Six Projects Win Awards at Fantasia's Frontières Market
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- "Grandmonster" — Norwegian director Vegard Dahle's zombie comedy about an American dropout accidentally triggering a zombie outbreak at a Norwegian nursing home — won the top Outpost Award (CAD$15,000 / US$10,637 in post-production services) at the market's July 25 closing cocktail.
- "Grandmonster" was presented with deadpan, self-deprecating humor by Dahle and producer Jon Vatne, who wore matching sweaters at the July 22 pitching event, receiving a 'boisterous, laugh-inducing response' from the packed Frontières audience.
- "Cher" — Thailand's first-ever Frontières project, a supernatural folk horror about a vengeance-seeking forest spirit near a remote mining camp — won the PurpleDOG Award for Official Selection (CAD$10,000 / US$7,091 in post-production).
- "Eternal Valley" — UK director Jasmine De Silva's dark comedy body horror, expanding her 2025 Fantasia proof-of-concept short "Beauty Sleep" — won the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival Award, earning an invitation to pitch at Sitges in October.
- "Wifey" by Canadian director Cassidy Civiero, a horror thriller about an artist transitioning female-to-male forced into a non-consensual marriage where traditional gender norms become a violent weapon — won the PurpleDOG GEMS Award (CAD$10,000 / US$7,091).
- "Reset" (U.S. directors Celine Tien and Jerry Hsu's sci-fi drama about elderly people reset into children) and "Sea Spirits" (director Edson Jean's Haiti-set gothic folk horror) — each received Outpost Special Mention Awards worth CAD$5,000 (US$3,545).
- Frontières drew 300 delegates from 24 countries and featured 20 titles in official selection across Genre Lab, Shorts to Features, and Music strands, with executive director Annick Mahnert calling participant feedback 'overwhelmingly positive.'
Why it matters: Six genre projects from five countries won prizes worth up to CAD$15,000 in post-production services plus a Sitges pitch invitation, giving each winner concrete next steps toward financing and international distribution. The market's growing scale — 300 delegates from 24 countries — signals the genre-film industry's appetite for cross-border co-productions.
