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International Overdose Awareness Day
International Overdose Awareness Day is August 31st, but in Montreal, a gathering to raise awareness was held on August 28th at Place Émilie-Gamelin, and it was organized by the Quebec Association for Drug User Health Promotion (AQPSUD)
The event saw organizations gather to discuss the work they do with the drug-using population, many of whom were also offering free tools, resources and kits to help those who plan to consume drugs.
Legalization of drug use is a long-term goal for many participants, but short-term they want the provincial government to back-track on the tabled bill 103. The bill aims to regulate supervised consumption sites. Some say the bill will prevent new sites from being opened and limit existing services.
Concordia students stuck in Gaza speak out about delayed visa process
Over 70 Palestinian students waiting to attend university in Canada are stuck in the Gaza strip, waiting for the final approval of their study permits. Six of these students hope to attend Concordia this academic year.
Many students in Gaza have been waiting for six to eight months to hear back from Immigration refugees and citizenship Canada IRCC regarding their study permits. Some have started to lose offers as a result of not getting these permits, two students, slated to come to the University of Waterloo this fall, were killed.
The Palestinian Students & Scholars at Risk Network, PSSAR, is a group that works to help palestinian academics safely continue or begin their studies. CJLO spoke with the chair of the board for the PSSAR, Dr. Ayman Owieda.
Despite limited internet and electricity access in Gaza due to the Israeli blockade and bombardment of infrastructure, two accepted Concordia students currently living in Gaza were able to connect with CJLO news for interviews. Fatoom and Ahmad have had their last names protected for personal security purposes. They both told CJLO about their lives as they wait for the visa process to proceed.
Representatives from the IRCC would not provide an interview but pointed to a statement explaining that each individual case is being processed but is complex.
In the Shadows: Hotline TNT’s Path of Totality Tour
A little over one month into their The Path of Totality tour, which celebrates the release of their latest album, Raspberry Moon, the beloved New York shoegaze band, Hotline TNT, shows no sign of slowing down. With many more dates on their North American tour, as well as European shows from late October until the end of November, the band has been all gas, no breaks.
Less than a year since their last appearance in Montreal, Hotline TNT once again animated the city’s local venues to a crowd of devoted fans. Whereas last year the band performed at Bar le Ritz PDB, right on the border of Park Extension and the Mile-Ex, this year’s show was in the heart of the Plateau at La Sala Rossa. Opening for them was the Oakland, California-based alternative-rock band Sour Widows, led by the two guitarists-singers Maia Sinaiko and Susanna Thomson, who met as teenagers at Summer camp. Their 2024 album, Revival of a Friend, explores the themes of grief and loss, as both Sinaiko and Thomson experienced significant loss in the years leading up to the formation of their band. Their songs, such as Initiation, illustrate the narrator’s journey navigating the loss of a parent. On stage, Thomson’s and Sinaiko’s guitars and voices are in conversation with each other -- supporting and building each other up to produce an entrancing experience.
Following their opener’s standing ovation, Hotline TNT did not waste any time, swiftly captivating concert-goers from the second they set foot on stage. The musical odyssey that attendees were privy to truly made one forget where they were. Hotline TNT also seemingly has this innate talent in their ability to create smooth song transitions, building a path for the audience to follow on this contemporary shoegaze journey. The band’s show felt too short, even though they were on stage for nearly an hour. They truly leave you wanting more and hoping that your presence in the crowd could somehow persuade them to just play one more song.
After the show, Hotline TNT’s frontman, Will Anderson, alongside the rest of the band, could be found waltzing in and out of the green room, chatting with fans, as they did the last time they were in Montreal. The band’s show in Montreal also coincided with their announcement that they have left Spotify streaming services, further cementing the importance of physical media and the lack of reliability of online streaming services.
I had the chance to quickly chat with Will Anderson regarding the band’s decision regarding Spotify. He affirmed that their decision to leave Spotify had “[...] been a long time coming. There's a lot of reasons, too many to get into right now, but I think the future of Spotify is probably going to be something like what Facebook looks like right now, just like a bunch of artificial intelligence slop that nobody really contributes to, besides robots. So trying to get away from that stuff, you know.”
The Hotline TNT experience never disappoints, leaving you wanting more from a band that cares deeply about their craft and the music ecosystem in which they find themselves.
