Montreal Fantasia Festival is one of the biggest genre film festivals in North America, and an important fixture on the Canadian film scene. This year marks their 30th anniversary, so if you’re in Montreal, be sure to check out some of the festivities!
Being a Canadian Festival, Canadian film is usually well represented in the lineup, and 2026 is no different. There are more than 20 to choose from, including presentations of some classics from the 1970s and the 2000s as part of the Genres du Pays program, which is billed as a reflection on Quebec cinematic history, offering a worthy showcase of forgotten, neglected, and even snubbed films from La Belle Province.
So, without further ado, here are all the Canadian Films Playing at Fantasia Festival 2026.
Académie de Vacances 2 (1988)
- Directed by Rafal Zielinski
- Written by Darrell Fetty
- Starring Christopher Bolton, Brian Dooley, Jennifer Inch, Isabelle Mejias, Kim Myers, Ted Nugent, Peter Virgile, James Wilder
- Playing July 20th
A business man plans to dump toxic waste on a state park, but it doesn’t go according to plan.
Ancestral Beasts
- Written & Directed by Tim Riedel
- Starring Morgan Holmstrom, Shannon Baker, Darla Contois, Victoria Gwendoline, Asivak Koostachin, Gail Maurice, Jesse Nobess, Jess Salgueiro, Josh Strait
- Playing on July 22nd and 28th
In the haunting landscape of rural Canada explores the terrifying idea: what if a severe mental health disorder took on a physical form—a creature lurking in the shadows? A Métis woman struggling to rehabilitate her mental health as she escapes a toxic, co-dependent relationship with her sister and retreats to her ancestral home. But her quest for peace is upended when a sinister presence begins to manifest, forcing her to confront intergenerational trauma and fight for her spirit—and the lives of those she loves.
Black Zombie
- Written & Directed by Maya Annik Bedward
- Playing on July 29th and 31st
From the flickering screens of Hollywood horror, to the haunted cane fields of colonial Haiti, Black Zombie unearths the buried origins of the zombie, reclaiming it as a symbol of survival and spiritual resistance.
Castration Movie Chapter iii. Junior Ghosts—Premorphic Drift; a fragmentary passage
- Written & Directed by Louise Weard
- Starring Avalon Fast, Henri Gillespi, Sepi Mashiahof, Jane Schoenbrun, Louise Weard
- Playing on July 19th
Izzy does everything in her power to stop her partner from transitioning.
Le Confessionnal (1995)
- Written & Directed by Robert Lepage
- Starring Lothaire Bluteau, Anne-Marie Cadieux, Suzanne Clément, Patrick Goyette, Jean-Louis Millette, François Papineau, Kristin Scott Thomas
- Playing July 31st
Pierre Lamontagne has returned to Quebec to attend his father’s funeral. He meets up with his adopted brother, Marc, who has begun questioning his identity and has embarked on a quest for his roots that would lead them to the Quebec of the 1950s. Past and present converge in a complex web of intrigue where the answer to the mystery lies.
Cul-de-$ac (2008)
- Written & Directed by Jean-Mathieu (Jib) Bérubé, Carlo Harrietha
- Starring Sébastien Allard, Bertrand Boisvert, Simon Couillard, Sebastien Duval, Akian Gaudette, Patrick Goneau, Danielle Hubbard, Vicko Y. Konza, Serge Laprade
- Playing July 20th
A young girl is kidnapped by a group of thugs, and now everyone is after them for revenge.
Les Écorchés – Partie 3
- Written & Directed by Luca Jalbert
- Starring Mathieu Alain, Olivier Anctil, Joseph Bédard, Wilfred Bédard, Vincent Feller, Livia Gilbert, Luca Jalbert
- Playing July 26th
The third entry in Luca Jalberts ongoing post-cataclysmic saga about a group of lost children fighting a dark force from beyond the stars.
