Fantasia Horror Fest Announces John Woo Achievement Award, Return to In-Person Programming

Samantha Bergeson
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Hong Kong director John Woo is slated to receive a career achievement award at the 2022 Fantasia International Film Festival, which will return to theaters for its 26th edition. The Fantasia Festival is set to run from July 14 to August 3 in Montreal.

“Face/Off” director Woo recently made headlines for helming the English language remake of “The Killer,” his 1989 classic film, for Peacock. Woo also makes his return to the U.S. film market with dialogue-free action thriller “Silent Night,” starring Joel Kinnaman as a father who ventures into the underworld to avenge his young son’s death. Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi, Harold Torres, and Catalina Sandino Moreno additionally star.

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Woo returned to making movies in China after helming 2003’s “Paycheck” starring Ben Affleck. The director recently completed Chinese features “The Crossing” and sequel “The Crossing 2” in 2014 and 2015, respectively, before helming the 2017 police-thriller “Manhunt.”

Woo’s honor at Fantasia will be followed by a series of world premieres at the genre festival. The Hollywood Reporter announced debuts for Rebekah McKendry’s “Glorious,” starring Ryan Kwanten and J.K. Simmons, as well as Satoshi Miki’s “Convenience Story,” Andy Mitton’s “The Harbinger,” Rue Morgue Magazine founder Rodrigo Gudiño’s “The Breach,” and Mickey Reece’s 29th feature, “Country Gold.”

Additionally, Karim Ouelhaj’s “Megalomaniac” about the true-life Belgian serial killer, The Butcher of Mons, and Alex Phillips’ debut feature “All Jacked Up and Full of Worms,” and Mitchell Stafiej’s “The Diabetic” will mark their respective world premieres.

After going online during the pandemic, Fantasia plans an in-person program of workshops and other industry events, as well as film screenings in Concordia Hall Cinema, at the Cinematheque Quebecoise, Cinema du Musee, and the McCord Museum.

The festival marks North American premieres for Takashi Miike’s “The Mole Song: Final,” the final film in his “Mole Song” trilogy, Takashi Hirano’s directorial debut “Kappei,” Amanda Kramer’s cringe comedy “Give Me Pity!,” and writer/director Yeom Ji-ho’s own first feature, “Next Door,” a claustrophobic black comedy.

As IndieWire film critics categorized Fantasia’s 2020 lineup, the festival encompasses everything from horror movies to martial arts action thrillers. “If it’s weird or wacky, it just might land at Fantasia,” IndieWire previously reported.

The full Fantasia Festival lineup will be released in June.

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