You can listen to Hotline TNT music everywhere except Spotify.
Exeunt: Lulu LaMontagne
Third time’s the charm. At the end of the winter semester, my friend had convinced me to come see her friend’s band play at Casa del Popolo—not knowing at all what their sound was, except for the fact that this friend had said the band was “glam-rock esque.” I had immediate visions of Kiss, with their loud makeup and frequent tongue protrusions. I remember not knowing what to expect; the unknown lay before my ears, and I was vaguely uncomfortable. We were preparing for a certain amount of wincing and had hung close to the wall. The band, all except the lead singer, began to play a rousing cacophony, and I wondered if this was some sort of instrumental group or something. But then, Lulu emerged from the crowd. I hadn’t caught a glimpse of them before the show, but once I saw the laced-up corset, the hoop earrings grazing the tops of their shoulders, and that platinum-blonde, dishevelled hair, I had a feeling my ears were about to be rocked off.
Since first seeing Lulu perform, I was caught.
And here I stand, at Foufounes (my very first time at the venue) to watch the band play their final show on The Tolling Belle tour, severely tipsy.
Before even arriving at the venue, I was anxious about being on time: okay, the show is from eight to eleven forty-five, gotta be there by seven thirty when the doors open. I had somehow accepted that the band was going to play for three hours and have no openers. A rookie move. I took a ride to my friend’s place, and kept my shoes on, thinking we were dashing immediately out. To my surprise, she wasn’t pressed for time. Odd. I decided to let go of my worries and let her and her roommate decide when we would leave, mostly because I couldn’t handle the pressure. This suspension of control is foreign to me. When I first heard Lulu perform, I suspended control over my body. I let the drums pound in my sternum, let my feet tap-tap to their own volition. I let my arms sway about me—careful not to spill any beer. The riffs felt like static in the darkness, cropping up every so often. I thought I had to soak up all of my observations of the set deep inside my mind’s eye and somehow view it all from afar. Instead, I’m left with snippets of images and melodies.
My friends and I stop for a smoke on Saint-Catherine. I see large, yellow letters: O U F O U. I can’t make out the entire thing. Strange. I wonder why we’ve stopped here. I can make out a drill beat and an accompanying guitar. Right: the venue. We puff along, yawning here and there because we all seem to be on the same page of exhaustion—for the moment. I turn to my other friend when I see a tall, blond person approaching us. I recognize their face but don’t recall their name. They offer a smile at our little group: “If you’re here right now, you must be coming to see our set, hey?” That’s when I realize that this is Lulu—outside of business hours, when they aren’t belting into a mic. I hadn’t recognized them without the dark makeup and half-bare chest. They chomp away at a shawarma, dish out their nice-to-meet-you’s and stroll away.
I recall a purple spotlight lighting Lulu’s face as they sang their ballad tune during the set. I can still see it: the single droplet of sweat that dislodged itself from their nose, swallowing the light like a crystal. Kind of a rocker moment. Lulu’s corset was sliding down, and they, uninterested in hoisting it back up.
The show ranged from smooth tempos gliding over the crowd to high energy beats—from swaying gently, linking arms with my friends, to a mosh that was led by Lulu hopping off stage and shoving those closest to them. The balance of it all (having already heard this set twice before) still steered my attention to the striking sounds of guitars and bass. I was still mesmerized by the complex percussion and still found myself, a smile plastered onto my face, bopping my head in the way I only really do for rock.
Lulu Lamontagne’s sound feels like dark velvet embedded with spikes. Brassy melodies pierced with vibrant crescendos. There’s an essence of DIY tied to the band. Minimal bells and whistles, but lots of drama, in the purest of senses. The drama of having your lead singer emerge from an anticipatory audience once the instruments begin playing and having them leave before they’ve finished performing is theatrical. I’m sure many musicians before Lulu have done exactly this, but as I have not seen it for myself, it leaves me imagining the band as these phantoms that come to rock your house and then sultrily vanish into the dark.
I recall bursts of expressions that Lulu conjured during the set. It was pulled straight from the opera. Fluttering fingers encasing their face—flashes of Edvard Munch’s paintings—and I found myself likening Lulu to art I’ve studied.
