Regularly held in July/August, by 2016 its annual audience had already surpassed 100,000 viewers and outgrown even the Montreal World Film Festival.

By virtue of the reputation developed over the last two decades, Fantasia has been called the "most outstanding and largest genre film festival in North America".

Since 2012, the festival has also held the Frontières cinema market that allows promising projects to find potential producers and distributors.

[2] Fantasia flagship section is named Cheval Noir, the winners are awarded with the festival's mascot statuette, a mighty black pegasus.

[3] Apart from Cheval Noir, the festival includes New Flesh, Séquences, Camera Lucida, Satoshi Kon prize, and several other sections, while in the wrap of the event the audience.

Every year, the program offers master-classes and special screenings, as well as world and American premieres, press-conferences and meetings with actors and directors.

According to Davis, Fantasia's mission is to open niche, genre, noncommercial movies from independent auteurs to the audience, and give them deserved attention.

[6] Guillermo del Toro calls Fantasia a shrine to all geeks and a feast for those who love things completely unlovable to the most.

[17][18] In 2016, Frontières announced joint program with the Cannes's Marché du Film: together they are to select and present promising projects to potential partners.

[18][19][20][21] In its more than two decades of history, Fantasia has made a significant contribution to Canadian film culture, built its audience and helped arthouse cinema emerge from the underground.

[24] Fant-Asia 1996 was launched by "three Hong Kong new wave fanboys" Martin Sauvageau, André Dubois and Pierre Corbeil, who felt a growing local interest in Asian films and the desire to watch them on the big screen.

The lineup included Perfect Blue, Drunken Master II, Stagefright, El Dia de la Bestia, Henry, Tromeo and Juliet, Cutting Moments and others.

[30] Fantasia 2003 was held for the first time on the Concordia University campus,[30] using the de Sève Cinema and Henry F. Hall Alumni Auditorium.

Outdoor projections included films from the previous editions: Kamikaze Girls, the last four episodes of Goldorak, Night of the Living Dorks and Attack the Gas Station.

The Genetic Opera, Midnight Meat Train, Eric Shapiro's Rule of Three, Truffe, Treevenge, The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow, Electric Fence, Paradox Mary, Laura Panic, and Don't Worry.

Among Canadian premieres were Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Last Exorcism, The Violent Kind, Van Von Hunter, Black Lightning.

[38] The lineup included A Serbian Film, Air Doll, Best Worst Movie, The House of the Devil, Smash Cut, and many more.

The lineup featured Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1, Raze, Bad Milo!, Willow Creek (film),[51][52] After School Midnighters, I'll Give It My All...

[54] Big Bad Wolves took the main prize as the best feature film, Hou Chi-jan became the best director for his movie When a Wolf Falls in Love with a Sheep.

[55] Andrzej Żuławski received the achievement award, while at the New Flesh section Evan Louis Katz won with his debut Cheap Thrills.

[57] Premieres included Unfriended by Levan Gabriadze, The Midnight Swim by Sarah Adina Smith, The Creeping Garden.

That year the festival had 209 screenings and 19 world premieres, including King Dave by Daniel Grou, Goran by Nevio Marasović, Realive by Mateo Gil, Some Freaks, etc.

[15][60] Yeon Sang-ho's Train to Busan won as the best feature film, Kiyoshi Kurosawa became the best director (for Creepy).

Fantasia-2017 went from July 13 to August 2 with a lineup of more than 150 feature films and 300 shorts,[23][62] from Luc Besson's $200 mln Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets to Nabwana I.G.G.

[67] Violetta Schurawlow won the Best Actress for her role in Cold Hell, Nattawut Poonpiriya became the Best Director for his Bad Genius.

The list of premieres included The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot, Mandy, Kenji Tanigaki Big Brother, LaPlace's Witch, Black Tide.

[2] That year's poster was created by Donald Caron and depicted new favourites of the audience – a luchador pug and enormous flying cat.

[73] The lineup of more than 100 feature films and numerous shorts[74] included Ready or Not, Sadako, The Lodge, Vivarium, Killerman, Master Z: Ip Man Legacy, Satanic Panic, and many more.

Among more than 100 feature films, selected for the festival, were Neil Marshall's The Reckoning, Shinichiro Ueda's Special Actors, Nobuhiko Obayashi's Labyrinth of Cinema, Brea Grant's 12 Hour Shift,[80][81] Shakespeare's Shitstorm, A Costume for Nicholas, and many more.

The highlight of the festival was honouring John Woo, the Hong Kong-based filmmaker, with the Career Achievement Award.