Fantasia Freestyle

Fantasia offers a kaleidoscope of short films from around the world and here at home that reflect many of the themes and genres the festival is so beloved for — and it won’t cost you a penny to check it out! This free screening is also an opportunity for us to share two films that, for legal reasons, we can’t charge you for — and what great films they are!

The hilariously absurd romp BIRD HOSTAGE, directed by and starring Lauren Andrews (DISGRACELAND), follows her as she takes a job pet-sitting Reggie (Jay Baruchel, BLACKBERRY), an African grey parrot who longs for freedom and has a mouth like a sailor! Striking up a friendship, Lauren and Reggie hatch a plan for his escape. In BABY FORCE, by Japan’s Yuki Kubo, ultra-kawaii action playmates Piyomaru, Sweet, and Rainbow Yah activate their battle mecha romper suits and assume fun-time fight formation! Brazilian filmmaker Chris Tex and a handful of dedicated friends have created WIND PRINCESS, a fan film faithfully recreating a passage from Hayao Miyazaki’s NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND in live action. A non-profit labour of love, and loving homage, seven years in the making, shared with the world (starting with Fantasia’s audience!) for free.

Humble tailor Ebraam inherits the task of dispensing good fortune and bad luck, for which he must always consult his cat, in WHERE IT BEGINS from Iran’s Mohsen Asdaghpour and Amirhossein Talebi. With swatches of Iranian neo-realism, fantastical fable, and philosophical comedy, the two filmmakers have sewn together a perfectly charming tale. G-Man and his arch-nemesis, the evil G-Head, have been enemies for ages, in Liu Yuchen’s G-MAN: A QIXIA IN SPACE, a wild, hilarious satirical rarity from Capsules, the indie animation showcase series on China’s video platform Bilibili – a miniature masterpiece that can only be witnessed in a non-commercial context. As a symbol of their undying love, Yoon-il offers Hana his severed left ear, in Monica An’s DEPOSIT. Morbid and sardonic (and thus so very South Korean), it’s a romantic comedy that will make you wince and flinch while you giggle. – Rupert Bottenberg