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They’re here! Montreal’s ravenous cinema fans begin their annual midsummer genre feast this week, as the Fantasia International Film Festival opens its 29th edition on July 16 with Ari Aster’s paranoia-fuelled ripsnorter “Eddington.”

Over the next 18 days, Fantasia unspools a head-spinning global selection – 125 features, 200+ shorts – that showcases everywhere fantastic film is and everything it’s doing right now, and hosts Frontières – its vital four-day co-production market and networking event – which nurtures the next wave of talent and narrative ideas.

“Fantasia started as a pure fan-oriented event, and while it has embraced a broader role through the years – building a killer press office, becoming more industry facing with Frontières – it hasn’t lost an ounce of its original mandate and works hard to build direct connections between audiences and filmmakers,” XYZ head of international acquisitions Todd Brown told Variety.

“As a natural consequence, both buyers and sellers have learned...

Over the past few years, dance movies have been all the rage, coming from the U.S., England and even Canada, with Quebec's Sur le rythme starring Nico Archambault coming out last year. The most popular, though, is certainly Step Up, which launched Channing Tatum's now red-hot career back in 2006.

The fourth movie in the Step Up franchise, Step Up Revolution, directed by Scott Speer, hits theatres July 27, and follows leads Sean (Ryan Guzman), Emily (Kathryn McCormick) and their friends who stage flash mobs in an effort to show that dance has the power to change the world.

One of the flash mob dancers is played by Stephen "tWitch" Boss, who is known for dancing up a storm on TV's "So You Think You Can Dance."

We recently spoke with him in Montreal about what audiences can expect from the latest Step Up movie.

Director Charles-Olivier Michaud can say whatever he wants. The fact remains that like most Quebecker movie makers, Michaud is trying to make commercial films that are as fun as American films.

Although his film isn't revolutionary, it will please to its audience.

The very thin story follows Delphine Lamarre (Mylène St-Sauveur), a girl of twenty years old. She wants to be a professional dancer, but Delphine's parents (Marina Orsini and Paul Doucet) wants her to study medecine at the university. With the support of her grand-mother (France Castel), Delphine gives up her studies behind her parents' back.

In fact, a famous American choreographer drops by Montreal in search for dancers who are fit to be a part of a world tour. This is why Delphine wants to train hard. Besides, her partner is Marc Painchaud (Nico Archambault), an arrogant dancer who once was her best friend's boyfriend.

This film has...

The dance flick Sur le rythme, the soon-to-be brother in arms of the Canadian dance flick How She Move, will come out on August 12 in Quebec's theatres. Moreover, a full-length trailer has been released.

Delphine Lamarre (Mylène St-Sauveur) is twenty years old. She has to make a choice between living her dream as a profesional dancer or taking the path imposed by her parents, which means studying medecine. However, her encounter with Marc Painchaud (Nico Archambault) will give her hope. In fact, she'll take part in more and more auditions and she'll stand up before her parents.

Nico Archambault, the season 1 winner of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, will take part in the choreography of the dance scene.

This film was penned by Caroline Héroux (À vos marques, party!) and was entirely produced with private funds.

Moreover, Sur le rythme also stars Marina Orsini, Paul Doucet, France Castel,...

After How She Move, here comes another Canadian dance flick: Charles-Olivier Michaud's Sur le rythme. So far, only the teaser is available online.

Delphine Lamarre (Mylène St-Sauveur) is twenty years old. She has to make a choice between living her dream as a profesional dancer or taking the path imposed by her parents, which means studying medecine. However, her encounter with Marc Painchaud (Nico Archambault) will give her hope. In fact, she'll take part in more and more auditions and she'll stand up before her parents.

This film was penned by Caroline Héroux (À vos marques, party!) and was entirely produced with private funds.

Moreover, Sur le rythme also stars Marina Orsini, Paul Doucet, France Castel, Miles Faber and Lina Roessler.

Has there ever been a period more friendly towards dance-themed films than right now? Maybe for a brief period in the seventies or in the era of big musicals but what we're seeing now is something entirely different. And we've got two very different projects coming soon from Quebec.

Set in the disco clubs of 1976 Montreal, Daniel Roby's Funkytown is all glitz and glitter and sexual freedom. That is until things get dark and the guns come out. This is the dark, sultry side of things - a dance film for adults very clearly meant to be in the mold of Saturday Night Fever and it would appear that Roby and his cast have the chops to pull it off.

On the other side of the spectrum is Sur Le Rythme, a hip hop dance feature in the vein of the Step Up movies clearly aimed straight at the young teen audience.

Now that the production is over for Charles-Olivier Michaud's Sur le rythme, the film's first stills have been released on its Facebook page. Moreover, this Canadian dance flick will hit Quebec's theatres on April 17, 2010.

Delphine Lamarre (Mylène St-Sauveur) is twenty years old. She has to make a choice between living her dream as a profesional dancer or taking the path imposed by her parents, which means studying medecine. However, her encounter with Marc Painchaud (Nico Archambault) will give her hope. In fact, she'll take part in more and more auditions and she'll stand up before her parents.

This film was penned by Caroline Héroux (À vos marques, party!) and was entirely produced with private funds.

Moreover, Sur le rythme also stars Marina Orsini, France Castel, Miles Faber and Lina Roessler.