Twenty-one Canadian short films will make their world premieres at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival, running from July 16 to Aug. 3.

Four will premiere in the festival’s Canadian shorts showcase Perilous Ports: The Matthew Rankin-narrated Le Tour de Canada (pictured), from writer-director John Hollands and producers Aidan Kyle and Kenji Yukinaga-Paradis; Jessie Posthumus’ In Lieu of Flowers (Note to Self Films); Andrew Appelle’s Strip Mall, produced by Austin Birtch; and Birtch’s Giant Skeleton.

Two Quebec projects will premiere in the Are You Afraid of Fantasia category, both from Mathieu R. Grenier’s MRGenre Productions. They are Charles C. Richer’s Le Bonhomme Sept Heures and Félix Brassard’s L’écrivain.

Olivia Berkowitz and Molly Cole’s The End, produced by Berkowitz, Cole and Emilia Michalowska will premiere alongside Ema Blin and Nathan Pupo-Greene’s written, directed and produced Fragments des Archives #76 – #77 in the Collective Delusions section.

Julie Zhu’s Pickled Rabbit (Hatheby Film Productions) will debut in the Diasporic Dualities category, designated for Asian-origin filmmakers, and Camille Renaud’s Moustique Attaque premieres in the Adventures and Laughter at My First Fantasia section. The category’s counterpart De belles aventures à Mon Premier Fantasia will screen Lucien Houde’s Averse.

Emile Rouillard, Christopher Laflamme and Wilyam Aubuts’ written, directed and produced Mycelium premieres in the The Cabaret of Curiosities category and GMAK, from directors Kseniia Inchakova, Greta Logtenberg and Maria Tarnopolski, world premieres in Celluloid Experiments.

An additional eight Canadian shorts will make their world premieres prior to screenings of Canadian features. Peter Ricq’s Come In, premiering prior to Ava Maria Safai’s Foreigner; Findlay Ironside’s First Rites, which premieres ahead of Emma Higgins’ Sweetness; Spencer Zimmerman’s Headcase, showing before Kurtis David Harder’s Influencers; and Dan Abramovici’s Heirlooms, screening before Ian Tuason’s The Undertone.

Rounding out the shorts is Aaron Peacock’s His Chromium Soul, debuting before Becca Kozak’s Sugar Rot, Dylan Pun’s Shrimp Fried Rice screens ahead of Simon Glassman’s Buffet Infinity, Morgan Abele’s Sound of Glass premieres prior to Jody Wilson’s The Bearded Girl, and Annie Wren’s Steal My Life screens before Kelly Kay Hurcomb and James Watts’ Messy Legends.

Neshama Entertainment hires Lauren Leinburd in SVP role

Toronto-based prodco and distribution company Neshama Entertainment is expanding its executive team with the hiring of Lauren Leinburd as SVP of business and legal affairs.

Leinburd will oversee Neshama’s business and legal affairs across the company’s film and television slate.

With more than a decade of experience in the industry, she most recently served as SVP of business affairs and general counsel at Guru Studio and was previously VP and general council at Breakthrough Entertainment.

Three Canadian shorts to world premiere at Locarno

Three Canadian short films are making their world premieres at Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival.

Alexandre Dostie’s Canada/France coproduction Boa, produced by Coop Vidéo de Montréal and Punchline Cinema, will debut in the Pardi di Domani – Concorso Internazionale section alongside Jean-Sébastien Hamel and Alexandra Myotte’s Ce qu’on laisse derrière (Sémaphore Films).

Ryan McKenna’s Solitude (Pacific Avenue Films) will screen in the Pardi di Domani – Concorso Corti D’Autore section.

Locarno runs from Aug. 6 to Aug. 16.

Gimli International Film Festival unveils finalists for RBC Emerging Filmmaker Pitch

Five filmmakers and their pitches will compete for the top prize in Manitoba’s Gimli International Film Festival’s RBC Emerging Filmmaker Pitch competition.

The finalists and their pitches are Ande Brown with Half-Naked, Faustina Dalmacio with Wika, John Luke with Sedna, Evan Friesen with Maladaptive and Robyn Adams with Spirit Bead. The projects were selected from a record 42 applicants, according to a news release.

The winning filmmaker will receive a prize of $15,000 from RBC, a $5,000 equipment rental grant Sunbelt Rentals, $2,000 in in-kind rentals from Winnipeg Film Group, $3,000 in support from Talon Production Services and eligibility to apply for up to $10,000 through the Manitoba Film and Music Grant Program.

The prize also includes mentorship for the National Screen Institute, a one-year membership and all-access pass for On Screen Manitoba and their successful pitch screening at the festival’s 2026 edition.

The Gimli International Film Festival runs from July 23 to 27, with the winner revealed on July 26.

Image courtesy of the Fantasia International Film Festival