Guests are only confirmed to appear at the first screening of their films. They may appear at additional screenings but their presence is only guaranteed at the first screening.

The Bottled Fool
HOSTED BY WRITER / DIRECTOR HIROKI YAMAGUCHI
In 1997, Japanese filmmaker Hiroki Yamaguchi made his directorial debut with the award-winning MIDNIGHT VISCERA. He was only 19 at the time. His ambitious followup, THE BOTTLED FOOL, took Yamaguchi several years to complete. Yamaguchi made this ambitious film largely independent of the Japanese film industry.

The Calamari Wrestler
HOSTED BY DIRECTOR / CO-WRITER MINORU KAWASAKI
Japanese writer-director Minoru Kawasaki specializes in adapting manga into live-action films. ULTRAMAN TIGA is one such example. In the tradition of many noted B movie directors, he has mastered the use of minimalist special effects. He has directed various video and television productions, as well as features such as 1997’s MISS SPY.

Confrontation Act: Andy Kaufman’s Bizarre Journey Into Pro Wrestling
HOSTED BY FILMMAKER AND KAUFMAN ALUMNI LYNNE MARGULIES
I’m From Hollywood co-director Lynne Margulies was born and raised in Southern California. Along with her brother (and MY BREAKFAST WITH BLASSIE co-director), Johnny Legend, Margulies developed a fanatical appreciation for B movies at a young age. In the 1970s, she became an editor and producer of TV commercials. In the early 1980s, she volunteered to help Johnny Legend with MY BREAKFAST WITH BLASSIE and, while shooting, she met comedy legend Andy Kaufman and a romance ensued. This is dramatized in the 1999 film MAN ON THE MOON, in which Courtney Love plays Margulies.

Cutie Honey
HOSTED BY PRODUCERS KAWABATA TOMOO AND AMAGI MORIO AND ACTRESS AYAKO FUJITANI

Dead and Breakfast
HOSTED BY PRODUCER JUN TAN

DJ XL5’s Zappin’ Party Extravaganza
FEATURING SPECIAL GUEST DYLAN KEELING, DIRECTOR OF THE DANGER ZONE

Dracula’s Great Love, The Werewolf vs. The Vampire Woman, and Rojo Sangre
HOSTED BY HORROR LEGEND PAUL NASCHY
Often called the Spanish Lon Chaney Jr., Paul “Wolfman” Naschy is one of Spain’s pre-eminent horror stars and filmmakers. He has directed over ten films, written over thirty, and acted in almost one hundred. In spite of consistently tight budgets, Naschy has been involved with many extraordinary films, most notably his werewolf projects. Known for his extreme enthusiasm and dedication, Naschy once allowed himself to be bitten by real rats when the special effects budget for THE HUNCHBACK OF THE RUE MORGUE was insufficient. Naschy’s greatest source of inspiration has been the Universal monster films of 1930’s and 1940’s. At 70, Naschy still makes regular film appearances and he recently published his autobiography, Memoirs of a Wolfman.

Freak Out
HOSTED BY CO-WRITER / DIRECTOR CHRISTIAN JAMES, CO-WRITER / ACTOR DAN PALMER AND ACTOR YAZZ FETTO
For more on the team of young filmmakers behind this micro-budget masterpiece, check out the bios at the Freak Out official site: Christian James, Dan Palmer and Yazz Fetto.

Gate to Heaven
HOSTED BY ACTOR UDO KIER
Eclectic, one-of-a-kind actor Udo Kier, whose bizarre career has seen him collaborate with everyone from Paul Morrissey and Madonna to Michael Bay and Lars Von Trier (with whom he’s collaborated no less than five times – Kier is also the godfather of Von Trier’s child), will be in town to host Canadian premieres of two very unique films: ONE POINT O and GATE TO HEAVEN. In total, Kier has appeared in close to 150 films, balancing trashy exploitation films with high-brow, auteur-driven work from directors such as Werner Herzog, Gus Van Sant, Dario Argento and Rainer Werner Fassbinder. We are pleased to welcome this well-traveled renaissance man to Montreal for the very first time.

Ginger Snaps: The Beginning
HOSTED BY ACTRESS EMILY PERKINS, PRODUCER PAULA DEVONSHIRE, AND CINEMATOGRAPHER MICHAEL MARSHALL
Since the age of 10, Emily Perkins has worked regularly in television, appearing in various high profile TV movies such as the IN COLD BLOOD re-make and the mini-series adaptation of Stephen King’s IT. The original GINGER SNAPS was Perkins’ theatrical, feature film debut. She has since appeared in the major Hollywood productions INSOMNIA and PROZAC NATION, as well as the GINGER SNAPS sequel (GINGER SNAPS: UNLEASHED) and prequel (GINGER SNAPS BACK). In recent years, Perkins has also made regular appearances on the successful Canadian TV series DA VINCI’S INQUEST. GINGER SNAPS BACK producer Paula Devonshire began her career as an editor for several Canadian TV shows and TV movies. Since making her producing debut in 1998, she has produced several significant Canadian films including TREED MURRAY, the GINGER SNAPS: UNLEASHED, GINGER SNAPS BACK, and Vincenzo Natali’s NOTHING which is also playing in this year’s Fantasia festival.

The Good Cop
HOSTED BY SCREENWRITER / ACTOR KIM BODNIA
Danish superstar Kim Bodnia, unforgettable in such films as PUSHER, BLEEDER, OLD MEN IN NEW CARS, NIGHTWATCH, and IN CHINA THEY EAT DOGS, has effectively become the face of Danish Crime Cinema. Bodnia will be at the festival to host the North American premiere of his latest collaboration with OLD MEN… director Lasse Spang Olsen.

