Kevin Smith’s Red State is to kick off the 2011 edition of Montreal’s Fantasia festival on July 14, organizers said Monday.

The debut of the Sundance picture at the Canadian genre festival will come ahead of its theatrical release in August from distributor Phase 4 Films.

Fantasia organizers also said the festival’s upcoming July 14 to Aug. 7 run will include a tribute to Canadian film industry pioneers John Dunning and André Link, whose 40-year producer partnership at Cinepix helped launch the careers of David Cronenberg, Denys Arcand, Ivan Reitman, Denis Héroux, George Mihalka, Larry Kent and Jean-Claude Lord.

Fantasia will also feature a retrospective of Cinepix pictures in partnership with the Cinémathèque Québécoise.

The Montreal festival will also give a lifetime achievement award to John Landis, whose film credits include The Blues Brothers, Animal House and Trading Places.

Photo: agrifontes, flickr creative commons