The 2025 Fantasia Wrap-Up Awards:

Spoilers remind you that nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

Another year went by and it seems we waited a long time for all to go by so fast. The 29th Fantasia International Film Festival is over, but memories persist. And as a little token of celebratory fandom, I always like to wrap it up by offering you my obviously biased, unilateral and unrequested selection of the best of the year of 2025 with the unofficial non-existent Wrap-Up Awards. Drumroll, please!

The One Not To Be Missed: Goes to Julie Pacino’s I LIVE HERE NOW. It doesn’t only look cool, it oozes it. The trippy David Lynch aesthetic and the Dario Argento palette will no doubt invite comparisons, but I think the execution pretty much nailed it. It is a lot of fun to watch it with the right crowd and probably the casual moviegoer will not get into it, but Fantasia is not for the lukewarm viewer. Runner-up: Todd Wiseman, Jr.’s THE SCHOOL DUEL.

The One To Watch Behind The Couch: This was a pretty close call, but I’ll give it to Pedro Martin-Calero’s THE WAILING. Unlike any other film, this one never quite takes a breather for exposition. The idea is not for your to understand the motive, the origin or the reason. You just know it’s coming for you at some point. Runner-up: Ian Tuason’s THE UNDERTONE.

The Dystopian Who Lives Next Door: Yes, I had to create this one because let’s face it, reality is pretty much exceeding anything dystopian that movies can come up with. This one goes to Todd Wiseman, Jr.’s THE SCHOOL DUEL. In a few years, this one could be considered a documentary. It encapsulated a fantasy that we should consider plausible if not almost a loud warning. No runner-up here.

The Adorkably Cute: Another very close call, but it goes to Alberto Sciamma’s CIELO. This one is both weird and heart-wrenching. There’s a lot of this one that I am still processing to the point that I considered some of the symbology might require deciphering. Add a touch of death and you’re not quite sure what to make of it. Strong runner-up: Yu Ao and Zhou Tienan’s THE GIRL WHO STOLE TIME.

The Mind Bender: Perhaps it’s more of a soul bender this time. This one goes to the very poignant Alexander Ullom’s IT ENDS. In a very relaxed and friendly tone, it addresses the nature of change and the long and winding road to your next life event. It does give you a resounding and subtle resolution but only if you’ve been paying attention. Runner-up: Todd Wiseman, Jr.’s THE SCHOOL DUEL.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: Always a coveted award. Toshiaki Toyada’s TRANSCENDING DIMENSIONS. Takes this one with a resounding “Huh?”. This is the film that mostly left me completely confounded yet very much an entertaining film from beginning to the moment it stops, leaving me in the middle of nowhere. And though a lot of the films had the WTF element this year, I think this one embraced it. Runner-up: Alberto Sciamma’s CIELO.

Finally, I’d like to thank the production team and the brave and helpful volunteers! Sorry, didn’t realize the phone was tilted a bit 🙂