While the Fantasia Film Festival is usually noted for its extensive line up of genre films, this year?s festival also boasts a hefty list of special celebrity guests including favorites like Fred Vogel, Adam Green, Lloyd Kaufman, Robert Kurtzman, David Arquette, and Uwe Boll, among 50 others. This year, after adding a third screen, the number of films tops off at 120 feature films, 10 documentaries, and 250 local and international shorts. However, the most anticipated event of the 11th edition Fantasia Film Festival is the presentation of the lifetime achievement award to Eurohorror genre master Jean Rollin. Of all the films, guests, and genre goodness packed into the fest July 5th-23rd, the spotlights are possibly the most anxiously awaited. The Spotlight: Hell Is A City: The Cinema of Urban Apocalypse includes 5 films focused on societal destruction; Maurice Deveraux?s End Of The Line, Jim Mickle?s Mulberry Street, Chris Gorak?s Right at You Door, and the highly anticipated The Signal from directors David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry. Other Spotlights include Documentaries from the Edge and highlights from Europe and Japan. For more information check out the official website.

SPOTLIGHT: HELL IS A CITY: THE CINEMA OF URBAN APOCALYPSE

END OF THE LINE* (Canada) ? Dir: Maurice Deveraux ? A right wing Christian sect decides it?s time to bring forth doomsday in Montrealler Maurice Deveraux?s first film made with a proper budget, and it?s fantastic. Has screened at A-list festivals in all corners of the world, from Toronto International to San Sebastien, and will finally be having its Montreal premiere.

MULBERRY STREET* (USA) Dir: Jim Mickle ? extraordinary Post 911 Romero-esque horror film about New York city imploding under attack by its own citizens, who have been turned into animalistic savages via a new strain of rat-borne disease. Made waves at Stockholm, Tribeca and SXSW. One of the most poignant horror films in years. Canadian Premiere

RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR* (USA) Director: Chris Gorak - terrifying character piece about nuclear dirty bombs going off in Los Angeles. Debut from Chris Gorak, who was art director on films like FIGHT CLUB and FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS. Canadian Premiere

THE SIGNAL (Canada) Dirs: David Bruckner, Dan Bush , Jacob Gentry - Huge buzz film at Sundance this year about electronic devices emitting a strange signal that turns everyone in range into impulsive killers. An audacious experiment as a linear horror film, told in three chapters, each by a different filmmaker utilizing the same cast and picking up at the point of narrative flow where the previous chapter ends. Canadian Premiere

THE WORLD SINKS EXCEPT JAPAN - from the director of EXECUTIVE KOALA. Every country sinks except Japan, who find themselves stuck with one hell of an immigration problem that soon threatens to erode their culture. Extreme measures are undertaken. A vicious social satire about cultural protectionism and reasonable accommodation, perfect after Herouxville! North American Premiere

SPOTLIGHT: DOCUMENTARIES FROM THE EDGE
SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS

BEIJING BUBBLES (Germany) Dirs: Susanne Messmer & George Lindt ? A revealing doco on the Punk and rock scenes in mainland China. You will be fascinated to see a punk scene in an authoritarian state with the urgency and danger that its Western
torchbearers have been lacking for decades. Canadian Premiere

BIANCA BEAUCHAMP: ALL ACCESS* (Canada) Dir: Martin Perrault? world premiere of doco on Montreal?s own Bianca Beauchamp, offering a candid, humorous and intimate visit inside the private and public circles of one of the most famous international fetish icons of our time. World Premiere

GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL (Denmark) Dir: Asger Leth? This provocative documentary gives an unprecedented close-up look at the chim?res (ghosts), gangs of gun-toting, doped up, nothing-to-lose thugs in Haiti?s ultra-violent slum Cité Soleil, designated by the United Nations as the most dangerous place in the world. A tough, shocking film, but also a hauntingly intimate and truthful one.

THE KING OF KONG (USA) Dir: Seth Gordon ? A middle-school science teacher and a hot sauce mogul vie for the Guinness World Record on the arcade classic, Donkey Kong. Very funny, and strangely touching. A breakout hit at this year?s Slamdance.

S&MAN (USA) Dir: JT Petty ? A very interesting film about extreme underground horror filmmaking and the reason why viewers are attracted to it. Through some very sly moves, the film ultimately questions the construct of documentary cinema itself, while addressing the voyeurism inherent to the act of filmgoing. .

YOUR MOMMY KILLS ANIMALS* (USA) Dir: Curt Johnson ? ultra controversial film about the US government?s war against animal activist groups, who have officially been named America?s number One domestic terrorist threat! A must-see. Director Curt Johnson will be here.

