Variety

“Light of the Void” (Ashlea Wessel, © Crafthaus Ltd. 2023)

‘Bloody and Messy’: Fantasia’s Frontières Market Readies for Exploding Heads, New Zealand Monster Movie and Dark Pro-Birth Future

[as originally published on variety.com]

Intro:

At Frontières Market and Forum, it’s all about the exploding heads. 

“Big, bloody and messy explosions of heads. Old-school style explosions à la ‘Scanners’,” enthuses director Olivier Godin, who will bring neo-noir comedy “Anna Will Talk to Us” to its official selection, about a book that literally blows people’s minds.

The much-anticipated event, back for its 15th edition, is bound to satisfy the oddest of tastes, delivering the likes of “Animal Realm” – “Full on Wuxia. Total cyberpunk. Stop-motion animation in full action,” teases director Caochong Maing – or vampire story “Drawn” in which the bloodsuckers don’t actually drink blood…

Sophia Dunn-Walker on Variety

“Variations on a Theme”
U.S, Director: Peter Campbell
Producers: Moon and America LLC
Genre: Body Horror, Romance

Peter Collins Campbell (who co-wrote the script with Sophia Dunn-Walker) shows a graphic designer who, after her boyfriend texts her an urgent message, rushes home to find an identical copy of herself. Apparently, they are splitting into multiple versions, causing chaos and complex relationships to emerge. “Using the larger-than-life setup, what could be done as a small indie dramedy becomes a mind-bending, surreal deep dive into a fracturing relationship,” says the director, calling his film a “unique animal.” “It’s exploring the most intimate and personal things two people can share.” In early pre-production… READ MORE