Small Gauge Trauma 2020

Join us after the screening at 11:30pm for a live Q&A with Danilo Beckovic (THE LITTLE ONE), Kelsey Bollig (THE FOURTH WALL), Jasper De Bruin (NIGHTINGALE), Faye Jackson (CHANGELING) , Richard C. Jones (OH DEER), Thomas Mendolia (MR THISFORTHAT), Steven Robbins (THE GREEN SEA), Astrid Thorvaldsen (WHO GOES THERE?), Felipe Vargas (MILK TEETH)

Fantasia’s annual showcase of cutting-edge international genre shorts returns with nine uncompromising visions from five countries that will haunt your nightmares.

France storms the gates with Kelsey Bollig’s THE FOURTH WALL (World Premiere), directed with propulsive visceral flair, in which a dedicated actor (Lizzie Brocheré, AMERICAN HORROR STORY), her passions defaced by a vapid and unambitious industry, ascends into fury in the minutes before a performance. An ultra-kinetic film that’s as quick-fire as it is raw.

The Netherlands draws blood with Jasper de Bruin’s NIGHTINGALE (World Premiere), a morose hospital-set horror show in which an overworked nurse exhibits strange behaviour on her shift. Flawlessly directed and performed, this fantastic chiller is full of startling surprises.

Serbia brings Danilo Beckovic’s THE LITTLE ONE (Canadian Premiere), a funny and stylish firecracker that uses the setup of a zombie apocalypse to comment on the apathy of (some) youth. Tight, clever and full of grotesque practical effects, it’s no wonder that this one has been blazing across the international fest circuit.

From the USA come four atypical works, each dealing with childhood in vividly surprising ways. Felipe Vargas’s MILK TEETH (Canadian Premiere) is a dark fantasy tale that sees an orphanage spin into chaos upon the discovery of a creature not entirely dissimilar from the Tooth Fairy. If you’re wondering, yes, that’s a bad thing. A spectacularly staged and unconventionally warm-hearted creation that brings a lot to the table. Morbid imagination. Extravagant design. Social allegory. A lot of broken teeth.

Director Richard C. Jones describes his grimly hilarious OH DEER (World Premiere) as “a dark comedy about the perils of parenting”. Best not to spoil its acerbic surprises, so we’ll just leave it at that!

A girl from a broken family makes deals with a ghoulish entity in her closet in Thomas Mendolia’s MR THISFORTHAT (World Premiere), an inspired MONKEY’S PAW reinterpretation of sorts, made uniquely urgent and disturbing. We wouldn’t be surprised to see a major studio adapt this into a feature.

Steven Alexander Robbins’ powerful THE GREEN SEA (Canadian Premiere) is a tense, slow-burn horror drama in which two children – and their father’s ghost - try desperately to save their mother from a monstrously abusive boyfriend. Incredible filmmaking through and through, with remarkable performances, cinematography and editing and a textured atmosphere made palpable through an almost tactile use of rural locations.


British filmmaker Faye Jackson’s relentlessly unsettling CHANGELING brings us into a hellish space where a new mother grows increasingly transfixed and revolted by strange manifestations around her baby. A lonely and horrific nightmare from one of British cinema’s sharpest rising talents – who’s actualy got two films at the festival, her brilliant SNOWFLAKES screening in this year’s Born of Woman showcase.


The U.K. also delivers the haunting horror Western WHO GOES THERE (Canadian Premiere), from Norwegian-born British filmmaker Astrid Thorvaldsen. Set in 1880 Minnesota, two settler sisters inadvertently invite a supernatural force into their home in the hopes of healing a terminally ill third. Stunningly well-executed, it’s a compelling and chilling addressment of the fear of loss, told on stark horror grounds so effective the film was shortlisted for this year’s Student BAFTAs. – Mitch Davis