One of their slower songs plays, and my friend wraps her arms around my shoulders. Lulu croons. Before the song began, they prefaced by saying the song was going to speak to a deeply personal problem, the curse of being terribly beautiful. A problem we all have, they added with a wink. The chorus comes along: it must be you, it must be you, it must be you, and the crowd all points at each other, the recipients of pointed fingers alternating throughout the repetitions. It must be all for us: the beneficiaries of sound, bound for an hour.
FME 2025 - A Foreward
The twenty-third edition of one of Quebec’s, if not Canada’s, best music festivals is set to get underway from August 28-31. Once a year, the Festival de Musique Émergente (F.M.E.) takes over Rouyn-Noranda. The mining town, better known for its toxic Horne Smelter and minor league hockey team, The Huskies, will vibrate with the amplified cacophony of music and mayhem.
Presenting local headliners, up-and-coming musical talent, and a standout assortment of international artists. With more than eighty performances that include exclusive concerts in the city's concert halls and unusual venues, F.M.E. hosts a plethora of discoveries for festival-goers.
The festival gets underway early Thursday morning, with a kids' show by Les Petites Tounes, and doesn’t end until late into the night the following Sunday. Bibi Club, Adèle Trottier-Rivard and Nicolas Basque, warm up the festival with a showcase of their latest album Feu de garde. A radiant, communal work where warmth triumphs over hardship. Montreal's disco-punk pioneers We Are Wolves unveil their highly anticipated sixth album, Nada at Petit Théâtre du Vieux-Noranda. Then, putting a cap on the evening, Brooklyn New York’s Mary Shelley will initiate the festival crowd to their post-punk dance rhythms from across the border.
The large outdoor shows, located in the heart of downtown, get started Friday night. Presented by SiriusXM, trio Population II draw from their subversive yet haunting full-length album Maintenant Jamais, which earned them a spot on the 2025 Polaris Music Prize Long List. Ariane Roy follows with songs from her excellent Dogue, "a restless second album, driven by shackle-breaking anger and inspired by sisterhood" (La Presse). The lineup concludes with Klô Pelgag and her powerful, soul-searching manifesto, Abracadabra (recipient of the Francophone Album of the Year at the 2025 Junos). The late-night indoor shows feature Montreal’s Les Breastfeeders, who make French-language rock n'roll that is tinged with garage, pop, yéyé, and psychedelia. Bad Waitress is an artsy, angsty punk band from Toronto, Ontario.
Throughout the four days, there are many free shows like the one by Poolgirl. Combining riot grrrl and punk influences with melodic indie rock, this five-piece alt-rock band based in Montreal hits the Fizz Stage Saturday night. Later on that evening, Bar du Curling hosts two after midnight shows that feature the raw, genre-blending sound of Cure-Pipe and Montreal’s Fangus, the freak-rocking cult that combines psychedelic rock, garage pop, hyperpop, and classic rock.
The Sunday night metal extravaganza is an icon of the festival. This year, the tradition continues with local heroes Digital Ghosts - a metalcore band from Rouyn-Noranda that brings together members from bands such as Archons, Evil Prevail, Decrepity, and Within the Abyss. From Montreal, Scorching Tomb blends old-fashioned death metal and modern hardcore. Closing out the evening is another band from Montreal, Despised Icon, who have long been hailed as pioneers of extreme metal.
For those who prefer something a little less metallic, there is the closing event at The Paramount. Featuring Elle Barbara, an avant-garde singer-songwriter who combines elements of dance, disco, sophisti-pop, synth-pop, prog, jazz, and glam. Les Freaks de Montréal, an homage to the legendary Quebec band Aut'Chose, reunite to pay tribute to its two captains who passed away a few days apart in 2024. They will be accompanied by brilliant and scintillating guests. Putting a cap on the event, Montreal-based psychedelic rock septet TEKE::TEKE will be showcasing their latest album, Hagata.
For over twenty years, Festival de musique émergente en Abitibi-Témiscamingue has established itself as a fertile ground for emerging talent and innovative performances. True to its unbridled spirit, the festival returns in 2025 with an edition aiming to blur the lines between fiction and reality, rumour and revelation. Amidst a joyfully-orchestrated chaos, music remains the compass, the curators proposing a rich, surprising, and vibrant program, where novel sounds, leftfield artists, and bold propositions coexist. Once again, FME vows to transform the city into a living and breathing laboratory.
