Four British Columbia-based films had their world premieres at the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival, the largest genre festival in North America. Showcasing local talent behind and in front of the camera, these two features and two shorts exemplify cinematic excellence, with each project offering a distinct artistic vision in both subject and execution.
Congratulations to the four films having their debuts:
LUCID (dir. Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall)
Feature Length
LUCID (dir. Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall)
With a DIY punk aesthetic shot on both 35 and 16mm film, LUCID is a pseudo-experimental odyssey that delves into a young woman’s struggle with art, demons, memories, and forging her own path into darkness. It’s 1994, and Mia is an art student who must pass her self portrait project or be kicked out of school. Lashing out at inanimate objects, as well as at herself and her peers, she lacks inspiration and believes she’s a terrible artist. When she tries a special candy elixir, Lucid, to open her mind, Mia ignores instructions not to overdo it and eats a full serving of the candy, opening up memories she didn’t know existed and learns there’s more than a creative block at play. Her brash actions pave the way for a nightmare-fueled journey to finding inspiration, meaning, and self-discovery.
LUCID was written and directed by Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall of Sublunar films and based on their award-winning short film of the same name. Described by the directors as a “coming of monster” story, LUCID transports audiences back in time as we watch a young artist descend into a demonic wonderland. Ahead of its premiere, LUCID garnered attention from publications such as Variety and was picked as a top ten most anticipated films of the fest by Roger Ebert.
FOREIGNER (dir. Ava Maria Safai)
Ava Maria Safai’s Vancouver-set FOREIGNER is is a coming-of-age bubblegum horror told from an immigrant lens. Persian teen Yasamin (Rose Dehgan) is a newcomer to Canada starting at a new school who meets a trio of pastel-clad chirpy girls: “Queen Bee” Rachel and her followers, Emily and Kristen. They are intensely interested in Yasi, having never met an Iranian person before, and their insidious racism pushes her to assimilate into white Canadian culture. Yasi is determined to do whatever it takes to become a cookie-cutter teen of the aughts like her new clique. She decides to dye her hair blonde, keeps pushing her family away, and begins rejecting her culture, unwittingly inviting a sinister force into her life.
FOREIGNERS is Ava Maria Safai’s first feature and part of the 2023 Telefilm Talent to Watch Program. In advance of its world premiere at Fantasia, it was was picked up for worldwide sales and distribution by Canadian genre special Raven Banner Entertainment.
LE TOUR DE CANADA (dir. John Hollands)
Short Films
LE TOUR DE CANADA (dir. John Hollands)
Get set, ready, BANG! Two Canadian cyclists, one anglophone and the other francophone, face off in a fierce race across the country from St. John’s to Vancouver. Directed by John Hollands, this short film blends deadpan absurdity with a knack for visual ingenuity. Through a playful mix of archival footage, animation, rear projection, and decapitated fish, LE TOUR DE CANADA showcases a rivalry for the ages.
HEADCASE (dir. Spencer Zimmerman)
Influencer Karen, or “Kylie,” is desperate to increase her visibility and reach. When she runs over a man as she films content, she thinks it’s over. But she also gets the call she’s been waiting for: a potential brand deal. Deciding to make the most of the dead man, Karen creates content that is guaranteed to go viral and change her life forever. Spencer Zimmerman’s darkly comedic HEADCASE takes the audience into the life of a wanna-be influencer and the lengths she’ll go to prove she’s worthy of a like and follow.
