By DEIRDRE CRIMMINS
The Fantasia International Film Festival’s annual genre shorts showcase, “Born of Woman,” should never be missed. The block of shorts created by women filmmakers always has a balance of personal, unnerving and smirking films from many countries with many voices. The focus on films from an underrepresented segment of directors is not only sadly still needed but also underlines the fact that the presence of women in the genre is anything but monolithic. This year’s shorts descend from a long lineage of women who blazed the trail before them.
BEAUTY SLEEP, from UK writer-director Jasmine De Silva, is set in a near-future world where young women are made up to look as though they are at their own funerals – down to sedation to mimic death. The glamorously dead-looking teens are presented to their guests and celebrated as they arise from bedazzled coffins. Satire of the beauty industry and the absurdity of the lengths people will go to for attention are strong and well-meshed with humor and bright visuals. Death and cosmetic surgery hit every beat for a biting and hilarious short film.
Colleen McGuinness’ black comedy LOSER tells the story of Alice, a young woman working at a frozen yogurt shop. Alice has self-esteem issues and is in a place in her life where she needs to start figuring some stuff out. Alice (voiced by Angourie Rice) and her predicament are painfully relatable, even as she encounters a violent man at work. The empathy and affection the film has for its central character is beautiful, and the confrontation is tense.
The revenge movie LONG PORK is the most traditional horror film in this year’s Born of Woman block. Starring Lena Headey as a well-known butcher, the film is set in a sadly possible future world where women’s reproduction is even further controlled by male politicians – to the detriment of life. Though not groundbreaking, writer-director Iris Dukatt delivers a film of seething rage.
As someone who tends to like the company of dogs more than people, BEAR absolutely broke my heart. Australian filmmaker Rebecca Parker asserts a strong voice, injecting nuance and emotion into complicated situations. A grandmother (Tessa Rose) must put down her beloved dog, Bear (portrayed by animal actor Hank the Dog), after an unprecedented attack. As she is emotionally processing and going over the practical steps toward the court-ordered tragedy, an encounter with an acquaintance sets the film off in an unexpected direction. The performances, including Hank’s, all add gravity to this gut-wrenching story.
In the 20-minute short HOTEL ACROPOLE, Sarah Lasry delivers a Cronenberg-esque version of sexy body horror, filtered through her own stylistic lens. The night before services to scatter her late partner’s ashes, a very pregnant Rivka (Judith Zins) runs into an old friend at a hotel. Wracked with grief, her suffering cannot be overlooked. Making internal trauma external, HOTEL ACROPOLE drags the audience through Rivka’s journey with equal doses of pain and pleasure. Beautifully shot and impressively edited.
In terms of world-building and scope, SONG OF SILENCE from Vasilisa Kuzmina was the most ambitious film of the block. Against the backdrop of a bleak, wartorn future, the story is set in a mute, matriarchal community. When a man enters this domain, women are chosen based on their ovulation cycle to lay with him and continue their lineage. Watching the interactions between the leader and her citizens, we learn how this place came to be – and what they need to do to protect themselves. The acting is incredible, and the visuals successfully immerse the audience in a dystopian wasteland.
The final film in the Born of Woman section this year also took home the Fantasia awards for Best Film and Best Cinematography in the International Short Film Competition. Make no mistake, BARLEBAS and writer-director Malu Janssen earned all of the accolades coming to them. A folk horror dealing with accusations of witchcraft from the perspective of an innocent young woman, BARLEBAS stars Pitou Nicolaes as Heylken. She sings, tends to children, and takes care of her daily tasks with contentment and purpose, but when jealousy and finger-pointing abruptly stop her, she is blindsided by puritanical terror. Every frame in BARLEBAS could be hung in a gallery, and the score reaches far beyond the confines of a tight 20-minute running time. Truly a mesmerizing film from a confident filmmaker.
