A look at life inside a cult: ‘The Leader’ premieres at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival

['Geneviève Sylvestre', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright'] CityNews Montreal 2026-07-30 00:00:00

That is one of the questions director Michael Gallagher sought to answer with his film The Leader, which held its Canadian premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal on Thursday. Michael Gallagher (left), writer and director of The Leader, and Vera Farmiga, who stars in The Leader, attend the film’s premiere during the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal on Thursday, July 30, 2026. (Courtesy: Fantasia International Film Festival)Los Angeles filmmaker Haneol Lee, whose short film KPOP Smoothie is premiering at Fantasia on Saturday, was among them, attending the screening mere hours after he landed in Montreal. (Courtesy: Fantasia International Film Festival)For Gallagher, he hopes one message sticks with audiences watching the film. The Fantasia film festival runs at Concordia University and Cinéma du Musée until Aug. 2.