Horror Film 'Chilled' Wins Audience Award at Fantasia Festival

The Japanese horror film 'Chilled' (チルド) has won the Asian Film Audience Award (Gold Prize) at the 30th Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.

The award was presented in the festival's main Cheval Noir Competition section. The last Japanese film to win the top audience prize was 'Samurai Time Slip' in 2024.

Directed by Yusuke Iwasaki, 'Chilled' is an 88-minute "convenience store horror" set in a Tokyo convenience store. The film stars Shota Sometani, Erika Karata, Masahiko Nishimura, and Kuruma from the band Reiwa Roman.

Since its July 17 release in Japan, the film has sold over 38,000 tickets and grossed more than 60 million yen.

"The audience's passion and love for film was incredible," Iwasaki said in a statement. "Having this personal work accepted by them is very encouraging."

Fantasia programming director Nicolas Archambault stated the film was "worthy of this evaluation," praising its black humor, characters, and social commentary.

The Fantasia International Film Festival, founded in 1996, is North America's largest genre film festival.

'Chilled' has also been selected for the Berlin International Film Festival's Forum section, the Taipei Golden Horse Fantastic Film Festival, and the Jeonju International Film Festival.

The film is produced and distributed by the NOTHING NEW film label.

Source: PR Times via 株式会社NOTHING NEW