Fantasia 2025 Unleashes Its Second Wave: From Ari Aster to Animated Apocalypse

Ari Aster’s EDDINGTON leads Fantasia’s 29th edition alongside bold premieres from Miike, Reece, and more.

Fantasia 2025: Second Wave Brings Aster, Miike, and Visionary Horror to Montreal

Fantasia International Film Festival is kicking off its 29th edition in style, adding explosive fuel to the fire with a second wave of programming that rivals any full lineup. Running July 16 through August 3 across Montreal's Concordia Hall, J.A. de Sève cinemas, and Cinéma du Musée, the fest promises a charged summer of premieres, cult auteur showcases, and first looks at genre-bending storytelling from across the globe.

ARI ASTER HEADLINES OPENING NIGHT WITH EDDINGTON

Ari Aster (Hereditary, Beau Is Afraid) returns with EDDINGTON, a searing ensemble powder keg set in New Mexico. Featuring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler, the film plunges into neighbor-versus-neighbor chaos sparked by a standoff between a small-town sheriff and mayor.

CANADIAN TRAILBLAZER HONORS: GEORGE MIHALKA

Fantasia honors My Bloody Valentine director George Mihalka with this year’s Canadian Trailblazer Award. Mihalka will also host a master class presented by the Directors Guild of Canada.

TAKASHI MIIKE UNLEASHES A TRIPLE THREAT

The maverick returns with three premieres:

• Nyaight of the Living Cat (World Premiere): An animated viral horror parody where humans turn into cats.

• Blazing Fists: A bruising coming-of-age fight drama starring Gackt and MMA's Mikuru Asakura.

• Sham: A surreal legal thriller tackling false accusations.

WORLD PREMIERES WITH BITE

• Find Your Friends: A desert party goes full survival horror in Izabel Pakzad's twisted debut starring Bella Thorne and Helena Howard.

• Kazakh Scary Tales: Adilkhan Yerzhanov's terrifying occult anthology pulls from banned Kazakh folk horror.

• Every Heavy Thing: Mickey Reece returns with a dark comedy conspiracy led by Josh Fadem and Barbara Crampton.

• Lucid: A 90s punk-grunge nightmare about artistic desperation and candy-fueled creativity.

• Buffet Infinity: Cosmic horror meets SCTV absurdism in Simon Glassman’s sentient buffet comedy.

• The Serpent’s Skin: Alice Maio Mackay conjures a supernatural queer romance with demonic consequences.

MUST-SEE INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Tamala 2030: A Punk Cat in Dark (World Premiere): The long-awaited surreal anime sequel.

• The Girl Who Stole Time (NA Premiere): A breathtaking Chinese animated fantasy exploring grief and magic.

• Juliet & The King (Int’l Premiere): Animated Shakespearean romance meets Persian history.

• Foreigner (World Premiere): An Iranian teen’s high school horror tale collides with a hunger for assimilation.

• Blank Canvas (NA Premiere): A manga artist battles rigid academia in this tribute to artistic resilience.

• Old Guys in Bed (World Premiere): Jean-Pierre Bergeron’s touching, taboo-breaking romantic comedy about late-life intimacy.

• Cardboard City (World Premiere): A poetic ode to Longueuil’s working-class soul.

GLOBAL GENRE SHOCKERS

• Dog of God (Canada Premiere): A Baltic folk horror animated freak-out.

• Dui Shaw (Canada Premiere): Bangladesh's Nuhash Humayun hits back with four new folk fables.

• Japanese Avant-Garde Pioneers (Canada Premiere): Dive into the hellish brilliance of Japan’s 60s underground.

• Lurker (Canada Premiere): Sundance breakout on the parasocial line between fan and fame.

• Noise (Canada Premiere): A South Korean soundscape of terror and trauma.

• Reflection in a Dead Diamond (Canada Premiere): Cattet & Forzani return with a psychedelic spy thriller.

• The School Duel (Canada Premiere): Satirical school shootings set in a dystopian Florida.

• Together (Canada Premiere): Dave Franco and Alison Brie in a body-horror breakup.

• Transcending Dimensions (Canada Premiere): Toshiaki Toyoda blends noir, sorcery, and sci-fi.

• The Wailing (Canada Premiere): A Spanish-Argentinian generational curse thriller.

This second wave solidifies Fantasia 2025 as the most fearless genre fest of the year. Stay tuned for the full lineup in July—but for now, mark your calendars. Montreal's about to get wild.