Celebrating is 21st edition, Fantasia enjoyed an excellent attendance at its 2017 edition. For the eight consecutive year, the festival succeeded in attracting more than 100,000 spectators (17% of which was tourist clientele). The attendees were able to enjoy 155 feature films, over 260 short films, 4 outdoor screenings, 20 free screenings, 1 special ciné-concert, 12 virtual reality films through our partnership with Samsung, and numerous special events. More than 60 of our screenings were sold out.

AThe festival’s numerous World Premieres included Ryan Prows' LOWLIFE, Steve Mitchell's KING COHEN, Patrick Demers' ORIGAMI, Ted Geoghegan's MOHAWK, Giordano Giulivi's THE LAPLACE'S DEMON, Navin Ramaswaran's POOR AGNES, Gina Haraszti's GEEK GIRLS, Gela Babluani's MONEY'S MONEY, Gabriela Amaral Almeida's FRIENDLY BEAST, Caroline Labrèche and Steeve Léonard's RADIUS, Robert Morin's LE PROBLEME D'INFILTRATION, Gabriel Claveau's PUNK FU ZOMBIE, and Synapse Films' 4K restoration of Dario Argento's 1977 classic SUSPIRIA.

Additional highlights of Fantasia 2017 included appearances from actor Robert Pattinson and directors Josh and Benny Safdie to celebrate the North American Premiere of Cannes sensation GOOD TIME; actor Michael Moriarty presenting a Lifetime Achievement Award to iconic American director Larry Cohen; special screenings of ATOMIC BLONDE and VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS; an appearance by A GHOST STORY director David Lowery; the latest three features from Takashi Miike (including the North American Premiere of his 100th film, BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL); director Yoshihiro Nishimura attending the Canadian premiere of KODOKU MEATBALL MACHINE; actor Matthew Gray Gubler wowing throngs of fans at the Canadian Premeire of 68 KILL; an appearance from animation legend Masaaki Yuasa; the International Premieres of A DAY and YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE (with directors in attendance); actors Kaniehtiio Horn, Justin Rain, and Jonathan Huber (WWE Superstar Luke Harper™) attending the World Premiere of MOHAWK; a Lifetime Achievement Award for Luchador film icon Mil Mascaras; Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson celebrating the Canadian Premiere of their Tribeca hit THE ENDLESS; director Joe Lynch delivering one of the most epic Q&As in Fantasia history following the Canadian Premiere of MAYHEM; and the honored attendance of director Jeong Byeong-Gil at the North American premiere of THE VILLAINESS, the festival’s sold out opening night film.

Fantasia is also immensely proud to have hosted "Claymation Horror", a special live presentation from celebrated British stop-motion animator Lee Hardcastle; the debut performance of bestselling author Grady Hendrix's oral history of modern horror novels, "Paperbacks from Hell"; the launch of Spectacular Optical's latest cinematic tome, "Lost Girls: The Phantasmagorical Cinema of Jean Rollin"; and SpectrumFest, a original short film showcase which seeks to empower those with Autism by helping them express themselves through the creation and enjoyment of genre film.

Over 700 international guests, including more than 400 film industry professionals, flocked to Montreal over the course of this year’s massive three-week festival and its Frontières International Co-Production Market. The festival team is delighted to have welcomed over 70 international journalists, including esteemed representatives of The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Screen Daily, Indiewire, Le Monde, Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair Exclaim.ca, and more.