ZOO (USA) Dir: Robinson Devor? the most scandalous film at Sundance 2007 (also won their top doco award) and Hot Docs 2007, about men who love horses ? in a very literal way. Stylish and very Lynchian, with a tone reminiscent of Errol Morris at his prime.

The Films Of Yves Montmayeur*
Fantasia will be screening a series of intimate, often on-set profiles of Asian filmmakers by acclaimed Parisian filmmaker Yves Montmayeur, who will be in Montreal for the shows. Titles screened will be: ELECTRIC YAKUZA, GO TO HELL! (Takashi Miike), IN THE MOOD FOR DOYLE (cinematographer Chris Doyle), GHIBLI ET LE MYSTERE MIYAZAKI (Hayao Miyazaki), LES ENRAGEES DU CINEMA COREEAN and the World Premiere of Montmayeur?s latest, HONG KONG FILM NOIR.

SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS FROM EUROPE & NORTH / SOUTH AMERICA

ADAMS APPLES* (Denmark) Dir: Anders Thomas Jensen- Pitched somewhere between religious parable and slapstick, this black-hearted satire has something important to say about the nature of redemption. Or perhaps it just wants to seem like it does. Like his countryman Lars von Trier, the Danish writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen mixes spiritual inquiry with shell game, never quite tipping his hand as to what's sincere and what's said with a smirk. Winner of many awards. Stars Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen and Nicolas Bro.

ASS MONSTER* ? hysterical DIY comedy about no-budget trash filmmaking. Truthful, quick witted and clever, could be summarized as LIVING IN OBLIVION meets CLERKS. A real surprise and a must-see for anyone who?s ever tried to make a film on their own. Canadian Premiere

THE BACKWOODS (Spain/France) Dir: Koldo Serra? In this caustic exploration of the carnage that can come from cultural misunderstandings, a pair of tourist couples in Spain get off on the proverbial wrong foot with the locals and find themselves plummeted into a cesspool of violence. As they attempt to make things right, lines both criminal and moral are crossed. Stars Gary Oldman (his best performance in years!), Virginie Ledoyen and Paddy Considine. A vital film for our post-Iraq times, this gripping throwback to the cinema of the subversive 70?s is clearly influenced by the work of Peckinpah, Leone and Roeg. North American Premiere

BORDERLAND (USA/Mexico) Dir: Zev Berman - This ferociously intense combination of crime biopic and ultraviolent horror film is based on the true story of a group of US teens who were abducted in Mexico by a drug dealing Santeria cult. Stars Sean Astin and Rider Strong. Very heavy stuff.

DEADEN* (Canada/USA) Dir: Christian Viel ? Cult web journalist John Fallon (AKA ?The Arrow?) scripted and stars in this outrageous homage to ultraviolent 80?s crime films, shot all across the seediest streets of Montreal! How insane is it? Well, its opening moments freaked the hell out of Darren Bousman, director of the last two SAW films! North American Premiere

THE DEVIL DARED ME TO* (New Zealand) Dir Chris Stapp ? This super fun ?stunts gone horribly wrong? splatter comedy from New Zealand, set in the world of daredevils and stunt men, blew audiences away at this year?s South By Southwest fest. It is the feature debut from Chris Stapp and Matt Heath, creators and stars of BACK OF THE Y MASTERPIECE TELEVISION (somewhat like the Trey Parker and Matt Stone of NZ). Imagine JACKASS meets GOODBYE PORK PIE. As explosive and vulgar as it is charming and sweet. Canadian Premiere

THE 4TH LIFE * (Canada) Dir: Francois Miron ? Visually-dazzling experimental neo-noir from Montrealer Francois Miron ? his feature debut after a 20+ year of making award-winning experimental shorts. Features sound design by David Kristian and music by Electric Wizard. Turned many heads at this year?s Boston Underground Film Festival. Canadian Premiere

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR* (USA) Dir: Greg Wilson ? disturbing adaptation of the Jack Ketchum novel, based on a true story about a group of children who tortured a teenage girl for days on end in a pleasant 1950?s suburban town. Like Larry Clark doing STAND BY ME in hell. A powerful and deeply upsetting film about human evil. World Premiere.

HATCHET* (USA) Dir Adam Green ? This wildly entertaining & unbelievably extreme homage to early 80?s slasher films has been blowing international fest audiences away since it launched at Tribeca. It?s a perfect horror/comedy that delivers the goods and then some, made by a lifelong fan Adam Greene (whose wholly different SPIRAL is also screening at Fantasia this year), featuring appearances by Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Joel Moore, Mercedes McNab and Tony Todd. Will be hitting theatres in the fall. Canadian Premiere

THE LAST WINTER* (USA/Iceland) Dir: Larry Fessenden ? Oil drillers in the Antarctic are reminded that digging for fossil fuels is a form of grave-robbing when the gases come forth from the earth?s core and begin to interact with ? and alter ? the crew and their environment. Creepy, intellectual and atmospheric ecological horror from longtime activist Larry Fessenden (HABIT, WENDIGO). One critic hailed it as being the closest an American has come to making a Kiyoshi Kurosawa film. Stars Ron Perlman and James LeGros.