Freaks
- Written & Directed by Zach Lipovsky & Adam Stein
- Starring Reznor Allen, Amanda Crew, Audrianna Lico, Lorelei Olivia Mote, Lili Taylor, Stephen Tobolowsky
- Playing August 2nd
Several years after a traumatic escape, we meet Mary and her daughter Chloe as they live on the road, hiding their powers and identities. They are hunted by the Abnormal Defense Force, paramilitary police that specialize in ruthlessly exterminating ‘freaks‘ like them. Mary is fueled by revenge, determined to find the ADF officer who killed her first child.
Full Blast
- Directed by Rodrigue Jean
- Written by Rodrigue Jean, Nathalie Loubeyre
- Starring Martin Desgagné, Daniel Desjardins, Patrice Godin, David Lahaie, Louise Portal, Luc Proulx, Marie-Jo Thério
- Playing July 27th
A film set at the turn of the century in an Acadian coastal town where time stands still. Where time heals no wounds. Steph and Piston are bored to death working in a lumber mill. Following an indefinite strike, they find themselves out of work and quickly penniless. Steph is in a romantic relationship with Rose, the owner of one of the village bars, who has a son, Chico, the same age as Steph, who still lives with her. When their old friend Charles, the son of the factory owner, returns to town, the three guys decide to reform their band, The Lost Tribe.
The Galactic Ghoul
- Directed by Simon Harrisson
- Written by Simon Harrisson & Vincent Hoss-Desmarais
- Starring Sylvie Desmarais, Vincent Hoss-Desmarais, Katharine Isabelle, Alexandre L’Heureux, Geneviève Laroche, Christian Paul, Michael Richard, Frédérick Roy, Russell Yuen
- Playing July 28th
Space-conquering, saucer-aircraft explorer Captain Oscar Bravo, and his sly subordinate Lieutenant Foxtrot, are made prisoners of Queen Xaltalusia XXIII (Isabelle), after discovering a mysterious stone on their journey and being engulfed by her permanent and outlandish jail, Planet of the Toum, from where the cosmic crusaders must escape while fending off her heavy-duty military, and their own brotherly conflict, to restore love and peace in the Galaxy.
La Gammick (1974)
- Directed by Jacques Godbout
- Written by Jacques Godbout, Pierre Turgeon
- Starring Dorothée Berryman, Denis Drouin, Pierre Gobeil, Marc Legault, Julien Poulin, Gilles Renaud, Serge Thériault
- Playing July 19th
Seasoned drug smuggler and thief François “Chico” Tremblay is tired of his modest lifestyle. Given the opportunity to earn $50,000 killing a prominent New York City gangster, he leaps at the opportunity, ignoring the warnings of Montreal’s leading mob boss, who has forbidden local criminals from taking the assignment. Upon his return, Chico discovers he is being pursued from all sides, prompting an unlikely response: he calls a local talk radio show and starts revealing the mafia’s most carefully guarded secrets. As his revelations get more shocking, so do the tactics of his adversaries, culminating in a devastating gut punch of a finale.
Home Bodies
- Directed by Casey Walker
- Written by Adrian Murray & Marcus Sullivan
- Starring Emma Ho, Ian Ho, Ess Hödlmoser
- Playing July 23rd
Two children, raised in total isolation by an automated house, begin to confront the mysteries of their existence after an enigmatic stranger arrives from outside.
Insectasy
- Written & Directed by Angus Silver
- Starring Tirion Healy, Lyndall Huber, Jan Roeth, Emmett Roiko, Kelsey Thompson
- Playing July 24th and 27th
Sadie struggles to find balance as she juggles work, her social life and her erotic fascination with insects.
Le Journal d’Aurélie Laflamme (2010)
- Directed by Christian Laurence
- Written by India Desjardins, Christian Laurence
- Starring Valérie Blais, Geneviève Chartrand, Édith Cochrane, Jérémie Essiambre, Pierre Gendron, Aliocha Schneider, Marianne Verville
- Playing August 2nd
Aurelie Laflamme feels alone in the world, especially since her father’s death five years ago. What if her father had been an alien who left Earth to return to his own planet? In that case, Aurelie would be an alien too. That would explain many things such as why she feels different from others, especially her mother, why she can’t string two words together without making a mistake, and why boys really get on her nerves. Through the pages of her diary, Aurelie confides her joys and sorrows, successes and failures, love and friendships, and tries to find her place.
