Canadian filmmaker Lowell Dean’s Dark Match will make its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.

The festival announced the first wave of titles for its 28th edition lineup on Saturday (May 11), including a total of 17 films and 10 world premieres.

Dark Match (pictured) is written and directed by Dean and produced by John MacDonald of Edmonton-based Dept.9 Studios. Producers on the film include Dept.9’s Don Depoe and Michael Feehan, Rhonda Baker and Michael Peterson. MacDonald is an executive producer alongside star and pro wrestler Chris Jericho.

The ’80s-set film centres on a group of wrestlers who accept a big payday for a private gig, but soon discover that the event is run by a mysterious cult leader. The cast includes Jericho, Ayisha Issa and Steven Ogg.

Dark Match will premiere in the Canadian-cinema focused Septentrion Shadows section of the festival.

Another Canadian film among the first wave is writer-director Annick Blanc’s mystery thriller Hunting Daze. The film made its world bow at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film and TV Festival in Austin, Texas, and will now be making its Canadian debut at Fantasia.

Hunting Daze is produced by Blanc and Maria Gracia Turgeon through their production banner Midi La Nuit. Maison 4:3 is handling Canadian distribution.

A second wave of titles will be announced in early June and the festival’s full lineup to be unveiled on July 3.

The 28th edition of Fantasia runs from July 18 to Aug. 4.

Image courtesy of the Fantasia International Film Festival