MIRAGE MAN (Chile) Dir: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza - Chilean masked-avenger action epic starring martial arts maestro Marko Zaror, fresh from the local success of KILTRO (also screening this year) and a Hollywood stint stunt doubling for The Rock. The fights here are raw and brutal, with no wire assists and ?- reportedly ?- actual fight moves preferred to screen fighting. Meaning that when you see Zaror kick a goon in the face, he?s really kicking the goon in the face. Ouch! World Premiere

MURDER PARTY (USA) Dir: Jeremy Saulnier? A funny, gory, crazy film about a group of pretentious artists who plan to artistically murder a complete strange hoping to get government grants. An ingenious script and a flawless ensemble cast make this one truly special. Won a prize at Slamdance this year. Canadian Premiere

LA NUIT DES HORLOGES* (France) Dir: Jean Rollin - A young woman (the noted pornographic actress Ovidie) dives into a very curious journey through the fictional universe of a recently deceased film director. Jean Rollin returns in fine form with his most personal work to date. In a fashion similar to that of Orson Welles? FILMING OTHELLO, LA NUIT DES HORLOGES becomes a letter from the director to his many admirers, in which he expounds on his passions and art. World Premiere

OFFSCREEN* (Denmark) Dir: Christopher Bo ? This unusual Danish black comedy blew minds at Sundance a few months ago. Actor Nicolas Bro plays? actor Nicolas Bro, who deals with a failing marriage by using his camcorder to shoot a ?love story? with his wife. As situations get bleaker, Bro grows determined to film everything. EVERYTHING. Nothing must be left offscreen. He slowly descends into madness, documenting every second of his unraveling. This clever, reflective piece is at once troubling and deeply rewarding, with Bro's intense physical performance ensuring that however strange, frightening or sad you may find him, you just can't keep your eyes off him. Canadian Premiere

POSTAL* (Germany) Dir: Uwe Boll ? Forget everything you think you know about Uwe Boll. Okay, not quite everything. Postal is a crudely uproarious, positively hilarious satire of post 9/11 America, religious extremism, conspiracy theories, and just about anything else you?d care to throw into the pot. There is no cow too sacred. Boasts a surprisingly sharp satiric edge, one that guarantees the film will offend many as all good satire does. Could it be that this late into his career Boll has found his true calling? World Premiere

POULTRYGEIST* (USA) Dir: Lloyd Kaufman? Lloyd Kaufman?s latest Troma film depicts the insane happenings that ensure when a fried chicken chain decides to build an outlet over an ancient Indian burial ground. Can you say zombie chicken monsters? Can you say zombie chicken monsters and jaw-dropping sex and gore gags? Can you say zombie chicken? you get the point! Canadian Premiere

THE REDSIN TOWER* (USA) Dir: Fred Vogel - The notorious creator of the AUGUST UNDERGROUND series smashes out of the mold with this demonic splatter hurricane in the vein of Lamberto Bava?s DEMONS. Canadian Premiere

THE ROAD TO NOD (Germany) Dir: M.A. Littler ¬ One of this year's key discoveries, THE ROAD TO NOD is an intriguing film filled with biblical references. What begins like a classic noir rapidly morphes into an existentialist road movie boosting gorgeous images reminiscent of Bela Tarr's work. International Premiere

SPIRAL* (USA) Dirs: Adam Green & Joel Moore ? From the director of HATCHET comes an incomparable follow-up ? a dark relationship drama about a painfully shy telemarketer (co-writer/co-director Joel Moore) and his star-crossed affair with an outgoing, if not equally awkward, co-worker (Amber Tamblin). Canadian Premiere

ROCKET SCIENCE (USA) Dir: Jeffrey Blitz ? The quirky story of a stuttering misfit who becomes an unlikely star of his debating team. This audacious ?anti-love story?, the narrative filmmaking debut from the director of the adored spelling bee doc SPELLBOUND, took Sundance by storm and won a prize for best dramatic directing. Fans of Hal Ashby take note! Canadian Premiere

SAKURA NO KAGE aka L?ombre Du Cerisier (France-Japan) Dir: Hiroshi Toda & Guillaume Tauveron - While in Japan, a French killer for hire falls in love with his next victim, the beautiful but mysterious daughter of an old colleague. Two filmmakers from different cultural backrounds joined talents to tell a quiet but fascinating story about solitude and differences. Shot with almost no dialogues on a tight budget in two countries, this co-production will please every defenders of true independant cinema ! World Premiere

