FANTASIA FEST 26th edition / Festival International de Films Fantasia 15.07 > 03. 08. 2022

 

The brilliant directors of The girl from the other side and Molting, from left to right: Yutaro Kubo, Satomi Maiya and Katsushi Bowda.  Photo © Lena Ghio , 2022

FRANÇAIS app de traduction à gauche

FANTASIA FESTIVAL 2022 has begun and so has its singular magic. It is wonderful to once again see the familiar faces of passionate fantasy movie lovers devouring films from around the world! This year there are many gorgeous animated features. 

I assisted to the July 17th screening of The girl from the other side by Yutaro Kubo and Satomi Maiya. The short film by the same name had been presented in the 2019 Fantasia Festival to rave reviews. I was seduced by the art of manga artist Nagabe!

The story is about an Outsider, Teacher,  who finds a little girl, Shiva, who has survived an encounter with the shadowy Outsiders. With great tenderness he helps her while at the same time being mindful not to touch her, for if he did, she would die. 

Nagabe often draws characters with the head of a bird. It gives them a strange appeal and air of absolute mystery. I am drawn to Teacher because of his innate elegance and magnificent bird head with antlers. It is hard to categorize his look. A thoroughly delightful experience.

The short feature that accompanied this movie was Molting by Katsushi Bowda. 

This stop-motion animated feature traces the evolution of an entity looking for incarnation by devouring the residues of a time long ago and bursting forth into a new shape every time. The movie capitalizes on ASMR sounds that lull us into an hypnotic like acquiescence to the ceaseless motion of this spirit.

You can only wonder at the hours of work done to create such an elaborate stop-motion film.

I am currently reviewing several films but you must visit the web site to explore the films being presented this year: FANTASIA FESTIVAL 2022 

Stay tuned...

LENA GHIO   

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