Fantasia International Film Festival is right around the corner. This year, 2026, is the festival’s 30th year, and the Montreal-based festival shows no signs of slowing down. To celebrate this monumental year, the festival is doing so in the only way it knows how: with more films than you can even imagine. Even after all these years, the festival’s premise has remained true: to highlight voices in independent genre filmmaking telling unique stories.
Outside the main featured full-length live-action films lies a nearly endless pool of animated features and short films worthy of adding to your watchlists. As someone whose end-of-the-year lists always have major shortcomings in both of these genres, I find Fantasia to be the perfect festival to change that this year. I’ve compiled a list of 5 animated films and 5 short films that stand out as some of the festival’s most fascinating titles.
The following synopsis for each film was taken directly from the Fantasia website, along with other relevant information.
Cherry and Virgin Dir. Masanao Kawajiri
Synopsis: “Ami and Ryo have a lot in common. They’re both around 30 years old, and they both draw. Ami is a commercial illustrator, Ryo creates erotic manga. That’s a bit ironic given their other commonality. Smart but socially uneasy, neither of them has ever had sex. Each feeling compelled to correct that, they’ve connected via a dating app. The similarities continue, as each indulges in oversharing and brutal self-criticism, from their first date forward. Awkward, uncertain, confused—in their own weird way, the pair have great chemistry. But will it lead them to the bedroom—and beyond?”
What stuck out instantly while browsing the catalog of films available this year was Cherry and Virgin. Its artwork shows a variety of styles used in its animation, from saturated pages colored with markers to finely lined black-and-white sketches. And once I dove deeper into the film’s premise, I found an equally unique story being told. A charming love story focused on two people who seemingly are perfect for one another, yet might be too similar to make it work. Masanao Kawajiri doesn’t have much under his belt as a director, but he is more than well-versed in visual effects to pull off a mix of art styles.
GROTESQQQUE Dir. Atsushi Nishigori
Synopsis: “Aliens, gyarus (gals), vampires… the girls race through a GROTESQQQUE night. A pop and edgy fusion of imagery and sound creates their unique world pulsing at the seams. GROTESQQQUE is a sensational collection of works from the brilliant mind behind THE IDOLM@STER, DARLING IN THE FRANXX’s Director and Chief Animation Director of EVANGELION: 3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME, Atsushi Nishigori.”
Aliens, gals, and vampires is one surefire way to get a film on my radar. And after realizing that those are all the stories told in this animated anthology, it became a must-watch. The first story focuses on an alien girl and her quest to draw closer to Earth; the second is about a young girl entering a battle royale; and the third is about a vampire fighting to survive. Their female-driven stories are the kind of fantasy fans yearn for. Atsushi Nishigori has a long list of animation accollades, making GROTESQQQUE a major stand out.
Redline Dir. Takeshi Koike
Synopsis: “The far-flung future is full of technological wonders we can hardly imagine today, but one familiar facet of the world we know remains wildly popular. Fans across the galaxy are rabidly excited about the forthcoming Redline road race, pitting the most powerful, gas-guzzling cars and their determined drivers against each other in a maniacal charge for the finish line. For superstar drivers Sweet JP and Sonoshee “Cherry Boy Hunter” McLaren, as well as all the other lurid weirdos at the wheels of the competing super-cars, the stakes are enormous. Not only do they have clearance to use lethal force against each other, but the cyborg overlords of Roboworld, where Redline will take place, have threatened all involved with annihilation, lest the race lead to the release of the secret bio-weapon Funky Boy!”
Admittedly, Redline isn’t a stranger to Fantasia; it originally screened at the festival 15 years ago. But there’s no better way to celebrate the festival’s 30th year than by looking back at some of its standout moments. Takeshi Koike’s classic animated film was the first feature-length project from Madhouse Studio. As someone who hasn’t seen the film before, I find it exciting that Fantasia offers films like Redline a chance to be seen by new eyes.
Cocoon – One Summer of Girlhood Dir. Yukimitsu Ina
Synopsis: “On a tiny, balmy island at the very southern tip of the Japanese archipelago, life for wide-eyed San, her cool friend Mayu, and the other girls of the group brought here by the Army could almost be mistaken for paradise. The weather is perfect, the scenery serene, and through laughter, squabbles, and quiet confidences, bonds of friendship being built. But the awful truth is not far away. The enemy is coming, bringing devastation, and some things will be lost forever.”