THE TRIPPER* (USA) Dir: David Arquette Genre-loving actor David Arquette makes his directorial debut with a subversive splatter comedy! An axe-wielding Ronald Reagan lookalike decides to deliver the ultimate presidential veto to a group of drug-taking modern hippies on the way to a rock concert in California?s spookily primeval redwood forests. And what a trip it is! Canadian Premiere

VIVA* (USA) Dir: Anna Biller - eye-popping and smart homage to / exploration of early 70?s sexploitation films by post-feminist filmmaker Anna Biller, who stars in the film, and also wrote, directed, edited and designed all costumes and sets. Biller revisits sexploitation themes from a woman?s point of view while reveling in the na?ve decadence that gave them their charm ? a major buzz film at Rotterdam and San Francisco Indiefest and a true stunner to experience on the big screen.

WE ARE THE STRANGE (USA) Dir: M Dot Strange Blue and Emm are on a quest for ice cream but alas, the city is teeming with evil! This is an unclassifiable, hallucinatory film that exists in its own immersive universe. M dot Strange spent three years painstakingly creating it, using a range of animation techniques--traditional, stop-motion, computer, and his own unique blend of 8-bit graphics and anime, dubbed "Str8nime." Canadian Premiere

WIZARD OF GORE* (USA) Dir: Jeremy Kasten Crispin Glover, Brad Dourif, Bijou Phillips, Jeffrey Combs and a squadron of Suicide Girls star in this blood-soaked update of the 60?s HG Lewis cult classic. Canadian Premiere

FRISSONS DE FER ? UN HOMMAGE ? JEAN ROLLIN

A man wanders a deserted beach in search of his wfe. In a graveyard, a pair of vampire orphans recall their former lives. A naked woman armed with a knife steals into a castle, killing all she encounters. Thanks to these unforgettable images, the universe of French filmmaker and writer Jean Rollin haunts the dreams and nightmares of lovers of marginal cinema. Since RAPE OF THE VAMPIRE, his first feature film from 1967, Rollin has brought his unique vision to the seventh art, exploring his thematic fetishes and experimenting with a theatrical mise en scene. Forty years later, the director has more than 20 films to his credit, different pieces of a larger whole, irrefutable proof of an artistic approach that has matured over the decades.

The Fantasia festival is proud to pay tribute to the iconoclastic visionary by presenting the world premiere of LA NUIT DES HORLOGES, his latest work. Film lovers will also have a chance to discover, on the big screen, LE FRISSON DES VAMPIRES, a veritable masterwork of macabre poetry. This screening will be proceeded by a special ceremony at which Rollin will recieve a special award in honour of his entire career. With this long-due honour, Fantasia underlines the revolutionary work of a true pieoneer of fantastic cinema.

ASIAN PROGRAMMING : AN OVERVIEW
The Fantasia festival, since its creation in 1996, has opened the door to new perspectives in genre cinema, and there has been particular emphasis on Asian films. This year we proudly present to you over 60 feature and 22 short films from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, Japan, Korea and Thailand. Each country?s offerings show emphasis on their individual distinguishing features. For instance, the trends of moody, unvarnished drama in Hong Kong, dark comedy and musical numbers in Korea, complex psychological chills from Japan, and the resurrection of classic martial arts fun in Thailand.
Among the many new faces from Asia, the work of familiar directors will also be featured, from the neo-noir of Hong Kong?s Johnnie To and the heavy atmospherics of Oxide Pang, to the extreme Japanese thrillers of Takashi Miike, Shinya Tsukamoto and Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Ryu Seung-wan and Kim Ki-duk, the mavericks of Korean cinema, are featured, as are Korea?s new ?enfants terribles,? including Han Jai-rim, a guest this year, whose THE SHOW MUST GO ON stars Song kan-ho of THE HOST.
The cutting-edge Japanese anime TEKKON KINKREET opens the festival, while Korea represents in animation with the wild and original AACHI & SSIPAK. Also, Fantasia this year showcases the amazing documentaries of Yves Montmayeur, which showcase the work of Christopher Doyle, Takashi Miike and more, as well as a look at the brief Taiwanese exploitation boom of the ?80s (the documentary TAIWAN BLACK MOVIES, backed by the very rare LADY AVENGER). Also keep and eye out for the extensive selection of exciting short films from Asia, including a special Korean block, as well as YELLOW FELLAS, a very DIY film shot in Montreal that pokes sharp fun at the Asian-Canadian experience.
JAPANESE FILMS
SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS

In addition to the cutting-edge anime feature TEKKON KINKREET christening the festival as the opening film, Fantasia?s Japanese programming this year features several names well known to Fantasia regulars, returning with not one but in fact two or three films each.

