Competitions

C. Robert Cargill is a co-founder of Crooked Highway, the Clarke Award-shortlisted author of Sea of Rust, and such books as Day Zero, Dreams and Shadows and We Are Where The Nightmares Go, as well as the co-writer of such films as SINISTER, Marvel’s DOCTOR STRANGE, and THE BLACK PHONE. A veteran of the industry for over 20 years, he also served as a film critic at such outlets as Ain’t it Cool News and Spill.com. He lives and works in Austin, TX.

Charles Bramesco is a freelance film and TV critic living in Brooklyn. A former staff writer for Rolling Stone, he has also been featured in the New York Times, New York Magazine, the Guardian, and many other fine publications. His first book, a volume on vampire movies for the "Close-Ups" series from Little White Lies, is now on US and UK shelves, and his to-be-announced second book will be published in early 2023. His favourite movie is BOOGIE NIGHTS.

Elza Kephart holds a BFA from Emerson College (Boston) and the Canadian Film Center’s Director’s Lab. Her first feature, GRAVEYARD ALIVE, played in over 20 international film festivals including Fantasia, Fantasporto and Sitges, winning the Kodak Cinematography Award at the Slamdance Film Festival. Her second feature film, GO IN THE WILDERNESS, premiered at the Festival du Nouveau Cinema, played in various film festivals, and is on iTunes. SLAXX, her third feature, had its World Premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival and its International Premiere at the Sitges International Film Festival. It played at FrightFest UK, BIFAN, among others, and is currently on Shudder. Elza has obtained development financing for several feature scripts. Her television project, SWEET BLOOD, was selected to the Frontières Co-Production Market, and the Torino SeriesLab. She has attended the TIFF Talent Lab, the Berlinale Talent Campus, and the Telluride Student Symposium. She is also a climate activist.

Maitland McDonagh wrote the groundbreaking Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento, the first auteurist study of the influential Italian horror and giallo filmmaker. Her other writing includes the books Filmmaking on the Fringe and The 50 Most Erotic Films of All Time, and film reviews and essays in Film Comment, Film Journal and other publications. Formerly publicity director of New York City Ballet and Senior Movies Editor of TV Guide, she recently created 120 Days Books to republish vintage gay adult genre novels with new critical introductions, as well as Vintagegaybooks.Substack.com. She has contributed numerous DVD commentaries, written liner notes and booklets, appeared in documentaries and lectured about horror and erotica. In 2022, McDonagh was inducted into the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award hall of fame as a “trailblazer who makes a difference,” both as a cultural critic and for her writing about genre and exploitation movies.

Heather O'Neill is a novelist, short story writer and essayist. Her novels include Lullabies for Little Criminals, The Lonely Hearts Hotel, and When We Lost Our Heads. She has won numerous prizes for her books, including Canada Reads, the Danuta Gleed Award and the Hugh Maclennan Prize. She has also been awarded the Gold Prize for essay writing at the National Magazine Awards, and she has contributed to numerous publications, including The Guardian, New York Times Magazine, and The Globe and Mail. Born and raised in Montreal, she lives there today.

Jenn Wexler is a writer and director, whose directorial debut, THE RANGER, world premiered at the SXSW Film Festival, had its Canadian Premiere at Fantasia, was released by AMC’s Shudder, and in 2022 screened at the Museum of Modern Art. She just wrapped production on her latest feature, THE SACRIFICE GAME, starring Mena Massoud (ALADDIN), Olivia Scott Welch (FEAR STREET), Gus Kenworthy (AMERICAN HORROR STORY: 1984) and Chloë Levine (THE OA). In television, she has directed for the CW’s PANDORA and TruTV’s LATE NIGHT SNACK. She is also the producer of acclaimed and award-winning genre films DEPRAVED, DARLING, LIKE ME, PSYCHOPATHS, and MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND, which was nominated for the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award and won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at SXSW.

Tim Molloy is the editor and owner of MovieMaker Magazine and Moviemaker.com, as well as the host of the MovieMaker podcast. He and his wife, MovieMaker publisher Deirdre McCarrick, took over the publication in September 2019, and it has most recently profiled Aubrey Plaza, Nicolas Cage, and THE BATMAN director Matt Reeves. Fantasia is one of MovieMaker's 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee and one of its 25 Coolest Film Festivals.

