[Fantasia ’23] Shorts showcase female filmmakers and creativity

There have been a number of great feature films to screen at the Fantasia Film Festival. The fest has also been home to some great short films. This year is no different as there are a number of short film blocks that highlight some unique and impactful stories. Born of Woman showcases women filmmakers while Small Gauge Traumas contains contains some hard hitting horror. Below are some of our favorites from Fantasia.

Get Away

Get Away caters to long time horror fans. A group of friends go vacationing to a remote desert home. There is no internet or cell phone connection, but they do find a VHS tape. When they begin to watch the cheesy horror movie on the tape, they find a frightening amount of coincidences.

Writers Michael Gabriele (who also directed) and Anthony Jefferson have fashioned a tight short filled with genre tropes. This is not to say that Get Away is overly familiar, however. There are some creative twists and great camerawork. It is an exciting watch that will keep audiences wondering what is going to happen next.

Said of a Deer That Sheds Its Antlers (Se Dit D’un Cerf Qui Quitte Son Bois)

This short from Belgium starts with a bang and never lets up. There is a little bit of confusion at first. Everything that is happening is deadly serious, but it is also funny. It quicky becomes clear that it is all a part of a strange annual tradition in a small rural town. The premise is a familiar one, but it never feels boring.

Writer-director Salomé Crickx’s film is the very definition of gallows humor as it is filled with some great dark comedy. This includes possibly the greatest last line in the history of cinema. Violent and bloody, the strong ending will ensure this film stays with you – whether you want it to or not.

Sweet Tooth (Les Dents Du Bonheur)

An early shot of the beautiful and intimidating house the majority of Sweet Tooth takes place in gives a clue of what to expect. There is going to be commentary on class and perceptions. Magdalene accompanies her nail beautician mother on an appointment with a client. While there, she begins to play a board game with the other children. 

The way filmmaker Josephine Darcy Hopkins frames the story will shock everyone who watches. There are strong performances, but the short is built around a number of twists, with some being incredibly vicious. What follows is powerful, but the plot is less about what is happening and more about why.

White Noise

Sound is something most people take for granted. Unless it is distractingly loud or eerily silent most of it becomes…well, background noise. Making its world premiere at Fantasia, White Noise is about a woman named Ava (Bahia Watson, Star Trek: Discovery) who suffers from extreme hyper-sensitivity to sound. She decides to enroll in an experimental trial involving an anechoic chamber: the world’s quietest room.

Unsurprisingly, the sound design is a huge part of White Noise. Director Tamara Scherbak (who wrote the screenplay along with producer Christina Saliba) draws audiences into a world in which sound is an intruder. Everyday noises like the clicking of pens, the shuffling of feet, and people typing away at a keyboard are all sources of pain.

Watson holds everything together with a great performance that conveys frustration, fear, and moments of peace. Ava is trying to deal with the sounds of everyday life and Watson plays the part with a constant look of pain and panic. A reminder that the simplest things in life can bring comfort and pain.

The Fantasia International Film Festival takes place from July 20 – August 9. Fantasia, news, tickets, and films can be found HERE