We’re now entering the third week of the 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival, and today, the Canada-based organization has announced the 27th edition award winners. The films were selected by a jury and were revealed during a live ceremony on July 29, 2023. Les Chambres Rouges was a big winner and received the Cheval Noir Award for Best Feature. Other notable winners include anime titles such as Sand Land and The First Slam Dunk.

Check out the full list of award winners for Fantasia’s 27th edition below including the jury’s thoughts on select titles:

Cheval Noir Competition – Feature Films

The jury, presided over by David Hewlett (actor, director, screenwriter), and comprised of Brenda Lieberman (producer, Calgary Underground festival director), Jourdain Searles (writer, critic, programmer, comedian), Virginie Sélavy (writer, film scholar), and Gary Sherman (director, screenwriter, producer) awarded the following prizes:

Best Feature: RED ROOMS AKA LES CHAMBRES ROUGES (Québec, d. Pascal Plante)

In a statement, the jury commented, “The ultimate effect a film can achieve is to implant a significant and lasting emotional memory. The jury was unanimously convinced that Les chambres rouges masterfully accomplished that goal.”

Best Director: Sam H. Freeman & Ng Choon Ping (FEMME, United Kingdom)

Best Screenplay: Pascal Plante (LES CHAMBRES ROUGES, Québec, d. Pascal Plante)

Best Score (The Sandro Forte Award): Dominique Plante (LES CHAMBRES ROUGES, Québec, d. Pascal Plante)

Best Cinematography: Zelda Adams & John Adams (WHERE THE DEVIL ROAMS, United States, d. Zelda Adams, John Adams and Toby Poser)

Outstanding Performance: Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (FEMME, United Kingdom, d. Sam H. Freeman & Ng Choon Ping)

Outstanding Performance Award: Juliette Gariépy (LES CHAMBRES ROUGES, Québec, d. Pascal Plante)

Special Mention: VINCENT DOIT MOURIR (France, d. Stéphan Castang)

In a statement, the jury said, “strikingly original take on the zombie genre and for the way it potently resonates with the climate of simmering violence and social disintegration of our times.”

New Flesh Competition for Best First Feature – Debut Films

The New Flesh Jury, presided over by Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead (directors, screenwriters, actors, co-founders of Rustic Films), and comprised of Sarah Bolger (actor), David Lawson Jr. (producer, co-founder of Rustic Films) Sara Neidorf (musician, director and co-found of Final Girls Berlin Film Festival), and Angie Power (publicist) awarded the following prizes:

Best First Feature: STAY ONLINE (Ukraine, d. Yeva Strelnikova)

The jury called the film “a brilliant display of courage and raw talent that showcases how you can fight violence with art”

Special Jury Mention: TIGER STRIPES (Malaysia,Taiwan, France, Germany, d. Amanda Nell Eu)

Special Jury Mention: THE ABANDONED (Taiwan, d. Tseng Ying-Ting)

International Short Film Competition

The Short Film Jury, presided over by Laura Moss (director, screenwriter), and comprised of Maya Korn (producer), Justine T. McLellan (writer, professor, podcast producer), Nick Romano (creative executive) and Jerome Sable (director, screenwriter, composer) awarded the following prizes:

Best Short Film: BOLD EAGLE (Philippines, dir. Whammy Alcazaren)

The jury praised the film calling it, “the rare species of short film that seizes you, the viewer, like its prey.”

Best Director: Jacob Chase (MR. BLUR, USA)

Best Screenplay: David Winstone (THE NORBELTO METHOD, UK, dir. David Winstone)

Outstanding Performance: Silvana Mihai (THE TASTER, Germany, dir. Sophia Bierend)

Outstanding Performance: Lim Hyojin (SHOULDER, South Korea, dir. Kim Jaehyung)

Special Mention: SWEET JUICES (Australia, dir. Im Sejon, Will Suen)

Best Score: Matthias Dewilde (POPPY’S SATURN, Belgium, dir. Nicole Tegelaar)

Best Cinematography: Julien Ramirez Hernan (TRANSLYVANIE, France, dir. Rodrigue Huart)

Axis: Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation

The Axis Jury, presided over by Nadim Zaidi (digital matte painter) and comprised of Arizona O’Neill (illustrator, filmmaker) and Aki Takabatake (founder and CEO of Momo Films inc.) awarded the following prizes:

Best Feature Film: THE FIRST SLAM DUNK (Japan, d. Takehiko Inoue)

In a statement, the jury stated they called the film, “A gem of a film through and through that enriches an already existing franchise, while at the same time remaining open to viewers who never have never seen or read any of the previous, existing material.”

Special Jury Mention: SAND LAND (Japan, d. Toshihisa Yokoshima)

Best Short Film – Gold: A KIND OF TESTAMENT (France, d. Stephen Vuillemin)

The jury called the film, “breathtaking and haunting.”

Best Short Film – Silver: ARCHITECT A (South Korea, d. Lee Jonghoon)

Best Short Film – Bronze: RECORD. PLAY. STOP. (India, d. Neeraj Bhattacharjee)

AQCC-Camera Lucida

The AQCC-Camera Lucida Jury, comprised of Marc-Antoine Lévesque (Co-founder of the Laboratoire de contenus La Marquise, director of programming for Association Cinémaniak), Mathieu Li-Goyette (critic/editor-in-chief of Panorama-cinéma) and Guillaume Potvin (Critic/programmer) awarded the AQCC-Camera Lucida Award to IRLANDE CAHIER BLEU (Québec, dir. Olivier Godin), they selected the title, which they praised for the “artisanal and independent creative spirit that emerges from it.”

Special Jury Mention: HOME INVASION (United Kingdom, dir. Graeme Arnfield)

About Fantasia

Tickets are available for the 27th edition of The Fantasia International Film Festival at Concordia University’s box office (1455 Maisonneuve Boulevard West) and on the Ticketpro network.

The festival is held at four different venues: the Hall Cinema, the J.A. DeSeve Cinema with select screenings at the Cinema du Musée, and Cinémathèque québécoise.

The festival ends on August 9, 2023 with the Audience Award announcement as the closer.