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Nominated for seven awards at the 2019 Famas, “Ode to Nothing” is a rather unusual film that lingers between the black comedy and the drama and mostly focuses on the “relationship” between an embalmer and a cadaver.

“Ode to Nothing” is screening at Fantasia 2019

The embalmer mentioned is Sonya, a former maid who lives a life with no friends, desperately trying to keep her family-owned funeral home afloat, while living in a large house just with her rather strange father. Her financial situation is awful, and the presence of a constantly nagging usurer named Theodore, makes matters even harder. Sonya’s only solace is to hear the Chinese folk song “Mo Li Hua” over and over again.

Her luck, however, seems to change when a pair of strangers appears in the parlor with a bloodied corpse, and ask her to take care of it, no questions asked. Sonya reluctantly agrees, but...

Whether behind the camera or in front, this year’s Fantasia Film Festival boasts many female stories. Horror has evolved over the years, not only creating a genre that’s nonlinear, but has allowed women in its narratives to become something other than the final girl. No one film in our list of most anticipated female-centered films is like the other, and no female character is similar to the next. Here’s just a taste of what can be expected throughout the festival’s 22-day run:

Knives and Skin, USA dir. Jennifer Reeder

Described as pertaining elements reminiscent of David Lynch, high school dramedies, and Italian giallo, Knives and Skin takes place in the aftermath of a girl’s vanishing. The film explores the days that follow as Carolyn Harper’s friends and family attempt to cope with her disappearance, and these coping mechanisms develop into something unusual. It's a...