Hair High
HOSTED BY DIRECTOR BILL PLYMPTON
Beginning in the late 1960s, Oscar nominated animator Bill Plympton worked as an illustrator for The New York Times, Vanity, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone. In 1975, he began the political cartoon strip, Plympton. Throughout the 1980s, he made many animated shorts. In 1992, he made his feature debut with THE TUNE, a film he financed and drew himself, like most of his other films. Since then, Plympton has continued directing animated shorts and features, as well as live action films, including J. LYLE and the documentaries GUNS ON THE CLACKAMAS, WALT CURTIS: THE PECKERNECK POET, and MONDO PLYMPTON. Also known for his popular MTV promotional cartoons, Plympton’s previous feature was 2001’s MUTANT ALIENS.

The Hillside Strangler
HOSTED BY WRITER / DIRECTOR CHRIS FISHER
Pasadena-born filmmaker Chris Fisher worked as an attorney before entering the film industry. In the early 1990’s, he attended USC where he studied law and philosophy. After graduation, he worked as a corporate lawyer in England. Before long, he realized that his real passion was for filmmaking and he wrote/produced the 2002 film, TABOO. In the same year, he made his directorial debut with NIGHTSTALKER and acted as a producer on Jonas Akerlund’s SPUN. THE HILLSIDE STRANGLER is his second film.

I Pass For Human
HOSTED BY WRITER / DIRECTOR CHRIS D AND PRODUCER / EDITOR LYNNE MARGULIES
Chris D. makes his writing-directing debut with I PASS FOR HUMAN. In the past, he has appeared in films such as NO WAY OUT, BORDER RADIO, and another drug-oriented film, TWEEKED. Heavily inspired by American exploitation films of the 1970s, Chris D cast important icons from that period in I PASS FOR HUMAN, including Mary Woronov and director Jack Hill. An important figure in the L.A. punk scene of the early 1980s, Chris D. founded the horror-influenced band the Flesheaters, and was also a member of Stone by Stone and The Divine Horsemen. In addition, he is a curator for the American Cinematheque.

A Journey Into Bliss
HOSTED BY WRITER / CINEMATOGRAPHER / DIRECTOR / MAD GENIUS WENZEL STORCH!
In the 1980’s, Wenzel Storch wrote and recorded music, some of which was released by the German record label Pissing Cow Tapes. He also created cartoons and comic books under the influence of LSD and other hallucinogens. His low budget 1989 debut, THE GLAMOUR OF THESE DAYS, was acclaimed for its flamboyant, experimental filmmaking style. Unable to find distribution, Storch traveled the festival circuit where a mythology built up around him. His next film, SUMMER OF LOVE, was completed in 1992. JOURNEY INTO BLISS is his third feature film.

Mecanix
HOSTED BY PRODUCER PHILIPPE CHABOT AND DIRECTOR REMY M. LAROCHELLE

One Point O
HOSTED BY DIRECTORS JEFF RENFROE AND MARTEINN THORSSON AND ACTOR UDO KIER
Inspired by the works of George Orwell and the Wachowski brothers, ONE POINT O is the writing-directing debut of filmmaking team Jeff Renfroe and Marteinn Thorsson. Earlier this year, the film played to an enthusiastic reception at the Sundance Film Festival. Their next film is tentatively titled STRAY TOASTERS.

Prologue
HOSTED BY WRITER / DIRECTOR DOUGLAS BUCK
Douglas Buck worked as an electrical engineer until the late 1980s, at which point he realized filmmaking was his true calling. After years of screenwriting struggles, Buck made several medium-length films and traveled the festival circuit. In 1997, he won a short film award at Fantasia for his harrowing CUTTING MOMENTS, a work which has gone on to infamy at festivals across the world. He subsequently directed the acclaimed short HOME. For his feature debut, Buck is currently preparing a big budget re-make of Brian De Palma’s SISTERS, to be produced by Edward Pressman (PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, WALL STREET, THE CROW). PROLOGUE is his fourth film.

Riding the Bullet
HOSTED BY DIRECTOR MICK GARRIS
A frequent Stephen King collaborator, horror filmmaker Mick Garris has directed television adaptations of some of King’s most memorable novels, including THE SHINING and THE STAND. He began his career working with another famous Steven, Spielberg, directing episodes of the cult TV series AMAZING STORIES. He has also directed episodes of FREDDY’S NIGHTMARES and TALES FROM THE CRYPT. RIDING THE BULLET is his third theatrical feature after CRITTERS 2: THE MAIN COURSE and another Stephen King project, SLEEPWALKERS.

Ritual
HOSTED BY PRODUCER AMAGI MORIO AND ACTRESS AYAKO FUJITANI

Shallow Ground
HOSTED BY WRITER / DIRECTOR SHELDON WILSON, PRODUCERS WILLIAM MENDEL & MARTIN MATHIEU, COMPOSER STEVE LONDON AND MEMBERS OF THE CAST
Sheldon Wilson made his directorial debut in 2001 with the thriller NIGHT CLASS starring Sean Young and Ron Perlman. Earlier this year, SHALLOW GROUND won the audience award for best feature at the UK’s premiere horror film festival, Dead By Dawn. His key horror influences are THE EXORCIST, THE SHINING, and John Carpenter’s THE THING.