Fantastic Fest 2023 Diaries: Day Two
With about 6 hours of sleep under my belt, I woke up early and headed downtown for my interview with the Sam Fox (writer/director), Desiree Staples (producer), and Vincent Stalba (actor/producer) for their short film Fck’n Nuts. I chugged a can of caffeine on the drive, got the our meeting location (Medici) a little early, ordered a Matcha latte, and waited outside for the Sam and company to arrive.
While I waited, I wrote out some of yesterday’s diary entry and made sure my timer was set to alert me to when tomorrow’s tickets are available. Once Sam and company arrived, everyone grabbed their morning wake-up and breakfast, and we commandeered an outside table at a neighboring restaurant that had yet to open.
As I got things set up for the interview, we talked a bit about the film’s phenomenal festival run and how I’m incredibly jealous of all of Sam’s travels, which I’d been following via her Instagram in the weeks leading up to the festival. The interview goes great and was a lot of fun, a truly lovely chat with some wonderfully creative people. Vincent snags some behind-the-scenes footage and captures my listening face perfectly.
During the interview, we pause to get our respective Saturday tickets, which is still rough, and clunky, and competitive. I was edged out of the first secret screening, Eileen, and We Are Zombies, but I got my ticket to the world premiere of Your Lucky Day, which is one of Angus Cloud’s last performances. To make the most out of the day, I also snag a ticket for One-Percenter, a martial arts actioner, and The Fantastic Golem Affairs, which I know little about but think looks really nifty.
With tickets in the bag and the interview wrapped, I pack up my gear, and the four of us all head up to the theater to snap a pic in front of the FF banner. A Good Samaritan takes some photos with Desiree’s phone, landscape and portrait; whoever that kind stranger was, he was a real one. Take a look at us lovely buncha Fck’n Nuts!
Desiree sends everyone the pics, so we can do all the social media things, and we part ways. Sam and I both have screenings; she went to Scalia, and I went to Animalia.
I didn’t know anything about Animalia, but it turned out to be pretty interesting. It’s a French-Moroccan feature-film debut from Sofia Alaoui that mixes sci-fi with the supernatural and spirituality with the natural world. It was a lightly enchanting and largely meandering tale with really elegant cinematography, and lovely production design and locations. I liked the feminine perspective it brought, as well as the lead performance by Oumaima Barid. I also appreciated its themes and how they were slowly, but steadily worked; although, I wished it would have built toward something more climactic and powerful. The ride ain’t bad though; it needed more of a payoff.
I head outside and run into Michaela and Mikky again. We chat some more, talking about last night’s activities, Mikky’s band, Mikky & The Doom Generation, and how dang hot it is — and it’s not even 1pm! Sam comes out of her screening, and I introduce her to Mikky and Michaela, and we talk a little bit about Scalia (which she said was good) before heading off to her hotel. Michaela needed more help waking up, so I point her and Mikky in the direction of Medici, and I dip into the Highball for some air conditioning and some hydration (h2o).
When 2pm rolls around, I head off to check out my next screening, which is the Adams family’s latest, Where The Devil Roams. I was really impressed by their last film, Hellbender, and so I was curious to see what they cooked up next.
Where The Devil Roams did not disappoint. It was another homegrown horror, shot around their house in the rural Catskills of southeast New York and sewn up with care. A period slasher about a family of murderous carnies, it had a really ambitious reach, admirable oddity, and that oh-so cool stylish swagger that they’ve become known for. It’s more abstract than Hellbender, lighter on the character development, and slower to clinch you in its grip, but I think they’ve stepped up their game on the visuals and delivered another really fascinating low-budget feature. With influences like Frankenstein and Freaks (with a dash of Jude Law from Road To Perdition), Where The Devil Roams is rot ’n roll banger that eventually cuts pretty deep.
John, Zelda, and Toby are there for a Q&A, which was really entertaining. I love listening to them talk about making movies; they have such a clear love of movies, music, art, and each other that it’s just downright infectious. I’ll continue to follow that dark and weird filmmaking family to any place they want to venture because it’s always exciting and filled with rad tunes.
After the Q&A ends, I head back home to feed and walk the dog, and get a little writing done. I manage to knock out the day-one diary and even have time to take the dog out for another walk before it’s time to head back downtown.
I leave around 7pm to get there earlier than I need to, so I can loiter around the Highball lounge. I’m really glad I did too because I happened to strike up a conversation with Greg Jeffs, one of the producers behind The Last Video Store. I tell him I’ll be there in the screening later in the night, and he asks me what I know about it. I tell him all I know is that it’s Canuxploitation, and that’s enough for me to want to take a peek.
He tells me a lot of the background on the film, how the project got started many years ago, how it struggled to get funding, and all about the film’s directing duo and lead talent, Kevin Martin. The film had a really interesting story that made me more eager to check it out. I thank Greg for the great conversation and info, and I head off to my next screening, Strange Darling.
The film was written and directed by J.T. Mollner, whose work I wasn’t familiar with, but boy was I glad I secured tickets for its world premiere because it was an absolute treat. If Sanctuary is the kinky Punch-Drunk Love inspired game of cat and mouse, then Strange Darling is the equally kinky, higher body count Pulp Fiction version. Its chapter structure is shuffled like a deck which challenges the viewer’s perceptions, as well as the traditional linear storytelling conventions. It drops you into a pursuit with no info, and it subverts all your expectations, turning the tables and twisting the knife with great pleasure, every step of the way. In addition to the Tarantino influence, there’s also notes of Fargo and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as well. It’s a raw, rollicking rollercoaster ride, and it’s easily the best film of the fest so far. The lead performances are both commanding, but damn, Willa Fitzgerald, she’s a joy to watch. Mollner’s strong direction, the 35mm cinematography from Giovanni Ribisi, and the score are both integral parts to the film’s appeal and success as well.
After Strange Darling’s Q&A wraps, I bump into Zelda Adams, one of the Adams family bunch, and I talk to her about how I enjoy their films, and how cool it is that they do it as a family unit. I ask her how college is going and what she’s studying. We talk art and philosophy for a bit. She asks me what I do, and I tell her about the blog and the novel I’m working on. She gives the blog a follow on Instagram; what a lovely human! After that, I head into The Last Video Store.
TV static, tracking lines, and analog hum — oh be kind, rewind! The Last Video Store is a kooky Canuxploitation with a handmade feel and a lot of heart and silliness that essentially asks the question: what if all the cinema you loved tried to kill you and only your knowledge of the material could save you? Forget the format wars, this is a VHS battleground in a basement video store and the physical media is so physical, it can kill. You could say it’s an inter-cine-mentional journey. and it manages to wring a lot of fun out of its modest budget, but it really glides by thanks to the charisma of its lead, Kevin Martin. It’s crafted with a clear love of movies and wants to be a form of comfort food cinema — and it’ll find an audience who feed off that.
After the entertaining Q&A, I peel on out of the theater to drive back home for some more meager shut-eye and another fun — but long — festival day tomorrow.
Fiending for more Fantastic Fest?! Check out the links below:
Fantastic Fest reviews
Fantastic Fest podcasts
Fantastic Fest articles
Fantastic Fest lists
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!