We visit film festivals to marvel at excellent cinema. We also go to catch a glimpse of what filmmaking and media production might look like in the future. At Montréal’s Fantasia International Film Festival, which closes on Aug. 2, audiences are witnessing exactly this: exceptional films alongside a rich and dizzying media ecology of emerging practices.
From the physical artistry of Thailand’s Panna Rittikrai’s Stunt Team to a new documentary tracing the origins of the legendary Japanese superhero franchise, Ultraman, this year’s festival lineup showcase one of the festival’s founding mantras: to create bridges between the cutting-edge and the mainstream. Today’s scrappy outsider can reshape tomorrow’s industry.
