Fantastic Fest 2017 Late Additions Include Joseph Kahn’s Battle Rap Flick ‘Bodied‘ 

Following last week’s final wave announcement, Fantastic Fest has a handful of late additions for this year’s genre film festival. Joining what is already a pretty exciting lineup for 2017 are seven more titles, including new features, shorts and two television series. The most notable of those titles is Bodied, the new rap battle flick from Joseph Kahn (Detention), which recently had a divisive world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival — where it instantly became a must-see.

Fantastic Fest 2017’s first wave of films was really strong; so strong that I worried the subsequent announcement couldn’t possibly be as good. But when the fest unveiled its second — and final — wave last week, those worries proved to be ridiculous. This year’s lineup might be the best yet, featuring fest favorites like The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, as well as a handful of upcoming Netflix Original films (including two Stephen King adaptations) and the usual array of intriguing genre (and genre-bending) films from around the world.

The Alamo Drafthouse’s annual festival dropped a surprise announcement today, revealing a handful of late additions to the lineup. Here’s a full breakdown of the films and shorts joining Bodied at this year’s fest:

1%
Australia, 2017
US Premiere, 92 min
Director - Stephen McCallum
When Knuck gets out of prison and returns to his motorcycle club on the fringes of Australian society, he finds himself in deadly conflict with his surrogate son Paddo. Only one of them can survive the coming battle.

 

ALL YOU CAN EAT BUDDHA
Canada, 2017
World Premiere, 84 min
Director - Ian Lagarde
In this hypnotic tale, the arrival of a large, enigmatic guest at a picturesque all-inclusive resort signals a series of events that indicate he is able to perform miracles.

 

BLACK SPOT (ZONE BLANCHE)
France, 2017
US Premiere, 156 min
Directors - Thierry Poiraud & Julien Despaux
Creator - Mathieu Missoffe
An ambitious prosecutor arrives in a secluded town to address a number of violent crimes, only to find himself caught in the town’s dark web of mysteries.

 

BODIED
USA, 2017
US Premiere, 121 min
Director - Joseph Kahn
Adam is a grad student with an obsessive but academic interest in the world of battle rap. When a chance encounter brings him into that world he discovers a savage side to himself he never knew existed.

 

PIN CUSHION
United Kingdom, 2017
North American Premiere, 85 min
Director - Deborah Haywood
In this wholly unique blend of gothic fairytale and heart-wrenchingly real emotion from first-time feature director Deborah Haywood, Iona and her mother arrive in a new town hoping for a better life, but find themselves targeted by bullies.

 

SEE YOU UP THERE
France, 2017
North American Premiere, 114 min
Director - Albert Dupontel
A man sits in a Moroccan police station, accused of multiple crimes. He tells the story of a journey that starts in 1918, in the trenches days before Armistice, and takes two fascinating characters all the way through the war to Paris and beyond.

 

TABULA RASA
Belgium, 2017
US Premiere of Episodes. 1 and 2; World Premiere of Episode 3; 150 min
Directors - Jonas Govaerts & Kaat Beels
Series created by Malin-Sarah Gozin
The first three episodes of a gripping Belgian psychological TV thriller about a young female amnesiac who’s the key subject in a man’s disappearance.

 

WIZARD
South Africa, 2017
World Premiere, 79 min
Director - Kagiso Lediga
Young Lefa proves not to be such a terribly convincing criminal as he, and his best friend Papi, attempt to fund his university tuition by peddling weed in the South African townships.

 

Shorts

TWO SENTENCE HORROR STORIES: SINGULARITY
USA, 2017
World Premiere, 16 min
Director - Vera Miao
After a transgender biohacker implants revolutionary technology into her own body, she is terrified to discover she can tap more than just the internet.

 

TWO SENTENCE HORROR STORIES: SNAP
USA, 2017
World Premiere, 15 min
Director - Danny Perez
A notoriously cruel celebrity blogger dismisses a mysterious foe as harmless… until he wakes up to a video of himself sleeping on his own phone.

Fantastic Fest begins on September 21 in Austin, Texas. The Alamo Drafthouse will screen select titles from this year’s festival at locations in Brooklyn, San Francisco and Denver.