The 30th Fantasia International Film Festival is running from July 16 through August 2 in Montreal, Canada, bringing together a strong lineup of anime and Japanese film premieres alongside its annual awards.
Animation Awards
The Satoshi Kon Award for Best Animated Feature this year went to Blaise, directed by Jean-Paul Guigue and Dimitri Planchon. In the short film animation category, the honors were distributed as follows:
- Best Short Film – Gold: Jeem 1983 by Jorj Abou Mhaya
- Best Short Film – Silver: Fingerbang by Yeon-woo Kim
- Best Short Film – Bronze: The End of the World by Junar Kim
Notable Premieres
The festival is hosting a number of high-profile premieres this year, including:
- The North American premiere of the Sekiro: No Defeat anime, screening in the Animation Plus Section
- The international premiere of the live-action WIND BREAKER film
- The international premiere of the documentary The Origin of Ultraman
- The world premiere of Grotesqqque, a three-part anime collection from CloverWorks
- The world premiere of two episodes from Strange: Junji Ito’s Tales for Sleepless Nights (Strange -Itō Junji no Yoru mo Nemurenu Kimyō na Hanashi-)
- The North American premiere of A New Dawn (Hana Rokushō ga Akeru Hi ni), co-produced by ASMIK Ace and French studio Miyu Productions
- The Canadian premiere of cocoon – One Summer of Girlhood (cocoon Aru Natsu no Shōjo-tachi Yori), the anime adaptation of Machiko Kyō’s Cocoon manga
- World premieres of several anime short films
Cherry and Virgin Set for 2027
Cherry and Virgin, first announced in 2021 and originally slated for a 2022 release, is now confirmed to open in 2027.