The Naked Gun: A Review
What you get from Akiva Shaffer’s The Naked Gun is a non-stop stream of laughs from your fellow audience members at a set of some of the most mindless jokes. And the best part is that you will be laughing along to the cacophony. This reboot not only brings back comedy legend Leslie Nielsen’s style, but the whole genre of satirical comedy that has not been in theatres for a good decade.
The film knows no bounds to who or what they play a gag on. From the on-the-nose billionaire Musk/Bezos villain to the format of filmmaking itself by having Liam Neeson literally ‘poke’ fun at the fourth wall, The Naked Gun channels the identity of everything that made Leslie Nielsen’s works so digestible (even among its stomach-churning crudeness). It is a profoundly dumb comedy that can bring out at least a few laughs from anyone in the audience. And the film itself is highly aware of how dumb it is, of course! What’s better than one penis joke? How about ten guys getting punched in the groin in a row! Bam! Bam! Bam!
I could point to the many pop culture references that pervade the 84-minute runtime as inhibiting the film’s shelf life, but this revival of the satirical-spoof comedy showcases exactly why we need a revival of movies like the Austin Powers franchise or Spaceballs (already in the works). Riffing off in-the-know jokes from pop culture allows an audience to laugh together at everything that is topically ridiculous. These films command the audience to say “Yes, we are laughing at you, Bill Cosby”. You can experience right now what seeing the Scary Movie franchise (also set for a new installment in 2026) at the time of their respective releases, before its references lost ground.
Of course, these jokes would be nothing without Liam Neeson’s on-screen persona of detective Frank Drebin Jr. Over the many years of Taken and Taken 2, Neeson has carefully crafted this rough and troubled, mysterious figure that translates so easily into satire. As is characteristic of Leslie Nielsen’s films, Neeson can deliver the most ridiculous of lines and quips with an all too serious (don’t call me Shirley) mien. Physically, too, Neeson’s stunt scenes carry an effortless blend of his experience in action movies immersed into a comedic setting.
Accompanying Neeson is Pamela Anderson playing the glitzy Beth Davenport. Aside from being the receptacle and subject of Neeson’s raunchy remarks, Anderson brings an equally coarse performance and humour. She takes on a role as something resembling a femme fatale, which is immediately subverted by the silliest of scat jazz performances you will ever have the privilege of watching.
From Nielsen to Neeson, The Naked Gun franchise is an exhibit for the necessity of satirical comedy. This installment is a short and easy watch for some unadulterated summer fun. Out now in theatres, I wholeheartedly recommend it if you find yourself dawdling through your summer break like I have been.
Fantastic Four: First Steps - A Review
Fantastic Four First Steps (Currently playing in wide release, IMAX recommended)
Dir: Matt Shakman
Staring: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Run Time: 115 Mins
Marvel Studios has tried their hands at The Fantastic Four series with previous variations, the first one from 2005. I took issue with the film's handling of the CGI scenes that were a bit clumsy for the time. 25 years later, the question sits: will Marvel Studios regain one of their beloved superhero families and set it off in a direction that fans will love, given a second reboot? Enter Director Mat Shakman, who has previously worked on the Marvel television series WandaVision, has showcased that he understands aspects about a superhero team (Scarlet Witch and Vision) taking on the ultimate responsibility of living a normal life with kids and what that would look like, even for the most part it’s a hypothetical scenario that Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) creates. So when Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) and Richard Reed (Pedro Pascal) are about to have a baby, there is a shake-up in the Fantastic Four unit. Ben Grimes (Ebon Moss-Bacharch) and Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) take on uncle responsibilities, and Herbie (Humanoid Experimental Robot B-Type Integrated Electronics) is helping out to baby-proof the house.
