Fantasia 2018: Horror Wins Best Actress, VR Grand Prize and More!
Jonathan Barkan
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We’re still in the midst of Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival but the juried portion has come to a close, the winners have been decided, and horror has made one hell of an impact!
For Best Actress, Kim Da-Mi took the prize for her performance in The Witch Part 1: The Subversion. As the jury explained, “Newcomer Kim Da-mi delivers an immaculate, layered performance, displaying intricacy and range in realms both physical and emotional. This portrayal marks the introduction of a kick-ass new heroine.”
Taking Best Screenplay as well as Best First Feature was Daniel Goldhaber’s Cam, which was written by Isa Mazzei. Speaking of Mazzei’s script, the jury commented, “Isa Mazzei crafts a doppelgänger nightmare around the growing concern of digital identity, presenting a skewed (or is it?) view of the complex, dangerous, and largely unexplored world of webcam girls.” And as for Goldhaber’s film, it is being hailed as, “…an ambitious, empowered project devoid of moral policing with respect to sex work, smartly told through visually vibrant storytelling. Cam captures the complexities and contradictions of curated identities on- and offline. This talented team embodies a collaborative spirit of next generation of genre filmmakers.”
A special mention from the New Flesh Award jury was given to One Cut of the Dead, for which they stated was, “…a conceptually playful and brave film, willing to risk losing the audience knowing they will win them back in the end. And they do.”
The Cheval Noir jury also awarded a special prize to Dennison Ramalho’s The Nightshifter, noting, “Marriage is hell in this daring combination of sub-genres and tones, creating a grisly original ghost story, fueled by revenge, infused with pitch-black comedy, and littered with assorted body parts.”
Director Angel Manuel Soto took the VR Grand Prize for his stellar short VR film Dinner Party, which follows the UFO abduction case of Barney and Betty Hill. The jury wrote, “This film intelligently uses every aspect of the virtual reality experience to its advantage, and benefits from an intelligent script and a cast of actors who contribute to the overall offering.”
A special mention was given to Alexandre Aja’s Campfire Creepers.
Congratulations to all winners, those mentioned here as well as everyone else!
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