Having survived my first film festival experience earlier this year in Brussels, I had come away with one singular truth resounding over and over in my head: I need to do more of these. Well, as fate would have it, my summer work obligations just happened to have a mid-July to mid-August hole in them. Guess what happens for three weeks up Montreal way? Yep, it’s the 16th annual Fantasia International Film Festival (which I will not be abbreviating to FIFF, so just stifle those hopes right now), a 22-day assault on the eyes, ears, brain and stamina of adventurous cinephiles everywhere, one of the largest and most significant horror, sci-fi, fantasy and wild-ass genre film festivals in the world. And I’m here, right in the thick of it. Be careful what you wish for, right?