On Earth-828, a resemblance to 1960s New York, we meet the team already in their superhero era. We get a slight introduction to how the Fantastic Four got their powers, where they went into space on an expedition from Richard Reed, his wife Sue, her brother-in-law Johnny and Reed’s best friend Ben Grimes. Reed has the power of elasticity, Sue has the power of invisibility, Ben Grimm has become The Thing, a rock-like superhero who has super strength/durability, and Johnny becomes the Human Torch and has the ability to fly and control fire. Over a Sunday night meal, Johnny and Ben discover that Sue has a secret she has been harbouring, that she is indeed expecting a child. The team seems happy with the news as they start preparing for the child by baby proofing the house, a task taken upon by Reed’s robot assistant Herbie (Voice of Matthew Wood). Things are not all sunshine and daisies because a fair warning comes from Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) that Galactus (Ralph Ineson) is coming. The team must learn about the sacrifices they must make in order to save the world, which will be big ones.
I feel that Fantastic Four: First Steps has some hallmark traits of being a good Marvel film, without reinventing the wheel. For the first part there has to be a solid wheel on the franchise which this iteration delivers on with technical CGI elements and the story as a precursor for what is to come in Avengers Doomsday. Director Matt Shakman hones in the elements of family and the human side to these four fantastic superheroes. The first highlight for the movie was the banter between all of the characters, HERBIE included, but more precisely there is always a fun banter between Ben Grimes (Ebon Moss-Bacharch) and Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), call it maybe a generational gap. Second highlight for the film was in IMAX with the Dolby Altmos Sound technology, when Galactus finally made his appearance the thunderous sound made our theatre vibrate on another level. Michael Giachino composes a fun superhero pop ballad with the emotional tones reminiscent of his early works with one of my favourites of his scores Inside/Out. Finally, the reason to see it in IMAX is before the film you will get a glimpse of returning to Pandora, a new fresh trailer from Director James Cameron, Avatar Fire and Ash due out around the Christmas holidays. Call it a Christmas in July for Avatar fans.
⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Remi is the host of At The Movies Along regular Co-Host Danny Aubery every Tuesday morning from 8-9 AM only on CJLO 1690 AM. They cover local film festivals, have interviews with directors and actors, and talk about a new film or the classics. As well the iconic sounds of present and past film scores and soundtracks. Follow Remi on Letterboxd.
Something Happened in Montreal
Something happened in Montreal this week. The long-awaited Something Fest occurred with its day passes completely sold out and the promise of 9 acts spread over 3 venues and 10 hours. The planning of the thing was something I was lucky enough to witness from the sidelines, and it cannot be understated what a triumph of community organizing Something Fest turned out to be. Arriving at the first venue and seeing the giant Something Fest banner hung behind the little DIY stage opened a new angle of appreciation for this city within me, and I strapped myself in for a whole day of music.
Mai/son was the first stop, and the community power of Something Fest shone before any music even began. Upstairs was an art market of familiar faces. A tattoo studio, tooth gems and Something Fest merchandise created out of donated clothing. The scene was a maze of ‘someone recognizing someone from somewhere,’ and attitudes were bright. Somebody ran upstairs to let everyone know the music would soon begin. The first batch of sets were fittingly the quietest. Mai/son was decorated with colorful, soft lightning and people sat on the floor once somebody was brave enough to be the first. Act one was Johan Miranda, an acoustic guitar virtuoso with a delightful British flair to his soft, personal singing. His fast, light, Bossa-Nova-inspired guitar playing fluttered in intense emotional passages while he delivered his words. The sky began to darken into storm by the end of his set. Hanako soon followed, taking full advantage of the change in light. Her music consisted of effect-heavy, clean electric guitar and singing. A man who would turn out to be a guest drummer sat mysteriously behind the stage for the first songs. I have never experienced rainfall so utterly muted by a room’s acoustics. A silent storm, providing occasional flashes of lightning added a situational ambience that highlighted Hanako’s dreamy songs. It seemed like sunset due to the weather by the time the third act, Rachella Wred stepped onstage with an SP-404 sampler, Korg synth and an acoustic guitar. Her first couple of tracks were classic country-folk tunes with somber fingerpicking and songs about crushing city life. An unexpected shift was soon made to synthesizer-led music as the storm continued to intensify outside. It was hard to notice the sky darken; instead, the purple and blue lights seemed to be getting brighter. Her set peaked with the song Sooke. Illuminated by a slow, steady drum sample and a wash of droning synth, she delivered a somber ballad about watching your parents get older.