The notorious Takashi Miike, who in previous years brought us such films as THE GREAT YOKAI WAR and of course ICHI THE KILLER and IZO, is responsible for three very different films in our schedule this year?ZEBRAMAN, his quirky tribute to the ?sentai? genre (think Ultraman); BIG BANG LOVE: JUVENILE A, a highly original gay romance in a prison setting; and SUN SCARRED, his revisiting of the ?70s revenge genre (DEATH WISH, etc.), which accompanied by a documentary of Miike?s career.

Sion Sono, previously responsible for SUICIDE CLUB and STRANGE CIRCUS, pays the festival a personal visit this year, to present his two latest efforts, the insane EXTE: HAIR EXTENSIONS, which subverts and explodes the familiar Asian horror tropes, and HAZARD, his twisted look at America.

Minoru Kawasaki, who gives the B-movie vernacular his own clever and idiosyncratic twist, delighted Fantasia attendees with CALAMARI WRESTLER and EXECUTIVE KOALA, and this year offers two absolutely off-the-wall movies, THE WORLD SINKS EXCEPT JAPAN (his wild reply to the Japanese disaster blockbuster, THE SINKING OF JAPAN) and RUG COP, in which a hairpiece becomes the law?s most fearsome weapon.

Finally, there?s Shusuke Kaneko, whose work in the kaiju realm, reimagining the lore of Godzilla and Gamera, marked him as a fantastic filmmaker par excellence. Mr. Kaneko will be among us to present the DEATH NOTE films, parts one and two, which adapt a unique and morally incisive manga series for live action.

Also important to mention are films from two longstanding genre auteurs?Kiyoshi Kurosawa (CURE, KAIRO) offers RETRIBUTION, and Shinya Tsukamoto (TETSUO, TOKYO FIST) returns with NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE.

A theme found among this year?s Japanese selections is a journey back through the country?s 20th-century history. ALWAYS: SUNSET ON THIRD STREET painstakingly recreates post-war Tokyo with an optimistic glow, while MEMORIES OF MATSUKO, from the director of KAMIKAZE GIRLS, zooms in on the tragic life story of a plucky yet ill-starred woman.

Also worth noting is the magnificent TEN NIGHTS OF DREAMS, in which ten highly notable Japanese directors?including Takashi Shimizu (JU-ON) and animator Yoshitaka Amano (VAMPIRE HUNTER D)?each create a ten-minute short film adapting one of the delightful surrealist fables from the classic book of Japanese fantasy by Soseki Natsume, which is now 100 years old.

BIG BANG LOVE: JUVENILE A (Japan) Dir : Takashi Miike - With this romantic gay drama, cult icon Takashi Miike has once again crafted a film that utterly rejects conventional narrative and film making conventions to instead try to break new ground while asking big questions about the destructive nature of humanity. Montreal Premiere

DEATH NOTE*
DEATH NOTE: THE LAST NAME* (Japan) Dir. Shusuke Kaneko - After the animes and the videogames come the films adapting DEATH NOTE, the delightful and diabolical manga that?s spawned a cult following. At the helm, Shusuke Kaneko (the ?90s GAMERA films, and GOD'S LEFT HAND, DEVIL'S RIGHT HAND), a familiar face at Fantasia and an exceptional talent in bringing resonant thought and substance to presumably lightweight fantasy cinema. A sharp, witty, carefully etched flight of imagination that doesn?t hesitate to ask, with a sly grin, some challenging philosophical questions.

EXTE: HAIR EXTENSIONS* (Japan) Dir: Sion Sono - A straight-faced J-horror satire from the director of SUICIDE CLUB and STRANGE CIRCUS, that takes the now-past-done flowing hair iconography to outrageous new extremes. Trendites with human hair extensions are very physically augmented when the hair?s negative energy brings forth enormous physical revolution (IE strands of hair tearing out of mouths, eye sockets, fingertips?)! Canadian Premiere

HAZARD* (Japan) Dir : Sion Sono ? The last thing you would expect from the director of STRANGE CIRCUS is this straightforward coming-of-age story. Filmed in 2002 in both Japan and New York, but not released until now, HAZARD illustrates the infliction of Western culture done by a foreigh student until he discorvers the ugliness of the American dream. Canadian Premiere
MEMORIES OF MATSUKO (Japan) Dir : Tetsuya Nakashima - Directed by Tetsuya Nakashima (KAMIKAZE GIRLS) and based on a novel by Muneki Yamada, Memories of Matsuko has enough visual charm and vigour to match its rich narrative. Music, dance and an onslaught of colour make the movie?s production numbers a rousing counterpoint to what is essentially a sad story. Canadian Premiere
NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE (Japan) Dir Shinya Tsukamoto - Visionary cult filmmaker Shinya Tsukamoto (TETSUO, TOKYO FIST, A SNAKE OF JUNE) has committed one of the most shocking acts of his famously subversive career ?- he?s made a wide-release studio film! A morbidly poetic and super violent headtrip of a horror/crime film, NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE is Tsukamoto?s cultural Molotov cocktail, exploding in the faces of mainstream Japanese filmgoers.

