Writer-director Ian Tuason’s horror feature The Undertone (Slaterverse Pictures, Black Fawn Films; pictured) is among several Canadian features making their world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, kicking off later this month.

The film was part of the third wave lineup announcement on Thursday (July 3) and will debut in the Septentrion Shadows section. It stars Nina Kiri as host of a horror podcast who, when she moves into her mother’s home to become her primary caregiver, is sent audio recordings of a young pregnant couple experiencing paranormal occurrences. Film producer Black Fawn is also handling distribution.

The festival will close with Genndy Tartakovsky’s adult animated comedy Fixed, from Sony Pictures Animation, in its Canadian premiere.

The Fantasia lineup includes three world premieres in Les Fantastiques Week-Ends du Cinéma Québécois section, including Chloé Cinq-Mars’ debut feature peau à peau (Nesting; 1976 Productions, Point Prod), distributed by Montreal’s FunFilm. The film stars Rose-Marie Perreault as a mother suffering from postpartum depression, whose psyche starts to crack after witnessing a violent hold-up in a convenience store. It also stars Alex Lauzon and Simon Landry-Desy.

Francis Bordeleau’s thriller Anna Kiri (Melancholia Films) follows a young delinquent who narrowly escapes a violent altercation with a local gangster after a robbery gone wrong. It stars Catherine Brunet, Charlotte Aubin, Maxime de Contret, Caroline Néron and Anne-Marie Cadieux.

Rounding out the section’s world premieres is Marc-Joly Corcoran’s documentary Barbie Boomer (Parafilms, Camera Oscura Films), about a 67-year-old Barbie collector who decides to donate her dolls to the Musée de la civilisation in Quebec City. Filmoption International is handling distribution on the film.

Messy Legends (Good House) will debut in the Underground section. Taking place over one night along Montreal’s St. Laurent strip, Kelly-Kay Hurcomb and James Watts’ slacker comedy is an adaptation of their 2023 short of the same name.

Lastly, writer-director Becca Kozak’s Sugar Rot (Sugar Rot Productions) will make its Quebec premiere in the Underground section. The film follows a woman who becomes host to a mutant baby and begins transforming into ice cream.

Dylan Pun’s mockumentary short Shrimp Fried Rice (Simple Syrup, frankie, Malachi Ellis Productions), which focuses on a talented chef competing against his rival on a TV series, will also have its world premiere at the festival.

Fantasia will also present actor Sheila McCarthy with a Canadian Trailblazer Award alongside previously announced recipient Hungarian-Canadian filmmaker George Mihalka. The Denis-Héroux Award will be presented to Quebec producer Anne-Marie Gélinas, founder of Montreal’s EMAfilms and producer of films such as Beans, Rebelle (War Witch) and Turbo Kid.

Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall’s horror Lucid (Sublunar Films) was previously announced for its debut in the Septentrion Shadows section in June, alongside Edmonton-based comedian Simon Glassman’s comedy Infinity Buffet (Peterson Polaris Corp).

Other previously announced world premieres in Septentrion Shadows include writer-director Ava Maria Safai’s Vancouver-shot debut Foreigner (Harlequin Theatre Society, Saffron Blonde Productions, Naltobel Productions), Shudder’s Influencers (Jackrabbit Media) from Canadian director Kurtis David Harder and Hubert Davis’ narrative feature debut The Well (Aiken Heart Films).

Previously announced world premieres in Les Fantastiques Week-Ends du Cinéma Québécois section include writer-director Jean-Pierre Bergeron’s Old Guys in Bed (Old Guys Productions) and André Forcier and Jean-Marc E. Roy’s Ville Jacques-Carton (Cardboard City; Papier-Brique).

The world premiere of writer-director Jody Wilson’s The Bearded Girl (Goodbye Productions, Anamorphic Media), which tells the story of a bearded girl who is tired of her sheltered carnival life, was announced in May.

The Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 16 to Aug. 3.

Image courtesy of Black Fawn Film; photo by Dustin Rabin