Set two took place at Quai des Brumes, and began with Chris Clegg, who seemed to just play under the name Chris and whose name was not on the flyer. Their set would be the final solo act of the festival. The songs were fast, acoustic, passion-filled yelps through a folk-punk filter. Their especially short banjo-led tracks left quite an impression in little time. Bloodfarts soon took the stage with an array of left-of-center acoustic instruments, most notably a melodica and a triangle. Their sound was folky, danceable and playful in a way that lit up the crowd. This was the first instance of a grand ballroom taking shape in front of the acts, a shape that would prevail until festivals end. After a tight setlist decorated with covers from Steely Dan, Carly Simon and Joni Mitchell, they threw a couple of classical Spanish songs in the mix, with castanet dancing and all. Afterwards, I spoke to the band and confirmed that they purposefully chose a sound that’s funny to follow with “we’re called Bloodfarts.” The final Quai de Brumes performance was the jaw-dropping spectacle of Cianalas. An unbroken, extended Irish folk jam of two fiddlers, an acoustic guitar player and an accordion, I can truthfully describe as bedazzled. The four performers stomped around, leading the crowd into sways, spins and jigs, the likes of which I have not seen before in Montreal. When the band was not in full-explosive-melody-mode, the guitar player sang in howls that seemed to silence a one-kilometre radius. The heat of July 13th could not keep the people from dancing.
La Sala Rosa proved to be the highlight of Something Fest with its stupid-stacked lineup of young players. The crowd at this point had snowballed into an unstoppable pile of everybody knowing everybody. English Montreal has collapsed in on itself, and Something Fest was the singularity. The first of the last section was Lulu Lamontagne, a drag performer surrounded by a band that didn’t necessarily not look like The Strokes. They rocked a set of highly dramatic, wondrously energetic glam rock with some serious sense of spectacle. Lulu’s catty comments between songs as well as her willingness to strut through the audience while performing brought even more life to an already vibrant set. Next up was Hamilton Ontario’s Superstar Crush, whose music I was truly impressed by. The three singers (one being a singing drummer, which deserves praise of its own) voices meshed effortlessly together over the bright chords and breakneck riffing the rest of the band provided. A cover of Lady Gaga’s Pokerface split this set in half, with no attempt made to sound like Gaga. Instead, the band chose to totally make the song their own. It crushed. There was a feeling of happiness that seemed to wash over everybody around this time of the night. The festival was already overtime with one act to go and nobody, at least on the crowd side of things, seemed to mind. The festival’s grand conclusion came from The Satisfactory, a bluesy band with a factor of old school coolness and a clear appreciation of the British invasion bands. The twisting and thrashing audience let loose for this final, surprisingly short set. The end was presented by a cover of the Ronettes’ Be My Baby, a song that was announced as ‘one of the greatest songs ever.’ They were right about this. A final thanks from the Something Fest team brought a new swish of emotions. So much love and work were poured into this one-day experience, and anybody attending could see that. The Satisfactory was invited to play one last cover to close it all out. They were not brave enough to say that Oasis’ Don’t Look Back In Anger was also one of the all-timers, but it was clear the band believed this, nonetheless. During that final crescendo chorus, in a sea of community love, screaming through beer-breath and English Montreal’s overbearing connectivity, everybody felt something.
Simon Bowrin is the host of Weirdo Rippers, on air Wednesdays 1-2pm
CJLO at Fantasia Film Festival 2025
The Fantasia Film Festival, the premiere international genre film festival that takes over Montreal’s Concordia Hall and surrounding area every summer, is back this year for the 29th edition, happening from July 17th to August 7th 2025. There is sure to be a film for everyone that will allow audiences to beat the heat and grab a seat. Before we get to the selection picks from the At The Movies team, here are the important films and events that will be happening.
Remi: Opening the festival on July 16th would be a stark contrast in terms of film selection. The one that I am looking forward to seeing is Eddington, a western set against the backdrop of the pandemic, as a small-town sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) running for mayor squares off against a rival candidate (Pedro Pascal). In case you missed the sold-out premiere Eddington is in a wider release as of Friday July 18th. If you are looking more for a lighthearted family friendly fare, then maybe the new Smurfs movie from director Chris Miller might be a bet. Screening in both French and English this instalment promises new music from Rihanna who voices Smurfette. Closing out the festival would be the more adult-oriented animated film from director Genndy Tartakovsky Fixed. Director Genndy Tartakovsky will be in attendance and is to be honored with the prestigious CHEVAL NOIR CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.
