Montreal: Asian superstar Jackie Chan will present his new film Super Cop Aug. 11 at a Canadian prerelease premiere at the first Fant-Asia film festival, a showcase for Asia’s booming fantasy and action feature film industry.

Montreal post-production and transcodage house Vision Globale is the sponsor/organizer of the festival’s 50-film program, also a tribute to the legacy of the great Shaw Brothers Studios of Hong Kong (Sir Run Run Shaw).

Asian, specifically Hong Hong and Japanese movies, are increasingly attracting big-time interest from the North America film industry – both distributors and creators – according to Globale president Pierre Corbeil.

Canadian distributors including CFP Video, Alliance Releasing, Malofilm Distribution and A.D. Vision have been quite active in acquiring commercial and critically acclaimed product in the Asian market.

More than 60 films – chosen from among hundreds produced annually – have been selected for the festival’s maiden program, says Corbeil.

Ghost movies (Chinese Ghost Story 2) and gangster flicks from Hong Kong are gaining a wider North American audience due to the talents of filmmakers like John Woo. Woo, director of the John Travolta film Broken Arrow, recently signed a production agreement with Alliance Communications. Two Woo films are on the festival program, The Killer and the seminal moral meditation, Bullet in the Head.

Films by Ringo Lam, director of City of Fire and The Adventurers, and the influential Jeff Lau, whose action/burlesque feature Out of the Dark is a tale of a highly disciplined ghost hunter who escapes a lunatic asylum, are also on the program.

Historical or costume movies and gambling pics (God of Gamblers) round out the typecasting for current Asian movies.

Festival program highlights include: Armitage III: The Sword, Camera, Guardian of the Universe, Green Snake, Gun N’ Rose, Iron Monkey, Memories, My Father is a Hero, Patlabor 2, Sex and Zen and Robot Carnival.

Martin Sauvageau is festival program director (Hong Kong) and Andre Dubois is program director (Japan).

Sponsors include Sony, Hour/Voir, MusiquePlus, CHOM 97.7 fm and Le Megastore hmv.

Fant-Asia began July 12 and runs to Aug. 11, with all screenings at the downtown Imperial Cinema.