Screen Anarchy

The Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival, hereafter referred to as Neuchatel 2026, is “the only Swiss festival dedicated to genre films,” per their official description. “The event is mainly devoted to a specific film genre: fantasy. This main theme is complemented by two others: digital creation and Asian cinema.” Now that we’ve set the table, what is in store for today (Friday, 3 July)? The Asian competition begins with a film that sets a very high bar: Yuen Woo-ping’s truly awesome action-adventure Blades of the Guardians, which very much rewards the big-screen experience. Our review by Rino Li began: “Yuen Woo-ping may not be the most prominent director of action films, but he is certainly one of the greatest martial arts directors when it comes…

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Michele Fiascaris expands on his acclaimed short Rain Cather in the namesake feature debut, a mind-bending psychological thriller set in a noirish London.

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Two children befriend a snake god. Comedy ensues, of course (?!).

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The body of a teenage girl expresses her feelings more directly than she can.

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A reincarnated game player fights against the odds in his new world.

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With the complete lineup of the 30th Edition of Fantasia announced today we are introduced to some of the titles that are playing this year. Here we have an introduction to Harrison Atkins’ second movie. Sour Minnows, something we are told is an interdimensional absurdist comedy.   Two friends stumble upon an unusual sight: six men sensually licking the pavement on an empty LA street. For Ricky, this moment ruptures something. As his reality grows porous, and his memories begin to slip and slide, he finds himself in contact with “The Yellow Thing,” an entity that wears people like costumes. As Ricky adapts to his expanding worldview, a delirious new logic takes hold. Yep, that sounds pretty absurdist. Sour Minnnows has its world premiere at Cinéma…

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In Finnish forest, Saga and her husband Jon embark on a new chapter as parents. But Saga’s joy is overshadowed by a chilling suspicion about their newborn, unbeknownst to Jon, causing a rift as she alone grapples with the disturbing truth.

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Late at night on December 3, 2024, President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea declared martial law, staging a coup that threatened the country’s government. The only way to reverse the declaration was for politicians to vote against it at the National Assembly. But police and military summoned by Yoon will not let anyone enter the building. That’s all the context you need for The Seoul Guardians, one of the most concise and frightening documentaries of the year. It’s impossible to watch without thinking about other countries facing similar crises — in particular a United States whose White House was overrun by rioters. Directed by Jong-Woo Kim, Shin-Wan Kim, and Chul-Young Cho, three broadcast journalists, the film uses a semi-verité approach to the incident. An…

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Okay, are you ready? The final wave of titles and additional programming for the 30th Edition of Fantasia is here and it is a whopper.    The opening and closing films have been announced. Nicola Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell will this year and Canadian filmmakers Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein will close out this year’s festival with Freaks Part II, the sequel to their 2018 movie, Freaks.   Guys who always want us to include their middle name’s initials, Mark H. Rapaport (Hippo) and Seth A Smith (Tin Can, The Crescent), return to the festival with their films, Godhead and Permanent Damage respectively. Both are World Premieres.    Another Canadian filmmaker is making their feature film debut after having many shorts feature at Fantasia is Ashlea Wessel….

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