Here are some other events to highlight. Another CHEVAL NOIR CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD will be presented to composer Danny Elfman. This is following the animated short film Bullet Time from director Eddie Alcazar, with music composed by Danny Elfman. Relive the decade of the 90’s highlighting the importance of the Quebec music video channel MusiquePlus with Les années MusiquePlus : Ces artistes qui ont débuté avec le vidéoclip which will feature clips, testimonials and memories. My final event that I will highlight would be a talk moderated by Vincenzo Nappi. Art Lives! Canadian Outsider Cinema vs. the Machine with DIY Canadian filmmakers that have uncompromising visions and ideas that might be outside of the realm of government grants and mainstream tastes. If you are looking for the other events, here are some more highlights.
Remi’s Picks For Fantasia 2025
As previously stated, I am very excited for the opening night film from director Ari Aster, Eddington. Where I normally love to start off my Fantasia selections is by selecting a documentary. This year’s pick for me has to be Occupy Cannes from director Lily Hayes Kauffman. This documentary follows the independent film company Troma, known for their cult films The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. In 2013, their team visited the Cannes Film Festival Marché du Film where they made a name for themselves through their fake bloody spectacle antics, with the hopes of selling their latest production Return to Nuke ‘Em, and demonstrating favour of independent cinema in the face of media conglomeration. What comes out of this Troma Occupy Cannes movement would be the kind of crazy antics once accepted and supported by the festival as an independent spirit, is now being frowned upon by the organizers and authorities. This pairs well with the event that I previously highlighted Art Lives! Canadian Outsider Cinema vs. the Machine. The Fantasia Film Festival is a great marketplace for these genre cult films to find distribution and see the light of day in a theatrical release. I highly recommend all the films from the Documentaries From The Edge section of the festival, as this is one of my favourite sections.
My second pick is Lurker from director Alex Russell, who has previous writing credits on the television series The Bear, Dave and the mini series Beef. A retail worker, Mathew (Théodore Pellerin), who keeps to himself, befriends a rising pop star, Oliver (Archie Andrews), after he puts on one of Oliver's songs as he is visiting the shop. Oliver rewards Matthew with an invitation to his next show, where Matthew gets wrapped up with Oliver’s entourage, which is best described as aggressive hipsters and weirdly scornful hangers-on, a competitive inner circle to be in. While he blends in and is accepted into Oliver’s inner circle and world, Matthew’s internet cred continues to blow up, along with his sinister narcissism. When you get to that level, Matthew is determined by any means to keep up appearances. A parable about the darker side of social media addiction and celebrity status might be a step up from Trey Edward Shults’s Hurry Up Tomorrow when it comes to the writing for the film.
For my third film selection ,Hank et En Ville from director Feber E Coyote, which might pair well with Eddington, given it is a Western. When the small town factory is on strike, two western singers, Ghislain Vachon (Martin Jr Pelletier) and Suzanne (Geneviève Néron), with opposing dreams, form a duo act in the hopes of winning a radio competition. Things get complicated when Suzanne’s former brother-in-law, Jim Larochelle (Michael Kelly), returns in order to win her back. After Jim becomes the prime suspect of a murder at the factory, he takes Suzanne and flees to the United States. Convinced this is a kidnapping, Ghislain sets off in pursuit that will be backdropped by western music, passion and identity conflicts.
Finally has to be the remaster of John Woo’s Bullet to the Head. The story is set in Hong Kong in 1967 as three friends, Ben (Tony Leung), Frank (Jacky Cheung), and Paul (Waise Lee), are trying to figure out their future. On the night of Ben’s wedding to Jane (Fennie Yuen) the three friends kill a loan shark, leading a violent mob after them. They escape to Vietnam in the middle of a war and pull off odd jobs. When a risky CIA job is handed to them, it leads them deep into the jungle a war conflict between countries and ideologies, but also loyalties are tested. Hopefully, I get to this screening and get some homework in as John Woo will be getting The Director’s Influence episode later on this fall. From the back story, this was one of the first films to open the festival in 1996 and is cited as one of Woo’s favourites. Through the thematics of brotherhood, loyalty and honour, the film dives deep into an anti-war thematic reminiscent of The Deer Hunter without hesitating to show the dark side of war.