RETRIBUTION (Japan) Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa - Hugely acclaimed director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (CURE, KAIRO, BRIGHT FUTURE) joins forces with uber-producer Taka Ichise (RINGU, JU-ON) -- arguably the most important and influential figure in the entire J-horror boom. A beautiful, haunting work laced with anger, regret and isolation, beautifully shot and flawlessly performed ? clearly the work of a true master.

SUN SCARRED (Japan) Dir. Takashi Miike - Once again unites the talents of maverick Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike (IZO, ICHI THE KILLER) and actor Sho Aikawa, pays homage to a particular piece of pop-culture iconography of a generation ago, the grim family-man revenge thriller -- DEATH WISH, STRAW DOGS, ROLLING THUNDER -- but with a distinctive modern Japanese twist.

TEKKON KINKREET* (Japan) Dir. Michael Arias - A highly anticipated anime event, TEKKON KINKREET is a sensitive if intensely surreal look at urban renewal and its impact on the economic underclass, and also an explosive visual feast of intense action and inner-city grit bursting with texture, tones and detail. Directed by Michael Arias (producer, THE ANIMATRIX), the first American to direct a Japanese anime, working with Studio 4°C (the anime renegades behind MIND GAME, Fantasia 2005). Musical score by U.K. techno wizards Plaid (Warp labelmates of Aphex Twin)

TEN NIGHTS OF DREAMS - In 1906, Japanese novelist Soseki Natsume wrote, ?I want the people of 100 years hence to solve my riddle." A century later, ten exceptional Japanese filmmakers have accepted the challenge of bringing his famous book of fantastic stories Yume Ju-ya (?Ten Nights of Dreams?) to life on the silver screen ? among them, Takashi Shimizu (the JU-ON series), anime star Yoshitaka Amano (VAMPIRE HUNTER D, FINAL FANTASY), OTAKUS IN LOVE director Suzuki Matsuo and Yudai Yamaguchi (CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL, MEATBALL MACHINE). Ten directors, ten tales, ten adventures into artfully executed surrealism laden with levels of symbolism and secrets.

WOOL 100% (Japan) Dir : Mai Tominaga - Two lonely sisters find their daily routine broken by the sudden arrival of a mysterious teenager. Director Mai Tominaga creates a complex narrative maze using three types of mise-en-sc?ne. A dreamy and lurid fairy tale your mother never dared to tell you before bedtimes. North American Premiere
ZEBRAMAN (Japan) Dir : Takashi Miike ? Miike?s versatility has become notorious over the years. With ZEBRAMAN, the imaginative director explores the superhero genre and delivers the perfect homage to ULTRAMAN. Funny and weird, this tale about a teacher becoming a defender of justice confirm, with THE GREAT YOKAI WAR, Miike?s undeniable talent for family entertainment.

KOREAN HIGHLIGHTS

Amid our Korean programming, a particular theme emerges?the issue of plastic surgery and physical self-alteration through medical procedures is a major matter of controversy in Korea these days, and it?s reflected in three very different films. The blockbuster comedy hit 200 POUNDS BEAUTY reminds us to be careful what we wish for, while TIME, by the renegade auteur Kim Ki-Duk, offers a piercing meditation on appearance and identity. In addition, there?s the sweet and wise drama-comedy LIKE A VIRGIN, in which a chubby teenage boy takes up traditional wrestling to pay for a sex-change operation.

Another film to take a progressive look at unconventional sexuality, previously taboo in Korean cinema, is the impressive KING AND THE CLOWN, a lush historical drama that suggests a gay romantic triangle, and nonetheless was a box-office smash at home.

Of course, with the success of Park Chan-Wook?s OLDBOY, Korean film has shown its ability to explore issues of cruelty and violence with unflinching honesty, intelligence and intensity, and the highly original and unpredictable A BLOODY ARIA continues this tradition.

The song-and-dance numbers of the musical comedy are mixed with some highly unusual weirdness in three thoroughly likable Korean films?THE FOX FAMILY and MIDNIGHT BALLAD FOR GHOST THEATRE blend laughter, supernatural chills and colourful musical numbers, while the bright, bouncy and definitely naughty DASEPO NAUGHTY GIRLS turns notions about sex and social hierarchy among teens on their heads.

And finally, Fantasia welcomes director Han Jae-rim to the festival this year, to present his distinctive gangster comedy-drama THE SHOW MUST GO ON, which stars Song Kang-ho, an international star due to the smash success of THE HOST.

