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On the morning of December 27th, 2023, the world woke up to the shocking news that top star actor Lee Sun-kyun, known the world over for his performance in the Academy Award-winning “Parasite” among many other great films”, was found dead in his car, reportedly from carbon monoxide poisoning. The much-loved actor, who was the subject of a police investigation for drugs related allegations at the time, had decided to take his own life at a time when he was quite possibly at the height of success in his career.

While it is not our aim to discuss the details surrounding the case or the role that the media and the police had to play in pushing the actor to the brink, we would like a lot of his fans celebrate the fantastic legacy of work that the actor, known for his unconventional good looks, inherent charm and a unique voice,...

One thing I love, that is apparent from this wave announcement, is that Fantastic Fest not only celebrates new genre cinema but relishes in repertory genre cinema! We have some awesome martial arts films and a 35mm screening of Evilspeak to coincide with Kier-La Jannise & Paul Corupe’s Satanic Panic: Pop-Cultural Paranoia in the 1980’s. We are also getting the new horror anthology from V/H/S alumni (Producer Roxanne Benjamin, director David Bruckner and directing team Radio Silence) with Southbound! Read on fiends, read on.

Fantastic Fest announces its final wave of highly anticipated features and epic events for the annual celebration of all things genre. With signature smackdown Fantastic Debates and Comedy Central’s The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, this year’s Fantastic Fest promises more thrills than ever before as it rages through Austin from September 24 – October 1st. Joining Fantastic Fest for the first time, Charlie Kaufman...

Austin, TX – Wednesday, September 9, 2015 – Fantastic Fest announces its final wave of highly anticipated features and epic events for the annual celebration of all things genre. With signature smackdown Fantastic Debates and Comedy Central’s The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, this year’s Fantastic Fest promises more thrills than ever before as it rages through Austin from September 24 – October 1st. Joining Fantastic Fest for the first time, Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson will be in attendance to share their wildly inventive world of stop motion animation Anomalisa, Cannes Grand Prix winner Son Of Saul is screening in glorious 35mm, the stunning adult fairytale from Gomorrah director Matteo Garrone Tale Of Tales will unfurl, Jerusalem Film Festival’s top prize winner Tikkun, and we welcome the World Premiere of the action-thriller Camino with Zoe Bell and Fantastic Fest veteran / mayor Nacho Vigalondo as a religious psychopath — a prospect that should fill...

The final wave of Fantastic Fest 2015 has finally been announced and it features a crop of festival darlings along with Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson’s highly anticipated stop-motion animation film Anomalisa. The Cannes Grand Prix winner Son of Saul joins the list as well as the new film from director Matteo Garrone, Tale of Tales. PopOptiq will be present once again this year so be sure to check out our coverage in the upcoming weeks. Check out the full list below.

****

Anomalisa

United States, 2015

Regional Premiere, 90 min

Directors – Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson

Charlie Kaufman’s newest story, a revolutionary and emotional stop-motion animation, follows an unhappy customer service guru looking for an escape from the monotony of his life.

The Assassin

Taiwan, 2015

Us Premiere, 104 min

Director – Hou Hsiao-hsien

After failing to dispatch a corrupt government official, an assassin is disciplined by her master with a mission to...

What do you get when you combine death by S&M adultery, atonement sex and South Korean lesbians? According to Variety, you get Kyu-dong Min’s film Kkotgwa sijak (or In My End is My Beginning).

The Korean film, originally written as the short film Five Senses of Eros, follows the story of Jeong-ha Lee, played by All for Love star Jeong-hwa Eom, whose husband Jae-in Min (Jeong-min Hwang0 is a dirty cheater. Min has been sleeping with his younger mistress, Na-ru Gang (Hyo-jin Kim) and frequently videotapes their S&M dalliances.

In My End is My Beginning depicts only one of the five chapters of Five Senses of Eros, which released theatrically in July 2009 and received some box office success. Eros is an anthology short with five separate chapters played by different characters.

The chapter Ending & Beginning serves as the main plotline for the new full-length film, which Film Asia describes as,...