Fantasia has something for all audiences across the board, including K-Dramas, Action, Horror, Animation films for all ages; there is something for everyone. As always, Bon Cinema. Follow along my Fantasia journey on Letterboxed and for a personally selected list of this year’s films I don’t want to miss.
Danny: Greetings, movie fans. 2025 marks another year for the Fantasia Film Festival, and as I watched the trailers of the films which are available, there were four that stood out. As I mention each film, I will also provide a brief synopsis, mention why they stood out, and then conclude with what they all have in common.
1.Garo:Taiga. Country:Japan. Genre:Fantasy, Action. Directed by Keita Amemiya
This story focuses on Garo, who was trained in martial arts as a child, and is provided with magical armour in adulthood. Garo’s family believes that the spirit of their ancestor Taiga dwells within the armour. Garo is later led to put his martial arts skills and supernatural abilities to the test when a sinister being named Jado steals a sacred artifact containing spirits in order to unleash evil into the world. This movie appeals to me because there is an interesting battle between good and evil and a fascinating combination of martial arts and the supernatural.
2. Noise. Country:South Korea. Genre:Horror. Directed by Kim Soo-Jin
This story focuses on Joo-young, who moves into a new apartment with her sister Ju-hee. Despite the fact that Joo-young wears hearing aids, she starts hearing eerie noises in her home. After the disappearance of her sister, she later realizes that the eerie noises had a role to play in her sister’s absence. While Joo-young is overwhelmed by the noises and her sister’s disappearance, she also finds herself being stalked by a suspicious character. After watching the trailer, I feel that it looks like a very promising horror film. And Joo-young being able to hear those eerie noises despite her hearing disability is a good example of how there are things that occur in life that defy logic.
This story focuses on Dok-ja, who is an introverted individual who works a desk job. As he is travelling to work through the subway, a floating creature appears, explaining that they are shifting into a reality where everyone has to kill in order to survive. Afterwards, chaotic events of epic proportions occur. Howeve,r Dok-ja notices that everything that is taking place in this reality is in accordance to the book that he is currently reading. Therefore, he takes it upon himself to be the hero. This story interests me because I feel Dok-ja is a relatable character. A good example of how we like to envision ourselves as the herois through the books we read and the movies we watch.
This story focuses on Irene Kelly. A grief-stricken mother who travels through parallel dimensions and repeatedly kills her daughter’s murderer in order to eventually reunite with her daughter. Even though I would never exact revenge in real life, this movie appeals to me because I do enjoy a good revenge film. Every now and again, I also like to wrestle with the idea of whether or not parallel dimensions exist.
Movies that involve supernatural armour, a woman with a hearing disability who can hear evil, a man who becomes the hero of the book he’s reading, and a woman who travels to different dimensions all have one thing in common, which is simply the idea that anything is possible. In the world of Fantasia , anything is indeed possible, and I look forward to seeing you all there. Bon Cinema.
Remi is the host of At The Movies along with regular Co-Host Danny Aubery, every Tuesday morning from 9-10 AM only on CJLO 1690 AM. They cover local film festivals, have interviews with directors and actors, and talk about a new film or the classics. As well the iconic sounds of present and past film scores and soundtracks. Follow Remi on Letterboxd.
Fantasia Festival is Back For It's 29th Edition and CJLO's Got A Contest
North America's premiere genre film festival has returned to the downtown campus of Concordia University! From July 16 to August 3, the Fantasia International Film festival brings the most face-melting, eye-popping and awe-inspiring films to one of the most raucous filmgoing experiences around. CJLO's very own DJs are spinning music before each film in the Hall theatre, so make sure not to miss Andrew from Grade A Explosives, Angelica from BVST, Delia from The New Consonance, Donald from Eastern Promises, Jared from Ear2Ear, Jasn from Rigged Sessions and Zoe from Something for the Mood.
Ready to get your mind blown? CJLO is giving away tickets* to the Fantasia International Film Festival! For your chance to win, email contest@cjlo.com with the subject "Fantasia" or follow and DM us on Instagram and tell us the name of your favourite 2025 Fantasia DJ!
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