Justyna Koronkiewicz is a master in Marketing and a Wajda School alumni where she attended Creative Producers Course. She’s started her career in the film business at an all-rights Polish distribution company and 8 years later moved to the other side of the business – international sales. MEDIA MOVE specialises in world sales of genre films; elevated horror, action/thriller, war dramas and family films. Previous films include Fantasia selections SWEETIE YOU WON’T BELIEVE IT, KRATT, Sundance and Fantasia winner THE LURE and a current bestseller from Ukraine, SNIPER, soon to be released in the US theatrically. She is always looking for genre films at all stages of production.

Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). In 2021, he co-founded IFSN - Indie Film Site Network. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's THIS TEACHER (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London).

Katie Rife is a writer and film critic based in Chicago who specializes in genre cinema. She worked as the Senior Writer for The A.V. Club from 2019-2022, and News Editor from 2014-2019. She currently freelances for outlets like Rolling Stone, Vulture, Indiewire, and Fangoria, and assists with year-round horror programming at the Music Box of Horrors.

Having worked at Sundance Institute and FilmRise prior to IFC Films, Adam Koehler has been in the film acquisitions space for seven years. In addition to monetizing library titles via IFC Films Unlimited and AMC+, Adam plays an integral role in curating the release slates of IFC Films, IFC Midnight and sister company RLJ Entertainment. He has led acquisitions on films like HUNTER HUNTER, VESPER and THE WRETCHED, and is always searching for new creative voices in filmmaking.

Valerie Barnhart is an independent director, animator, screenwriter, and visual artist based out of Ottawa, Canada. Her first film, a short animated docu-horror called GIRL IN THE HALLWAY, screened at 80+ festivals winning over 27 awards in 2019, including Annecy’s Prix Festivals Connexion Region award and Fantasia’s gold audience award for Best Animated Short. Valerie is currently in production of her next film, an apocalyptic anti-romance called WHAT THE HELL with the National Film Board of Canada. Valerie loves all things monsters and you can usually find her at the Mayfair Theatre or her local library.

Céline has been a film critic for ten years. She is a regular contributor to 24 images magazine and podcast. She has co-edited two issues, one of which was on women's cinema. She also writes film reviews for the website Mediafilm, for which she covered the last Berlinale in February 2022. From 2015 to 2018, her writing on cinema was published in the cultural magazine VOIR. Over the years, she has had the chance to talk to some of her favourite filmmakers such as Andrzej Zulawski, Tobe Hooper, and John Waters. In 2017, she co-produced Le cinéma québécois au féminin, a book of interviews on the place of women in the Quebec film industry. Also a journalist, Céline has written articles on various subjects for numerous media, including the Huffington Post, Journal Métro, Les Affaires, L'actualité and Le Devoir.

David Gregory is the co-founder / CEO of boutique disc label Severin Films. As a documentary filmmaker he has directed / produced the award-winning LOST SOUL - THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, BLOOD & FLESH - THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON, TALES OF THE UNCANNY and co-produced WOODLANDS DARK & DAYS BEWITCHED. He also directed the IFC original doc THE SPAGHETTI WEST. He has produced and directed over 200 featurettes since the early days of DVD including THE JOE SPINELL STORY, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE - THE SHOCKING TRUTH, BAN THE SADIST VIDEOS!, FORGET EVERYTHING - THE MAKING OF SANTA SANGRE AND THE GODFATHERS OF MONDO. He also produced and co-directed the horror anthology THE THEATRE BIZARRE, was a co-producer of THE COLOR OUT OF SPACE and co-wrote and directed PLAGUE TOWN.

Michael Peterson is a Calgary based producer whose credits include BLOODTHIRSTY, FAKE BLOOD, HARPOON, and most recently, DARK NATURE, the latter World Premiering at Fantasia this summer. He's also co-wrote and directed the feature films, LLOYD THE CONQUEROR and KNUCKLEBALL both of which played at Fantasia. He also exec. produced the CBC Gem Original series, MING'S DYNASTY which was nominated for multiple CSA awards including Best Web Series. He attended the 2013 CFC Director’s LAB and has M.Arts from UNC-Chapel Hill and hasn’t made a movie yet where he didn’t learn something new. Outside of film, he was once in a punk-metal band called Animal Chin, slept in an abandoned haunted house in New Orleans, and once won first place in a whistling competition.

