Fantasia Film Festival will open its 25th anniversary edition with the world premiere of the Québécois “zomcom” Brain Freeze.

The Montreal-based, genre-focused festival will take place in a virtual setting from Aug. 5 to 10, with organizers noting that physical events will be a possibility if public health guidelines permit them.

Directed by Julien Knafo, who cowrote the film with Jean Barbe, Brain Freeze was previously involved in Fantasia’s annual Frontières coproduction market.

Produced by Barbara Shrier and starring Roy Dupuis and Iani Bédard, the film tells the tale of an environmental disaster that leads to a fast-spreading virus ravaging a wealthy gated community off the island of Montreal. The cast also includes Marianne Fortier, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé, Mylène Mackay, Simon-Oliver Fecteau, Stéphane Crête, Mahée Paiment, Louis-Georges Girard, Claudia Ferri and Jean-Pierre Bergeron.

Following the world premiere on Aug. 5, Brain Freeze will be released theatrically by Filmoption International across Canada. Fantasia will announce its full lineup in the coming months, and it is expected to pay homage to the importance of Japanese cinema in the history of the annual event.