When I read that this film was commissioned for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, I was hooked. Using Japanese stories, especially the horrors endured during the last world war, while mixing in a Studio Ghibli style, immediately suggests an emotional viewing experience. Styling for the movie is partly due to Hitomi Tateno, a former Ghibli talent, who founded Sasayuri, which is producing its first film with Cocoon – One Summer of Girlhood. The film is a retelling of the tragic story of real girls living during wartime, and 80 years later, Yukimitsu Ina marks their debut film to celebrate their girlhood that was cut short.
Zsazsa Zaturnnah Dir. Avid Liongoren
Synopsis: “Ada is a shy, gay hairdresser living in a small village, running a salon with the help of his boisterous assistant Didi. A history of heartbreak and harsh judgement has left Ada resigned to a life without love—despite a powerful crush on Dodong, the handsome storekeeper across the street. Everything changes for Ada when a pink meteorite punches a hole in his roof one night. At Didi’s insistence, Ada consumes the space rock and utters the mystical word inscribed on it—Zaturnnah! Didi’s ludicrous conviction that Ada will be transformed into a superhero proves to be correct. Ada now has incredible strength, speed, resilience—and a spectacular, Olympian woman’s body! These new powers prove immediately necessary, as the village is beset by giant mutant animals, wretched zombies from the local graveyard, and anything else that can be thrown at her by the militantly misandrist extraterrestrial invader Queen Feminah Suarestellar Baroux and the Amazonistas from Planet X. Can Zsazsa win against these fearsome foes? And, can Ada win Dodong’s heart?”
In the images used to promote this movie, the comic-book heroine design calls to you. Who doesn’t want to become a big, buff, strong woman in a Wonder Woman-inspired getup? Avid Liongoren brings this animation of the Philippines to life with a story that is relatable to nearly anyone who has felt invisible. Its animation looks to be a mixture of glamorous shots of rippled muscles, to fierce deflection of bullets, Zsazsa Zaturnnah looks thrilling.
Short films are abundant at Fantasia this year, all grouped into sections that the festival packs together neatly for those unsure where to start. Titles such as Fuck Face, directed by Dean Puckett, whose debut feature, The Severed Sun, is a folk horror favorite. To Grace Presse’s newest horror short, Sleep Tight. Shorts are a section of films that often gets overlooked by festival-goers, which is a shame, because the films below rival the potential of feature-length films.
FUCK FACE Dir. Dean Puckett
Synopsis: “A single mother and her child are put through a nightmarish ordeal when a politician knocks on their door. Shot on Mini DV, FUCK FACE the escalating tensions in a society that seems to fall further and further toward the far right. With a paranoid low-fi energy, the film escalates with both dark humour and horror, as characters are not quite what they seem.– Justine Smith”
Sam Dir. Catharina Schürenberg
Synopsis: “A young psychology student (Alice Kremelberg, THE BURROUGHS, RENEGADE NELL) who moonlights as a professional cuddler finds herself under wounding online attack after making an especially personal TikTok. A tense and haunting new work from writer/director Catharina Schürenberg, whose extraordinary MARA won a jury award at its 2022 Fantasia Premiere, SAM is a riveting exploration of how quickly situations can go bad on social media, and how the platforms we use to connect can lead us into deeper places of loneliness—and sometimes, into physical danger. – Mitch Davis”
Beasts of Death (Bestias de la Muerte) Dir. Sandra Powers
Synopsis: “Bereaved teenager Claudia wants her dear, departed mother back from the other side, and she’s willing to gamble her own soul to make that happen. Three trials await her in the underworld, three monsters to defeat, three levels of loss and lamentation to transcend. Personal grief drives a pop-Gothic cartoon creature clash from CalArts graduate Sandra Powers. – Rupert Bottenberg”
Breeder Dir. Sapphire Sandalo
Synopsis: “A woman under immense family pressure to become a mother risks losing her ability to choose when she’s visited by the Tikbalang, a frightening creature of Philippine folklore. A gruesome and subversive film from L.A.-based animator, podcaster, paranormal researcher/historian, and occultist Sapphire Sandalo that re-contextualizes folklore for contemporary social commentary through an assaulting lens of body horror. – Mitch Davis”
Sleep Tight Dir. Grace Presse
Synopsis: “A nightmarish depiction of the helplessness and horrors of sleep paralysis from U.S. writer/director Grace Presse. Skin-crawling and discomforting to the extreme, SLEEP TIGHT is exceptional filmmaking that will stay with you. – Mitch Davis”
