This year’s edition of Fantasia was their 20th, having missed only three or four, I was eager to attend this anniversary year. As usual since moving from Montreal to Southern California, I was only able to attend for a short period, so I made sure to enjoy it as much as possible, making it a point to see films with a crowd and going to the official festival pub while attending the same week as the market and a few friends. I also made a point to see as many movies as possible, seeing a grand total of 28 films for which the reviews can be found at the below this piece (before the list of winners).
Tag Archives: experimental
She’s Allergic to Cats (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]
Life is hard in Hollywood for a budding filmmaker who works as a dog groomer to make ends meet. As he struggles to survive and get his career going, Mike Pinkney daydreams and makes experimental videos and meets the girl of his dreams. As he tries to get his future to be good, he struggles through work, with his dreams, with his rat infested apartment, his landlord, and his possible relationship.
Atmo HorrorX (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival]
This review must start with a warning: Even though this reviewer watched this movie attentively, getting any of it was very, very difficult; if not nary impossible, so external information sources had to be sought, mainly from IMDB and the Fantasia program book. That being said, let’s start with its official summary on IMDB: “Through a surreal chase of spying, Catafuse, a dubiously dressed creature, hunts humans with the help of Molosstrap. But in a world ruled by the pharma industry, reality becomes so complex, that the mastering of insanity might just be the only way out.”
L’Élan (2015) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]
In a small French village arrives an elk (élan in French) that walks on two legs, wears a trench coat, and communicates telepathically. Everyone he meets seems to accept him as if his presence is completely normal, except for a UFO fanatic who wants to meet and analyze him.
Director Etienne Labroue of Les Guignols de l’Info co-wrote L’Élan with Marc Bruckert and they created a marvelous fable here of a being on a quest to belong, finding a family ready to take him in and protect him. The story here is touching, funny, and sometimes sad. Bruckert and Labroue show a lot of talent in this sweet script that reminds the viewers of early Jean-Pierre Jeunet crossed with Quentin Dupieux. As this is Etienne Labroue’s first film, it shows a lot of promise and directorial talent.
The characters built by Labroue and Bruckert are a little cartoon-y but here it works given the story and the settings. The cast hired to bring those characters to life go for it with gusto and an impeccable sense of timing. The whole cast does this so well, it’s difficult to pick a stand-out. Aurelia Petit, Délia Espinat-Dief, Olivier Broche, Cyprien Dugas, et al deserve major kudos for fearlessly bringing their parts to life and not being afraid of looking a bit silly on screen. It all works in the end and brings a village of kooks to life for our entertainment. The narration is done in a way similar to Amélie but with a bit of a nuttier story which is told in a childhood story manner.
The way the film settings are and the way its shot ring out the ludique side of the story. Everyone and everything is brought together in a way that creates a fairytale-like atmosphere. The design of the élan himself is cartoonish with a touch of giant stuffed animal to the head’s look. His whole being is a bit disproportionate from itself, giving him a sweet disposition and style even though he could easily have been a bad guy. L’Élan is designed in a way to remind the viewers of childhood toys and TV shows, while his attitude and mannerism are quite child-like. He brings an outward innocence and allows the viewer to connect on a different level with the story through nostalgia and comfort.
L’Èlan is an entertaining comedy with a lot to offer. It takes a crazy, absurd idea and goes with it fully, giving the viewers a childhood fairytale but grown-ups. It’s almost innocent but not quite. It brings back a warm feeling while also reminding everyone of their need to belong.
Fantasia International Film Festival ran from July 14th until August 3rd, 2016 and will be back in the summer of 2017.
Day of the People (2016)
It feels like there’s a little bit more gong on in “Day of the People” than a simple experimental short film. Based on the research I’ve done, director Philip Stainsby seems to have aimed for a short film reminiscent of “Night of the Comet,” but the visual cues seem to hint at something else entirely. “Day of the People” opens with a young man waking up at the very end of humanity and then begins traversing through the city and making his way through something of a business district where the sky is painted a dark shade of Red.
With only the discovery of a soda can, he walks through the streets looking for something, and finds it when he comes across a man walking around in a dark suit. Ultimately I interpreted “Day of the People” as something of a subtle commentary on the downfalls of a perfect Utopia and how some people are so committed to building a new world, they’re not likely to notice when something beyond their control is set to end their plans. Based on the small hints Stainsby adds, the people built this world and they also contributed to destroying it, thus making it a pretty open target for something else. Who knows?
Maybe I’m merely over thinking an experimental film, but Philip Stainsby’s short packs in a lot of nuance and complexity in only ten minutes time. The photography and direction are superb, with Stainsby committing to the dream like atmosphere and paints a grim look at what is the perfectly functioning society where all life isn’t quite present or even emotionally attached, for that matter. I gather “Day of the People” will leave many an audience debating about its meaning when it hits the festival circuit. Philip Stainsby’s short science fiction film is a remarkable short with unique and bold use of color and landscape. I hope to see more from him in the future.
ChicArt Short Films Round Up
Sometimes, a bunch of shorts fall in my lap and I gather them for review under a theme. Like the recent piece on the shorts by production company 2AM Burrito, this group came from one company, albeit a PR one: ChicArt.
The style of the shorts here is very different, so this is where the comparison ends. Without further ado, ChicArt repped shorts.
Lumette (2016)
Produced at The University of Hertfordshire, director Phoebe Warries’ “Lumette” is a brilliant and sweet animated short fantasy about the symbioses of nature and its relationship with the wildlife. Though Warries explains the movie is a fantasy, “Lumette” really illuminates how beautiful nature at its most raw can be.
Mixing computer animation and 2D animation, “Lumette” follows a lone wolf, as he struggles to move the moon across the land and on to the highest peak of a mountain. Along the way, the wolf is faced with all kinds of elements and obstacles, but is relentless in restoring the natural order.
Warries’ animated style is absolutely vibrant and mesmerizing, as she unfolds a grand landscape of nature, from woodland creatures, to fireflies buzzing around tall grass. “Lumette” is a very vibrant love letter to nature and the natural order of life, and Warries has potential to deliver a fine animated film down the line. “Lumette” is a beautiful concept realized in to a stellar and mesmerizing short film with a very poetic climax.