SADAKO DX leads 10 films we can’t wait to see at Fantasia 2022

“The curse has mutated, spreading at great speed via the internet, and there are only a few hours left for skeptical TV personality Ayaka to solve the puzzle.
 
Returning to the world of RINGU, which kicked off the Asian horror renaissance of the ’90s, director Hisashi Kimura’s SADAKO DX isn’t afraid to laugh a little at the quirks of the franchise it emerges from while still bringing the horror that hardcore fans crave.
 
From the meta jump scares to the bizarre new appearance of our favorite wraith, SADAKO DX delivers shrieks and chuckles alike. World Premiere.”

“Vying for ANIME SUPREMACY! is no small feat. The anime industry of Japan is enormous, with 200 new TV shows and two trillion yen in revenue each year. Soft-spoken yet strong-willed anime director Hitomi Saito (Riho Yoshioka) has climbed the ranks, and is now set to direct a series of her own.
 
Meanwhile, the difficult but undeniably brilliant director Chiharu Oji (Tomoya Nakamura) is gunning for his big comeback… and there can be only one number-one!
 
This heartfelt, hilarious and thoroughly researched comedy-drama shows the struggle of making it to the top without compromising on vision, from director and CG animator Kohei Yoshino. North American Premiere.”

“Hirako Waka’s powerful web manga finally arrives on the big screen. With MY BROKEN MARIKO, director Yuki Tanada (MOURNING RECIPE) merges past and present to perfection in a faithful, visually rich live-action adaptation.
 
Mei Nagano (OFFICE ROYALE) delivers a visceral performance, showing incredible versatility in portraying the many facets of Tomoyo, who is driven to a revelatory pilgrimage by the suicide of her childhood best friend.
 
Emotionally challenging but never despairing, the film sketches adorable characters in all their humanity and gentle eccentricity. World Premiere.”

“After opening this year’s Cannes, FINAL CUT (Coupez!), Michel Hazanavicius’s riotous remake of Shinichirou Ueda’s ONE CUT OF THE DEAD, is coming to North America.
 
Starring Romain Duris, Bérénice Bejo, Grégory Gadebois, Finnegan Oldfield, Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, and Yoshiko Takehara reprising her beloved role from the original film as a producer, this hilarious ode to the do-or-die spirit of filmmaking is a joy to behold.
 
It is especially noteworthy for the film’s North American journey to be starting at Fantasia, as the festival was among the first to popularize the original Audience Award-winning ONE CUT OF THE DEAD in the West.
 
Poetically, Ueda’s latest, POPRAN, will also be having its North American Premiere at the festival this year. Bet your viewfinder that FINAL CUT is going to bring the house down in cheers. North American Premiere.”

“After the heartbreaking death of her husband, struggling single mother Manami must get back in the ring to keep custody of her beloved daughter when her mother-in-law disputes her child support rights in court.
 
The visceral struggle for motherhood in Halle Berry’s BRUISED meets the ROCKY saga’s exhilarating fight sequences in this engaging boxing drama directed by Toshiro Saiga (KANON).
 
Aya Asahina trained hard to deliver a superb physical and emotional performance, which pays off as she shines in and out of the ring. World Premiere.”

“Following its enormously successful release in Japan, Fantasia unleashes the highly anticipated SHIN ULTRAMAN. Directed by Shinji Higuchi, famed for the special-effects work on 1990s GAMERA revival and for directing the live-action ATTACK ON TITAN films; and scripted by Hideaki Anno, the genius behind the hit anime NEON GENESIS EVANGELION.
 
SHIN ULTRAMAN reunites the pair, who co-directed 2016’s astounding SHIN GODZILLA, to reimagine another essential icon of tokusatsu, Japan’s science-fiction TV and cinema.
 
Debuted in 1966, Tsuburaya Productions’ giant, shiny superhero from space—and the wild array of alien monsters he confronts—have embedded themselves in the nation’s popular culture for generations.
 
With auteur flair, unprecedented visual impact, and genuine affection for the Ultraman franchise, Anno and Higuchi now renew, as only they could, the action-packed cosmic saga of Ultraman, his alter ego Shinji Kaminaga, and his colleagues in the science police force battling endless extraterrestrial threats.
 
North American Premiere.”

“Depressed and in debt, Santoshi (Jiro Sato, FABLE) has found a way out: he vows to capture the infamous serial killer “No Name” (Hiroya Shimizu, TOKYO REVENGERS).
 
When he goes missing, his daughter Kaeda (Aoi Ito) fears the worst and starts looking for him. The Japanese-South Korean co-production MISSING subverts the expectations of a simple serial killer story.
 
Director Shinzo Katayama, noted former assistant-director to Bong Joon-ho, stays true to his roots and thrusts his audience into a pitch blackthriller that shares Bong’s propensity for twists, stylistic excess and tonal malleability.
 
North American Premiere.”

“Outstanding filmmaker Satoshi Miki (ADRIFT IN TOKYO) brings us his latest otherworldly adventure. Kato (Ryo Narita, JUST REMEMBERING) is a struggling screenwriter who, one day when stepping out to buy dog food, stumbles into a mysterious convenience store where he discovers he can find anything his heart desires.
 
Satoshi Miki’s CONVENIENCE STORY, which was pitched at the Frontières Co-Production Market, comes full circle with its World Premiere and marks Japan Times film critic Mark Schilling’s debut as a screenwriter.”

“Jang is an ace driver of unmatched sangfroid, but when she finds a kid in the backseat of her car with the key to a corrupt cop’s illicit stash in his pocket, she is swarmed by a gang of murderous henchmen.
 
Getting the kid (and herself) out of this mess alive will mean pushing her vehicular skills to the absolute limit… and beyond! SPECIAL DELIVERY riffs on DRIVE and BABY DRIVER but takes the automotive action, the hand-to-hand combat, and the emotional stakes to new heights.
 
Having helmed the period pieces PRIVATE EYE and SEONDAL: THE MAN WHO SELLS THE RIVER, director Park Dae-min is no stranger to comedy-infused crime thrillers, and shifts gears to the modern era with ease.
 
The entirely enjoyable cast is led by Park So-dam (PARASITE) in the driver’s seat.
 
North American Premiere.”