A world premiere for Paramount Pictures’ horror pic Smile from director Parker Finn is set to open Fantastic Fest.
Finn’s debut feature, which stars Sosie Bacon, portrays a doctor experiencing frightening occurrences after witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient and having to confront her troubling past to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.
Neon’s Triangle of Sadness, Ruben Ostlund’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner, will close Fantastic Fest, which is set to run in Austin, Texas from Sept. 22 to 29. Also headed to Fantastic Fest are Searchlight’s The Menu and The Banshees of Inisherin, directed by Martin McDonagh, A24’s murder mystery Medusa Deluxe, MGM’s Bones and All and Miramax’s Sick.
The genre fest’s programmers have also booked Shudder’s Blood Relatives, Epic Pictures’ Satantic Hispanics and Mubi’s Decision to Leave from Korean director Park Chan-wook.
Fantastic Fest is rolling out 21 world bows and 14 North American premieres at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin as the genre fest returns to an in-person format.
“It’s been far too long since we’ve all been able to gather together and celebrate film the Fantastic Fest way. We’ve really put our all into crafting an extraordinary week, from the exceptional programming that spans exciting discoveries to highly-anticipated features, to our signature events that will inject a much-needed dose of fun into 2022,” Fantastic Fest director Lisa Dreyer said in a statement.
The festival will also honor Park, the Snowpiercer and The Handmaiden director who helmed Decision to Leave and will be on hand in Austin for the honor.
