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"Golfing in the winter? The rich don't give a sh*t about the laws of nature." Brainsss!! Available to stream on Screambox now is this Quebecois zombie comedy titled Brain Freeze, which played on opening night at this year's Fantasia Film Festival up in Montreal. If you're in the mood for some zombies this Halloween season, this is an option! It looks better than expected. A fertilizer used in a rich gated community becomes the source of a mutation that turns residents into zombies. Can a teen & his baby sister break free from the quarantined island before turning into grass? Reviews from Fantasia say the film "thaws out zombie formula with smart commentary and humor." Meagan Navarro writes that it wields "its satire in an engaging way that keeps this zombie comedy moving along at a quick and entertaining pace." Starring Iani Bédard, Roy Dupuis, Marianne Fortier, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé, & Claudia Ferri.

Stars: Iani Bédard, Roy Dupuis, Marianne Fortier, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé, Claudia Ferri | Written and Directed by Julien Knafo

The affluent residents of Peacock Island want the ability to golf year-round. Their wish gets granted in the form of a new fertilizer that will grow grass even in the iciest conditions, but they soon realise all-year round golfing comes at a cost…the experimental fertilizer makes its way into the water supply, contaminating the population and leading to a spine-chilling zombie outbreak. Before his eyes, 13 year-old André sees the outbreak of a devastating epidemic that makes him an orphan. Horrified, he must fight for his survival and that of his one-year-old sister when he meets security guard Dan on a perilous journey to safety in the Golf Club chalet.

When people think zombie horror comedy these days they’ll undoubtedly think of the now-classic Brit rom-com Shaun of the Dead. But where...

Zomcoms have struggled more than most films as a result of lockdown. It’s not that they can’t work on the small screen – not all of them need to have a horde – but that they’re natural crowd pleasers, working best when a big group of people can get together to share the laughs. Opening the 2021 Fantasia International Film Festival, Brain Freeze was just the thing to welcome horror fans in from the cold to the warmth of a shared cinema experience – especially in Montreal. It subsequently screened at Frightfest.

Set on a small island off the coast of Quebec, this is a zombie story of the evil corporate polluter variety, with sinister experiments triggering a outbreak which must, of course, be contained at all costs. That’s bad news for André (Iani Bédard), who thought his day was going badly enough when he was left in charge...

Fantasia opener also sells in UK, German-speaking Europe, Latin America, South Korea.

Montreal-based WaZabi Films has kicked off its Cannes Marché with a raft of sales on Julien Knafo’s zom-com Brain Freeze, led by a US distribution deal with Cinedigm. The film opens the Fantasia International Film Festival next month.

Key territory sales have also been sealed for the UK (Blue Finch), German-speaking Europe (Lighthouse), Latin America (Encripta), and South Korea (Coup Corp).

Barbara Shrier of Palomar produced the film about an exclusive golf club that genetically modifies the grass so members can play golf all year. But when...

The Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to announce the first wave of programming for its upcoming 25th edition, set again to take place as a virtual event accessible to audiences across Canada. The festival will run from August 5 – 25, 2021 and will include scheduled screenings and premieres, panels, and workshops, with films once again hosted on the leading-edge platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72. As the summer approaches, Fantasia organizers will be following advice from local health authorities in Montreal with respect to the possibility of adding a limited range of physical events as well. In celebration of the key role that Japan’s culture has played across Fantasia’s history, the festival’s 25th edition will be featuring an enhanced focus on Japanese cinema.

Following the earlier news of the festival’s opening film, the world premiere of Julien Knafo’s Quebec-set zomcom Brain Freeze starring Roy Dupuis and Iani Bédard,...

One of my favorite festivals is back with a virtual event taking place this August! The Fantasia International Film Festival has announced its first wave of programming, which includes a diverse slate of features and a special focus on Japanese cinema:

Wednesday, May 19, 2021 // Montreal, Quebec -- The Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to announce the first wave of programming for its upcoming 25th edition, set again to take place as a virtual event accessible to audiences across Canada. The festival will run from August 5 - 25, 2021 and will include scheduled screenings and premieres, panels, and workshops, with films once again hosted on the leading-edge platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72. As the summer approaches, Fantasia organizers will be following advice from local health authorities in Montreal with respect to the possibility of adding a limited range of physical events as well. In celebration of the key role that Japan...