Mina Lee is Studio Manager and Content Specialist of E.D. FILMS, a multi-disciplinary animation studio based in Montreal. She manages and supports the studio’s talents and productions, and develops the distribution strategies for E.D. FILMS’ animated shorts. Several films have achieved official selections and awards by internationally recognized festivals including Annecy 2022. Mina is a critic and admirer of new media arts through years of career experience in administration within the cultural landscape. She holds an M.A. in Communication and Culture with a research focus on digital images and viewer reception in films and television shows. Originally from Korea, Mina is a notorious Asian anime nerd.

For over the past 15 years, Stephen has applied the craft of character animation to a variety of projects and has been fortunate to have worked with some of the biggest studios in the animation industry. His start in feature animation came from an internship with Pixar Animation Studios. Since then, Stephen has had the pleasure of working on projects for Blue Sky Studios, Reel FX, Dreamworks Animation, Laika, Blizzard Entertainment, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and is currently one of the Heads of Animation at Steamroller Animation. Eager to share his love of animation, Stephen has instructed at iAnimate.net and was co-creator of SpeakingofAnimation.com, a blog and podcast dedicated to sharing real stories about creating animated productions. Stephen is an extremely passionate animator and shares that same passion and excitement with his amazing team at Steamroller Animation every day!

Guelph, Ontario's Jay Stephens is a three-decade veteran of the Canadian alt-comics scene. Recognized primarily for his forays into animation (TUTENSTEIN, THE SECRET SATURDAYS) and his mainstream kids' comic strips (Chick & Dee, Oh, Brother!), Jay is back in the trenches creating grassroots comics with Black Eye Books. His new work, Dwellings, is out now.

A film studies graduate from the University of Montreal, Pascal Grenier has been a regular contributor to the Cinéfilic webzine for over 5 years. A rabid filmgoer and compulsive collector, he regularly selects and introduces films for Douteux.org.

Jérôme Michaud is a programmer and film critic for 24 images and Sequences magazines. He holds a master's degree in film studies from the University of Montreal and has worked as a programmer and pre-screener for festivals such as the Quebec City Film Festival (FCVQ) and the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM). He is currently a coordinator for the “Communications and promotion” sub-committee of the Comité de Relance du Cinéma au Québec (Committee to Relaunch Cinema in Québec), as well as an associate programmer at Cinéma Moderne.

Cinéaste, photographe et critique, Samy Benammar est titulaire d’une maîtrise en études cinématographiques de l’UDEM. Ses films présentés dans des festivals canadiens et internationaux questionnent les enjeux sociopolitiques des images et ses textes sont publiés dans différentes revues telles que 24 images et Panorama cinéma ou Hors champ.

Sophie Cadieux (née le 25 août 1977) est une actrice québécoise. Elle a étudié au Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Montréal. Elle se fait connaître par ses rôles dans la série jeunesse Watatatow et dans la comédie Rumeurs. Elle est également remarquée dans un rôle épisodique de la série policière Fortier. En 2004, Sophie Cadieux incarne le seul personnage de la pièce Cette fille-là écrite par la dramaturge canadienne Joan MacLeod et inspirée par le meurtre de Reena Virk survenu à Victoria en 1997. En 2007, elle tient un rôle important dans la série télévisée Les Lavigueur, la vraie histoire. En tout, elle a incarné plus de 20 rôles à la télévision et au cinéma en plus d'avoir joué dans plus de 20 pièces de théâtre. Sophie Cadieux a reçu plusieurs distinctions et nominations au Gala des prix Gémeaux et à la Soirée des masques pour la télévision et le théâtre respectivement. Elle sera accompagnée de son fil Oscar and son rôle de jury cet été.