Junction Row
- Written & Directed by Ashlea Wessel
- Starring Katharine Isabelle, Kyle Mac, Julian Richings
- Playing July 28th
Juno is a recovering addict who leaves a fringe housing compound for a better life, leaving her beloved Ruby behind. When she learns that Ruby has gone missing, Juno returns, only to find Junction Row has become a hotbed of criminal activity, but she encounters much more than menacing drug dealers on her mission to find Ruby.
The Leader
- Written & Directed by Michael Gallagher
- Starring Grace Caroline Currey, Vera Farmiga, Tim Blake Nelson, Jim Parsons, Simon Rex
- Playing July 30th
In 1997, thirty-nine members of the American cult known as “Heaven’s Gate” committed the largest mass suicide to ever take place on American soil. This is their story.
Les loups (2014)
- Written & Directed by Sophie Desraspe
- Starring Evelyne Brochu, Martin Dubreuil, Stéphane Gagnon, Benoît Gouin, Louise Portal, Gilbert Sicotte
- Playing July 28th
A woman travels from the big city to the countryside. The locals are suspicious.
Metal Messiah (1978)
- Directed by Tibor Takács
- Written by Stephen Zoller
- Starring Liane Hogan, David Jensen, John Paul Young, Richard Ward Allen
- Playing July 25th
Before BLADE RUNNER… and before JESUS SHOWS YOU THE WAY TO THE HIGHWAY… there was… METAL MESSIAH! After learning of an evil rock ’n’ roll music promoter’s plan to use heavy metal as a means of enforcing society’s cyclical self-destructive nature and to keep individuals from true self-realization, a metallic-skinned and incredibly well-dressed alien beams down to earth to try to save humanity. However, as his presence attracts the attention of private investigators and corrupt police forces, the stranger must fight to keep society from reaching its hedonistic end.
Made truly accessible for the first time since its theatrical release in 1978, Canadian International Pictures swoops in once again to bring you an underseen, wholly original Canadian gem with their stunning brand new 4K restoration of METAL MESSIAH!
Permanent Damage
- Directed by Seth A Smith
- Written by Seth A Smith & Darcy Spidle
- Starring Stephen Dorff, Calem MacDonald, Stephen McHattie, Olivia Scriven
- Playing July 21st and 22nd
Prison escapee Tommy Gods spirals into deeper trouble when he falls for Joe Plísek and is forced to work for her crooked uncle. Together, the couple plots to steal his “golden goose.”
La Place
- Written & Directed by Louis Gobbout
- Starring Christine Beaulieu, Maxim Gaudette, Benoit Gouin
- Playing July 29th
From the philosophy lectern to the director’s chair, Louis Godbout draws on fifteen years of profound contemplation to depict an ordinary “battle”: fighting over a parking space. It all begins with one parking spot, a couple and a stranger. Calling the police fails to end the conflict, which instead escalates into a silent psychological warfare. A single comment from the stranger acts like a domino effect, knocking down every seemingly solid pillar of the couple’s relationship. Undercurrents run rampant throughout the night.The film employs tranquil empty shots to create an oppressive, suffocating atmosphere, and its understated dialogue leaves vast room for the audience to interpret. When intimate bonds meet the game of human nature, who is the real stranger in the end?
Pontypool (2008)
- Directed by Bruce McDonald
- Written by Tony Burgess
- Starring Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, Georgina Reilly
- Playing July 19th
When disc jockey Grant Mazzy reports to his basement radio station in the Canadian town of Pontypool, he thinks it’s just another day at work. But when he hears reports of a virus that turns people into zombies, Mazzy barricades himself in the radio booth and tries to figure out a way to warn his listeners about the virus and its unlikely mode of transmission.
Possible Worlds (2000)
- Directed by Robert Lepage
- Written by Robert Lepage, John Mighton
- Starring Gascon Gabriel, Tom McCamus, Sean McCann, Tilda Swinton
- Playing August 1st
The same man lives out several parallel lives in different “worlds” and in different relationships at the same time.