The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 25th edition as a virtual event accessible to audiences across Canada, with a

dynamic program of scheduled screenings and premieres, panels, and workshops running from August 5 through August 25, 2021, once again using the leading-edge platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72.

As the summer approaches, the festival will be following advice from local health authorities, with the possibility of also adding a range of flagship physical events to the lineup.

Last summer’s virtual edition was a phenomenal success, screening to 85000 spectators and amassing a record amount of media coverage, with 475 accredited journalists from around the world covering Fantasia and its titles. The lineup showcased 104 features, a quarter of which were World Premieres, with the majority securing distribution out of the festival, with highlights including “The Block Island Sound” selling to Netflix, “Come True” to IFC, “The Paper Tigers” to WellGo USA,...

Brain Freeze Photo: Fantasia International Film Festival

As it gears up for its 25th edition and its second to be held wholly or predominantly online, Montreal-based genre celebration Fantasia has announced its opening film. Julien Knafo’s Québécois zomcom Brain Freeze delivers biting social satire as it depicts an epidemic in which corporate greed puts the vulnerable at risk and the privileged get a shock when zombies break into a gated community. Shot in stages around lockdown, it stars Roy Dupuis, Iani Bédard and Marianne Fortier.

Fantasia 2021 poster Photo: Donald Caron

Like last year, the festival team plan to bring their Canadian audience a collection of online screenings ranging from horror and science fiction films to fantasy and animé. There will also be online premieres, panels, and workshops, informed by and expanding on the 2020 experience. If local authorities deem it safe, some physical screenings may be added to the line-up.

Taking place this August as a virtual event for viewers in Canada, the 25th annual Fantasia International Film Festival will open with the world premiere of the zombie comedy Brain Freeze:

Press Release: Thursday, April 8, 2021 // Montreal, Quebec -- The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 25th edition as a virtual event accessible to audiences across Canada, with a dynamic program of scheduled screenings and premieres, panels, and workshops running from August 5 through August 25, 2021, once again using the leading-edge platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72.

As the summer approaches, the festival will be following advice from local health authorities, with the possibility of also adding a range of flagship physical events to the lineup.

Last summer’s virtual edition was a phenomenal success, screening to 85000 spectators and amassing a record amount of media coverage, with 475 accredited journalists from around the world covering Fantasia and its titles. The lineup showcased 104 features,...

Canada’s Fantasia International Film Festival will return August 5 – August 25 in 2021, with a virtual event being planned again this year as pandemic challenges continue.

However, organizers said today they are continuing to follow advice from local health authorities with the possibility of adding a range of physical events to the lineup, which so far includes screenings and premieres, panels and workshops, all in a digital format.

The fest also announced today it will open with the world premiere of Québécois genre feature Brain Freeze, directed by Julien Knafo. The film was first pitched at Frontières, the genre co-production market run with Fantasia. It is a zombie comedy that tells the tale of an environmental disaster that leads to a fast-spreading virus ravaging a wealthy gated community off the island of Montreal. The film largely shot pre-lockdown and was able to get finished last summer. Following its Fantasia premiere, it will...

Fest heads to consult health authorities on possibility of “flagship physical events” in line-up.

The virtual 25th edition of Fantasia International Film Festival will run from August 5-25 and open with the world premiere of Quebecois “zom-com” Brain Freeze.

The festival will be accessible to audiences across Canada and feature a programme of screenings and premieres, panels, and workshops on a platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72.

The full line-up will be unveiled in several waves over the coming months.

Festival heads will take advice from health authorities as the summer approaches on whether they can incorporate “a range...

Film Option to distribute in Canada.

Montreal-based WaZabi Films has boarded worldwide rights excluding Canada on “zom-com” Brain Freeze and will launch sales at the virtual EFM next month.

Palomar produced the film written and directed by Julien Knafo about an exclusive golf club that hires a biotech company to deploy fertiliser that melts the snow so members can enjoy 18 holes all year round.

When the treatment contaminates the local water supply and turns most of the locals into zombies, teenage André is left to fend for himself and his baby sister Annie. Iani Bédard leads the cast.

Film Option...