Martin Dubreuil est un acteur autodidacte montréalais issu du milieu underground. Né dans le quartier Rosemont en 1972, il est le père de Nicole (10 ans) et Arlette (4 ans). Il a joué dans plus d'une centaine de court-métrages et dans plusieurs longs (notamment Les 7 jours du Talion, Félix et Meira, La grande noirceur, À tous ceux qui ne me lisent pas et Maria Chapdelaine). On peut le voir dans bon nombre de séries télévisées comme Fatale Station, Victor Lessard, Trop, Les pays d’en haut, Les honorables, Toute la vie et Bête noire. Plus récemment, il est de la distribution de Piégés, une série à suspens diffusée sur le web et on le verra sous peu dans Motel Paradis.Il œuvre également en tant que percussionniste et parolier au sein de l'orchestre de rock and roll Les Breastfeeders sous le pseudonyme de Johnny Maldoror. La poésie et le dessin font aussi partie de sa vie. Sa fille Nicole l’accompagnera dans son devoir de jury cet été.

Nicolas Léger est producteur/associé pour la compagnie cinématographique Ciné-Scène depuis plus de 20 ans. Compagnie avec laquelle il a produit plusieurs documentaires dont tout récemment, le dernier film d’Hugo Latulippe intitulé Je me Soulève, gagnant du prix du meilleur film canadien dans le cadre de la dernière édition du Festival International du Film sur l’Art (FIFA). Il a également produit au cours des dernières années des courts et longs métrages de fiction, dont entre autres, Limoilou réalisé par Edgar Fritz, qui a reçu un très bel accueil au Festival Fantasia. Depuis plusieurs années, Nicolas est également amené à participer à plusieurs projets des arts de la scène entre autres en agissant à titre de producteur pour le Théâtre Humain depuis 2006. Pour ce jury, il sera accompagné de sa fille Jiu-Ge, passionnée de documentaires animaliers, de cuisine et de son sport préféré, le plongeon.

Cinéphile depuis ses 3 ans, cinéaste depuis ses 15 ans, elle n'oserait jamais présenter ses premiers films! Kim a étudié la scénarisation à l'UQAM et la réalisation à L'Inis. Elle a signée plus d'une trentaine de courts métrages (dont Vodka Canneberge ayant obtenu une mention spéciale du jury au Fantastique week-end du court-métrage ainsi que FFF sélectionné cette année) - la plupart ayant été produits au sein du mouvement Kino, deux webséries (Le Pixel Mort, Le Chum de ma mère est un extra-terrestre), un premier long métrage (Réservoir) et quelques épisodes télé (Famille Magique). Elle cumule une expertise pour le public jeunesse ainsi que de l'expérience en analyse, en communication, en gestion de crises et en coordination d'événements principalement via son rôle de maman de deux adorables tornades: Louis et Charles, respectivement âgés de 10 et 9 ans. Avec une maman cinéphile et cinéaste, regarder des films en famille s'inscrit dans la routine. Suivez-les sur Letterboxd: With or without kids.

Fantasia 2022 : le grand retour en salle !

Comme vous et comme l’organisation de Fantasia, L’Écran Fantastique est fébrile à l’idée de retrouver les projections en salle, permettant de communier en groupe devant le grand écran, question de vivre de grands moments de cinéma. Et qui n’en a pas besoin ?

Après deux années de confinement et de restrictions, la possibilité de vivre l’attente d’une projection, d’amorcer des discussions inopinées dans la file d’attente et d’échanger des commentaires dès la sortie de la salle, tout ça redevient vrai, réel, concret. Nous aurons probablement toutes et tous une petite pensée à cet effet, bien calés dans nos fauteuils en attendant que monstres et merveilles apparaissent en format géant pour notre plus grande terreur, pour notre plus grand bonheur…

Une fois de plus, le public est convié à cette grande messe du cinéma de genre, et L’Écran Fantastique répond présent en renouvelant son partenariat et en décernant le prix du Meilleur long-métrage de genre présenté dans le cadre du festival pour la 17^e année consécutive.

En attendant de savoir quel film se méritera ce titre, des dizaines de films provenant des quatre coins de la planète (et parfois même d’ailleurs) se bousculeront à l’écran. Que le meilleur gagne, certes, mais que les autres soient aussi vus et appréciés pour ce qu’ils sont et éveille en nous : une passion. Bon festival 2022 !

Yves Rivard
Prix L’Écran Fantastique