Les regards parallèles
- Written & Directed by Vincent Bonin-Arena
- Starring Inès Defossé, Maxime Genois, Mattis Savard-Verhoeven
- Playing July 26th
Man is probably the only animal that dreams of the future; and probably the only one that invents parallel realities for itself. Félicien is a cultured but jaded young man. He dreams of money, as if the only obstacle between him and happiness were a pile of cash. His grandmother, Colette, is a top-tier criminal, and he dreams of one day inheriting her business. To prove himself, he is entrusted by her with a simple job: stealing a luxury car to sell it to a mystery buyer. To pull off this seemingly simple heist, he’ll be helped by his brother Félicien and a handful of firearms. But here’s the thing: his brother has only one love in life, his girlfriend Madeleine, who joins the team. The friendship between the two brothers will be put to the test as Madeleine harbours boundless love for Félicien. But, as in all gangster films, the heist will be punctuated by unforeseen events that will jeopardize the love and friendship of this touching and charismatic trio.
- Directed by Jassen Charron, Anthony Dionne
- Written by Anthony Dionne
- Starring Anthony Dionne, Rosalie Pépin, Jassen Charron, James Edward Metayer
- Playing August 1st
When Romin discovers a lost object in the forest, he asks his friends to help him uncover the legend behind this mysterious object, while a grieving man seeks to use the artifact to bring his wife back.
A Safe Distance
- Directed by Gloria Mercer
- Written by Aidan West
- Starring Bethany Brown, Cody Kearsley, Chris McNally, Tandia Mercedes
- Playing July 30th and 31st
After a woman is abandoned by her boyfriend in the forest, she befriends a couple and gradually realizes they are a pair of notorious bank robbers on the run from the law.
Les Saturnides
- Directed by Neegan Trudel
- Written by Jocelyn Martel Thibault
- Starring Rosalie Bonenfant, Rüdi Loup, Mario Saint-Amand
- Playing July 25th
The sudden appearance of strange glowing clouds over Montreal plunges the city into a mass insomnia. Camille, an overprotective young mother, and Philippe, her blindly optimistic boyfriend, find themselves at the heart of this unsettling world where sleep deprivation begins to wear down minds. Trapped in a city under a state of emergency, they must fight to distinguish reality from illusion as growing hallucinations and creeping paranoia turn their lives into a waking nightmare.
Someone’s Daughter
- Directed by Wiebke Von Carolsfeld
- Written by Taylor Doug & Von Carolsfeld Wiebke
- Starring Pascale Bussières, François Arnaud, Michael Greyeyes, Peter Outerbridge
- Playing July 21st
Fiftysomething criminal defense lawyer Sam is kidnapped and abandoned on a remote island with Paul, a former client she successfully defended a decade earlier when he was accused of rape. As the pair struggle to survive the brutal Canadian backcountry, an uneasy bond forms. However, Paul’s behaviour turns increasingly toxic, leading Sam to an impossible choice.
Tight Lettuce
- Directed by Harrison Houde
- Written by Dakota Daulby, Harrison Houde
- Starring Emmanuel Bilodeau, Christie Burke, France Castel, Josh Cruddas, Dakota Daulby, Guy Jodoin, Didier Lucien, Maxim Roy
- Playing July 18th
A son films his father’s addiction, hoping to document his recovery; but as he sacrifices everything to save him, he must decide how much he’ll lose for someone who may not want saving.
Unholy Night
- Written & Directed by Michael Gabriele
- Starring Marc Bendavid, Toni Ellwand, Shailene Garnett, Ron Lea, Jacqueline Robbins
- Playing July 25th and 27th
The film centers on Gino, whose traditional Italian family Christmas Eve celebration descends into chaos when his deceased grandmother returns from the dead and embarks on a killing spree. As more dead relatives begin appearing throughout the neighborhood, Gino must find a way to eliminate the holiday revenants and make it through the family gathering alive.
For all you Letterboxd users out there, I also assembled a list of these (as of this writing) for you, too. Check out that here.