26TH EDITION OF FANTASIA ANNOUNCES FULL LIST OF AWARD WINNERS

MEGALOMANIAC takes top honours, nabs fest’s coveted Cheval Noir Award for Best Feature

25 July 2022 - Montreal, Canada - The 2022 Fantasia International Film Festival, now entering its third week, is immensely proud to announce the award winners for its monumental back-in-person 26th edition. Award winners were selected after jury deliberation and were announced at a live ceremony on July 24th, 2022.

Select statements from Fantasia juries are included alongside announcements, with all unedited jury declarations noted in full at the end of this release.

► CHEVAL NOIR COMPETITION – Feature Films

The jury, presided over by C. Robert Cargill (screenwriter, author, critic, co-founder of CROOKED HIGHWAY), and comprised of Charles Bramesco (author, critic), Elza Kephart (director, screenwriter), Maitland McDonagh (author, critic, publisher, founder of 120 Days of Books), and Heather O’Neill (author, essayist), awarded the following prizes:

Best Feature: MEGALOMANIAC (Belgium, d. Karim Ouelhaj)

In a statement, the jury called it, “the very sort of film that festivals exist to share,” describing it as “an astonishing, brutal piece of art that challenges the audience while simultaneously saying something deeply profound.”

Best Director: July Jung (NEXT SOHEE, South Korea)

Best Screenwriter: Kosuke Mukai, Yuki Tanada (MY BROKEN MARIKO, Japan, d.Yuki Tanada)

Best Score (The Sandro Forte Award): Alexandre Desplat (COUPEZ!, France, d. Michel Hazanavicius)

Best Cinematographer: Daniel Katz (HOUSE OF DARKNESS, USA, d. Neil LaBute)

Outstanding Performance: Zorion Eguileor (THE ELDERLY, Spain, d. Raúl Cerezo, Fernando González Gómez)

Outstanding Performance: Eline Schumacher (MEGALOMANIAC, Belgium, d. Karim Ouelhaj)

Special Mention: SPECIAL DELIVERY (South Korea, d. Park Dae-min)

In a statement, the jury said, “this film contains one jaw-dropping moment which unanimously had the jury go WOOOOOOAH!”

► NEW FLESH COMPETITION FOR BEST FIRST FEATURE – Debut Films

The New Flesh Jury, presided over by Jenn Wexler (director, screenwriter, producer), and comprised of Justyna Koronkiewicz (international sales agent, Media Move), Eric Lavallée (producer, critic, founder of IONCINEMA), Tim Molloy (journalist, critic, editor of MovieMaker Magazine), and Katie Rife (writer, critic, programmer), awarded the following prizes:

Best First Feature: KAPPEI (Japan, d. Takashi Hirano)

The jury noted in a statement their desire to recognize “its playful embrace of smart-dumb comedy, [its] lovable ensemble of kooky characters, its eye-popping cartoon visuals, its ability to successfully marry and mock genres.”

Special Mention: THE FIFTH THORACIC VERTEBRA (South Korea, d. Syeyoung Park)

Special Mention: ALL JACKED UP AND FULL OF WORMS (USA, d. Alex Phillips)

► INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION

The Short Film Jury, presided over by Adam Koehler (manager, acquisitions & productions, IFC Films) and comprised of Valerie Barnhart (director, animator, screenwriter, visual artist), Celine Gobert (critic, journalist) and David Gregory (director, producer, co-founder / CEO of Severin Films) awarded the following prizes:

Best Short Film: FROM.BEYOND (Norway, d. Fredrik S. Hana)

The jury unanimously agreed on the pick and “were impressed with the creative risk coupled with disturbing imagery and engaging worldbuilding.”

Best Director: Arati Kadav (THE ASTRONAUT AND HIS PARROT, India)

Best Screenwriter: Marc Philip Ginolas (TILL, Germany, d. Marc Philip Ginolas)

Outstanding Performance: Erin Carroll (MARA, USA/Germany, d. Catharina Schürenberg)

Outstanding Performance: Marie-France Marcotte (LA GUÊPE, Quebec, d. Marc Beaupré)

Special Mention: BLACKBEAR (Canada, d. Bryce Hodgson)

Special Mention: DARKER (Belgium/Netherlands, d. Frank Van den Bogaart)

► AXIS: SATOSHI KON AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ANIMATION

The Axis Jury, presided over by Mina Lee (studio manager and content specialist, E.D. FOLM) and comprised of Stephen Melagrano (head of animation, Steamroller Animation) and Jay Stephens (Comic artist, animator) awarded the following prizes:

Best Animated Feature: INU-OH (Japan/China, d. Masaaki Yuasa)

In a statement, the jury stated they called the film, “infectious,” and noted that it makes you “feel like you are right at the edge of the stage,” with visuals that are “stunning, loud, and over the top.”

Special Mention: SUMMER GHOST (Japan, d. Loundraw)

Best Animated Short Film - Gold: AMEN A MAN (South Korea d. Kim Kyeongbae)

The jury noted, “the film successfully presented its criticism on a society’s paradoxical understanding of charity as well as on Korean Christianity.”

Best Animated Short Film - Silver: THINGS THAT DISAPPEAR (South Korea, d. Kim Changsoo)

Best Animated Short Film - Bronze: AURORA (Brazil d. Radhi Meron)

► AQCC-CAMERA LUCIDA

The AQCC-Camera Lucida Jury, comprised of Samy Benammar (film critic, photographer, filmmaker), Pascal Grenier (film critic, programmer), and Jérôme Michaud (film critic, programmer) awarded the AQCC-Camera Lucida Award to Daigo Matsui for JUST REMEMBERING, they unanimously selected the title, which they praised for its “structure [...] brilliance” and ability to “give long term meaning to everyday objects.”

► POULAIN NOIR COMPETITION

The jury, consisting of Kim St-Pierre (director, screenwriter), Nicolas Léger (producer), Martin Dubreuil (actor, singer and musician) and Sophie Cadieux (actress), awarded the following prizes:

Poulain d’Or: COCORICA (France, d. Claire Auvin, Kesia Caprice-Lucien, Maxence Delaforge, Diane Feixas, Marine Hergault, Sarah Siadoux)

In a statement, the jury called it a “dynamic and colorful animation [that] has charmed young and old, while conveying an important message on equality between women and men.“

Poulain d’Argent: NOUNOURS (Canada/Québec, d. Lou Rigoudy)

Poulain de Bronze: MIST (NIEBLA) (Colombia, d. Leonardo Romero Zarza)

Special mention: YOU CAN FLY! (South Korea, d. Park Sungbae)

The jury wanted to highlight the “beauty of this work,” and its “final image that still inhabits us.”

About FANTASIA

Tickets for the 26th edition of The Fantasia International Film Festival will be sold at the Concordia University box office (1455 Maisonneuve Boulevard West) and on the Ticketpro network. Individual tickets purchased at the box office will be sold at the cost of $11 (taxes and fees included). Booklets of 10 and 20 tickets are available at the cost of $100 and $180 respectively (taxes and fees included).

This year, The Fantasia International Film Festival is taking place across four different venues:, the Hall cinema, the J.A. DeSeve Cinema and with select screenings at the Cinema du Musée, and Cinémathèque québécoise.

To view the festival’s full program, visit 2022.fantasiafestival.com

The festival will run until August 3rd, and the Audience Award will be announced at the end of the festival.