A BLOODY ARIA Dir.: Won Shin-Yeon - One of this year?s key Asian film discoveries, this bold, brilliant and wholly unconventional thriller is quite possibly the best thing to break out of South Korea since SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE and MEMORIES OF MURDER. Writer/director Won Shin-Yeon frequently establishes seemingly traditional scenarios within various genres, from crime film and neo-noir to CALVAIRE-like backwoods horror, faking his audience out into the comfort of familiarity in order to tear into entirely unexpected directions that never cease to amaze. North American premiere

CITY OF VIOLENCE Dir.: Ryoo Seung-wan - Maverick young Korean filmmaker Ryoo Seung-wan landed his first Fantasia punch in 2001 with the gritty, auspicious DIE BAD, and followed that up with the one-two attack of ARAHAN and CRYING FIST in 2005, the former a fantastic action-comedy, the latter a raw, emotionally forceful drama. With THE CITY OF VIOLENCE, Ryoo has saddled himself with a new and deceptively simple challenge: to make what may be the definitive contemporary Asian action-drama, and make it lean, mean and damn good-looking. Montreal premiere

A DIRTY CARNIVAL Dir. Yoo Ha - At first, the hook that will draw people in is the gangster element, the story of one man?s rise and fall through the criminal ranks. But the gang here isn't the point here, the people are. A Dirty Carnival has been hailed as one of the finest Korean gangster films ever. North American Premiere

THE KING AND THE CLOWN Dir: Lee Jun-ik - Depicting the fragile reign and unchecked excesses of the loose cannon King Yeonsan, The King and the Clown ties into today?s socio-political climate, with themes also explored in recent Western films such as Marie Antoinette and Brokeback Mountain. The film was a smash at the Korean box office, and accumulated a pile of awards. Montreal premiere

LIKE A VIRGIN Dir.: Lee Hae-jun and Lee Hae-yeong - Two gay directors teamed up and triumphed with this witty, cheerful comedy, rife with low-key laughs and oddball imagery, about a chubby teen who takes up wrestling to pay for a sex-change operation. The directors shared the Korean Film Awards? Best New Director title for their work on this film, which also picked up prizes, nominations and audience nods at film festivals throughout Asia and Europe. North American Premiere

SHOW MUST GO ON Dir.: Han Jae-rim - Having proven his knack for witty and involved storytelling with 2005?s RULES OF DATING, writer/director Han Jae-rim brings his capable and original vision to the gangster genre, with impressive results. The Show Must Go On revolves around a rock-solid central performance by Song Kang-ho, likely the best-know Korean film face, internationally, given the explosive success of The Host (Fantasia regulars will also know him from Joint Security Area, Shiri, The Foul King, The Quiet Family and of course Park Chan-Wook?s groundbreaking Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance). Canadian premiere

TIME Dir.: Kim Ki-duk - Believing that Ji-woo is bored with seeing the same, boring her all the time, Seh-hee takes drastic action, leaving him without warning and having drastic cosmetic surgery. After a string of much loved films that broke with the harsh, ranting polemics of his older work in favour of gentler meditations on life and love, Kim Ki-Duk (THE ISLE) is back to his old tricks with TIME, a film that shows he hasn't lost his angry edge. Montreal premiere

HONG KONG/TAIWAN/CHINA HIGHLIGHTS

Hong Kong?s films were once famous for setting the action in the former colony, but this year?s contemporary dramas are seductively set in the moodier and visually dynamic Macau and Malaysia. Simple stories about forging new relationships, or renewing old ones, they are embellished with strongly etched, emotionally nuanced characters and romantic undertones. ISABELLA is the lyrical love story of a man and his new daughter, AFTER THIS OUR EXILE the unbreakable bond of a father and his son. Johnnie To?s EXILED is a subversion of gangster genre, with action edited with surgical precision. DIARY is about the grim effects of obsessive relationship.

Three historical sagas from China?s past will enthrall audiences this year. Fully fleshed out, with emotional potency and breathtaking action, they show that the mind is the most powerful weapon. In THE BANQUET, Daniel Wu must outwit his uncle, who has assumed control of his father?s kingdom. In BATTLE OF WITS, Andy Lau must repel a siege at all costs. In the vintage Shaw Brothers film 14 AMAZONS, the Yang warriors are outnumbered and must calculate at every possible moment to survive.

From Taiwan, meanwhile, comes the documentary TAIWAN BLACK MOVIES, the untold story of the island?s most lurid cinematic secret?a brief period when over 100 exploitation films were produced while under the political reign of the KMT.

