup
The complete Fantasia 2025 schedule will be revealed in early July, but the festival’s already-announced second wave hints at an edition intent on pushing boundaries, highlighting new perspectives, and showcasing innovative explorations in horror, comedy, drama, and animation. With Ari Aster’s Eddington opening Fantasia 2025 film festival, supported by a tapestry of international voices and boundary-pushing storytelling, the event promises to draw both genre aficionados and newcomers, reinforcing Montreal’s position as a crossroads for bold cinema. Whether exploring the occult in Kazakh villages, confronting cultish dances in Japanese schools, or reviving forgotten cities in Quebec, Fantasia 2025 will continue to serve as a launching pad for cinematic discovery and creative exchange.
