‘Bookworm’ Wins 2024 Fantasia Audience Award For Best International Film (Exclusive)

Bookworm starring Elijah Wood as a hapless father who helps his daughter track down a mythical beast has won the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival’s audience award for best international feature.

Ant Timpson’s New Zealand family film took its place on the honours roll while Cannes premiere The Count Of Monte-Cristo, which earned the festival’s Cheval Noir juried award for best film just over a week ago, earned the silver award.

Jun’ichi Yasuda’s fish-out-of-water comedy A Samurai In Time was named Best Asian Feature, while Michael Pierro’s drama-thriller Self Driver was named Best Canadian Feature.

Voïvod: We Are Connected, Felipe Belalcazar’s film about the celebrated Canadian metal band, won the inaugural Best Documentary Feature category.

Annecy premiere Ghost Cat Anzu from Yôko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita was named Best Animated Feature, and Bruno Mourral’s Kidnapping Inc. won Best Quebec Feature and premiered in Sundance at the start of the year.

Fantasia announced its audience award winners on Tuesday after tabulating what it said were thousands of votes. The festival reported record attendance but had not provided specific numbers at time of writing.

The 28th annual event in Montreal ran July 18 to August 4 and closed over the weekend with the world premiere of André Forcier’s period dramedy Ababouiné. The 2025 edition will return from July 17 to August 3.

2024 Fantasia audience award winners

Best International Feature
Gold: Bookworm
Silver: The Count Of Monte-Cristo
Bronze: RATS!

Best International Short
Gold: Faces
Silver: Streetlight
Bronze: Les yeux d’Olga

Best Asian Feature
Gold: A Samurai In Time
Silver: Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In
Bronze: Penalty Loop

Best Asian Short
Gold: Memory
Silver: Wanna Die Wanna Kill
Bronze: Night Fishing

Best Documentary Feature
Voïvod: We Are Connected

Best Animated Feature
Gold: Ghost Cat Anzu
Silver: The Missing
Bronze: Mononoke The Movie: Phantom In The Rain

Best Animated Short
Gold: Ruthless Blade
Silver: Lantern Blade, Episode Three
Bronze: Les Bêtes and Number 32. Giant Fish (tie)

Best Canadian Feature
Gold: Self Driver
Silver: Silent Planet 
Bronze: Scared Shitless

Best Canadian Short
Gold: The Shitty Ride
Silver: Dirty Bad Wrong
Bronze: Bath Bomb

Best Quebec Feature
Gold: Kidnapping Inc.
Silver: Jour de chasse
Bronze: Ababouiné

Best Quebec Short
Gold: The Image Seller
Silver: Mourir En Silence
Bronze: Réinsertion and Bring Back Guillaume (tie).

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