14 AMAZONS (Hong Kong) Dir.: Chen Kang - The last big-budget martial-arts epic from Shaw Brothers, two years in the making, from 1972. It boasts action choreography by Ching Siu Tung (Chinese Ghost Story and Shaolin Soccer), and featuring the infamous human bridge sequence in which real actors formed a human platform for soldiers to cross. New restored print to celebrate the 100th birthday of Sir Run Run Shaw (founder and producer of Shaw Brothers studios).

AFTER THIS OUR EXILE (Hong Kong/Taiwan) Dir.: Patrick Tam - Former Wong Kar Wai collaborator Patrick Tam makes his extraordinary return as a director after 17 years of absence. After This Our Exile has received an avalanche of awards including Best Picture at the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards. Tam has taken a tragic story and given it visual power by using ace DP Mark Lee (In the Mood for Love), setting the film mostly at dusk and dawn in Malaysia. The more emotionally enriching director?s cut will be screened. Montreal premiere

THE BANQUET (China) Dir.: Feng Xiaogang - One of China?s most popular directors, Feng (A World Without Thieves) transposes Shakespeare?s Hamlet into ancient China. Filled with lavish production values and deliciously graceful action sequences by Yuen Woo-Ping (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Matrix), the film flows like a tense chess game. Featuring Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Daniel Wu (One Night in Mongkok). Montreal premiere

A BATTLE OF WITS (Hong Kong/China) Dir.: Jacob Cheung - A gritty war film set in Warring States Period, based on a Japanese manga, the film unfolds into something quite substantial, not only in the way it unflinchingly presents the cruel realities of a siege and of all warfare of that era, and picks apart the machinery of human weakness and treachery, but in how it explores the impulses of lead actor Andy Lau?s transcendent character. Montreal premiere

DIARY (Hong Kong) Dir.: Oxide Pang - The latest horror film from director Pang (The Eye), showing a schizophrenic young woman ?s cat-and-mouse game between her imagination and reality. Creepy, atmospheric and unsettling, recalling Takashi Miike?s Audition and containing the visual palette of 3 Extremes. North American Premiere

EXILED (Hong Kong) Dir.: Johnnie To - To?s new take on the Asian gangster film is set in a claustrophobic Macau. Injected with dark humour and phenomenal action set pieces that would echo Sam Peckinpah and Sergio Leone?s best moments, it?s a masterpiece of collective storytelling as the film unwraps with uncanny cool and confidence. Montreal premiere

ISABELLA (Hong Kong) Dir.: Pang Ho-Cheung - Pang is currently one of Hong Kong?s most creative and distinctive directors. Isabella is his stylish and moody story about a corrupt cop and a young woman who claims to be his long-lost daughter, played by promising new actress Isabella Leong (The Mummy 3) on the eve of Macau?s return to China. Winner of numerous awards and the first-ever HK film ever to win an international award for musical score. Montreal premiere

THAI HIGHLIGHTS

There?s no question that in recent years, as Hong Kong has focused on costumed epics and gritty modern crime films, the torch of classic martial arts fun has been passed to Thailand. The success of ONG BAK has drawn attention to this development, and Fantasia this year proudly presents DYNAMITE WARRIOR, a distinctly Thai thrill ride starring the great Dan Chupong.

But there?s much more to Thai cinema than kickboxing. Wisit Sasanatieng, who has shown a penchant for exquisitely crafted magic realism, tackles a gothic ghost story with the gorgeous, haunting UNSEEABLE. And social critique that?s as hilariously clever as it is shocking arrives in the form of 13 BELOVED. It?s a film certain to make waves worldwide, and Fantasia is proud to help it get there.

13 BELOVED (Thailand) Dir: Chookiat Sakweerakul? nasty, violent and darkly comic thriller from Thailand about a reality game show played out in daily life, where a contestant has to perform 13 different ?tasks? that can be summarized as something like FEAR FACTOR meets SALO. Its director, at 25, is the youngest working filmmaker in Thailand. A brutal social satire that is already slated for a US remake. North American Premiere

UNSEEABLE (Thailand) Dir.: Wisit Sasanatieng - Stylish director Wisit Sasanatieng (TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER, CITIZEN DOG) ventures into the horror arena with his masterful piece of mood cinema. Sasanatieng puts that still-active belief in the supernatural to great effect, loading his film with layer upon layer of hidden images, a brooding score and the sure sense that nothing is ever quite what it seems. Canadian premiere

TAIWAN BLACK MOVIES (Taiwan) Dir.: Hou Chi-Jan - A compelling documentary about Taiwan?s indigenous exploitation cinema of the early ?80s. The films were sensationally violent, perversely kinky and laced with political and social undertones. Featuring exhilarating images and insightful interviews by key Taiwan Black Movies participants. The first Taiwanese documentary ever to screen at Fantasia. Special Bonus: Taiwan Black Movies will be followed by a rare screening of Lady Avenger, an original classic of the era. North American Premiere