Franglais27 Tales

The 29th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival will be taking place in Montreal, Canada from 16 July – 3 August 2025. There will be screenings, workshops, events and more occurring as part of the festival’s programme. Of course, it would be remiss not to mention that the customary festival miaowing will be expected, too!

With over 125 feature films to explore and more than 200 short films, audiences will be spoilt for choice at this popular genre festival. Opening the festival will be Ari Aster’s highly anticipated Eddington and the closing night will feature the animated film Fixed by Genndy Tartakovsky.

Quebecois films will receive their own category spotlight and a range of Asian cinema will also feature – well, the clue is in the festival’s name!

To start your watch list, here is a selection of some must-see films featuring within this year’s festival programme.

1) Eddington
As the opening night film, this is a modern-day western as Ari Aster’s latest. A feud between Joaquin Phoenix’s local sheriff and Pedro Pascal’s mayor overspill into the town’s dynamics. With a star studded cast including Austin Butler and Emma Stone, you can expect Aster’s trademark weird and wonderful  filmmaking traits to appear on screen.

2) The Verdict
This South Korean film dives into aspects of corruption where the super wealthy seem to get away with murder, literally! The Verdict depicts class divisions, the amoral and the principled whilst straddling the nice guys finish last tropes as Raka, a court security guard, finds himself in court! But, they had not reckoned on a guy like Raka who would not go down without physically fighting his way through a court battle!

3) Find Your Friends
Initially, this film looks as though it will cover a coming-of-age girls’ road trip but that quickly turns on its head with the arrival of an ex! There are issues surfacing regarding friendships, loyalty, femininity and consent to provide a meaty, political discourse.

4) It Ends
Four teenagers embark on a road trip on what is meant to be their final night together and the culmination of all of their college years before going their disparate ways. But, they find themselves unwittingly stuck with each other’s company on an endless car journey where stopping will be at their peril! Being forced together will undoubtedly test the boundaries of their friendship but may also provide answers to any existential angst.

5) Peau à Peau
An arresting look at motherhood, director Chloé Cinq-Mars’ feature debut opens up to unveil the maternal horrors involved in this fragile exploration. Peau à Peau is a no holds barred perspective of the anguish encountered by a new mother who witnesses a crime and also has to contend with the unravelling of her own mental health.

6) Cielo
Fresh from SXSW London, Cielo portrays a young indigenous girl with mysterious gifts who tries to change the domestic living conditions for her downtrodden mother. Her approach is unique and takes her across varying Bolivian landscapes on a road trip with her mother embracing magical realism. They encounter disparate individuals en route but Santa is determined to seek a better pathway for the two of them, whatever it takes!

7) Together
The real-life married couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco star in this portrait of body horror. A feature debut by Michael Shranks, Together’s publicity campaign has already amassed a cult following. The film explores the dangers of a symbiotic relationship when the couple decide to move to an isolated house in the middle of the woods which forces them to bind together, literally!

8) Foreigner
As a feature debut, Foreigner tackles the idea of assimilation within a foreign culture in a bid to fit in. Yet, teenager Yasi’s efforts to suppress her Iranian culture by dyeing her hair blonde, eliminating any sense of individualism and ignoring the racism levelled towards her results in an unravelling. Her fragmented Iranian identity resurfaces and manifests itself in unforeseen dark and sinister ways.

9) I Live Here Now
Another feature debut by a female director, I Live Here Now fittingly stars Sheryl Lee of Twin Peaks fame in this David Lynch inspired surrealist drama. Rose (Lucy Fry) is the woman trapped between the realms of reality and dream sequences, the past and the present as they meld together within a hotel. Julie Pacino’s debut will offer a darkly humorous take on a quest for self-identity.

The full Fantasia festival programme can be accessed here