Fanomenon Short Film Competition 3
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Sun 10 Nov16:00 - 17:33Screen 12
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Wed 13 Nov14:30 - 16:03Screen 12
Prepare to be scared, tickled, moved and provoked in this third of three competition programmes for fantastic genre shorts - and vote for your favourite too!
An A.I.’s assistance turns into chaos, a man’s encounter with a missing woman has him pondering his own existence, whilst a woman wakes up to a disturbing figure stalking her apartment. Elsewhere, 65-year-old Lucita is dying to visit her son in hell, while a couple hides from a menacing group in a Twilight Zone-like world. On a burnt-up Earth, a mother must confront the strange changes affecting her son, and finally, a husband’s breakthrough in reaching his catatonic wife has disturbing consequences.
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Overworked council worker Cwnt Jones purchases a personalised A.I. assistant to help make his life beta. But before long, Cwnt realises A.I. isn’t quite as smart or helpful as it claims to be. Intensely silly and funny, Robutler shows there is still work to be done before fully trusting new technologies.
James Button | United Kingdom | 2022 | 6 mins | Yorkshire Premiere
Off the Face of the Earth
A reclusive photographer's strange encounter with a long-thought-missing woman threatens to bring him out of his isolation. Unless perhaps this is an opportunity to withdraw himself even more? Michael Pantozzi develops a highly original, and quite terrifying premise and takes “be careful what you wish for” to the next level.
Michael Pantozzi | USA | 2023 | 18 mins | World Premiere
Skulk
In the dead of night, creatures slink through the streets of London. A woman wakes up to the sound of foxes and notices a strange figure outside her home. This one will get under your skin and have you wonder what might or might not be in the background.
Max Ward | United Kingdom | 2024 | 7 mins | Premiere
The Mischievous Lucita and her Guide on how to go to hell
According to legend, whoever sees the Santa Compaña in procession will die within a year. 65-year-old Lucita saw such a vision last year, and she’s now waiting for her opportunity to visit her son Vicente… in hell. All hail our new dark Queen of Mischief, Lucita - heroine of this darkly comic mockumentary.
Ángel Quel | Spain | 2023 | 13 mins | UK Premiere
They're Coming Tonight
A man and woman must hide out in a house as a mysterious group slowly approaches, searching for them… Somewhere between B-movie, film noir, and an episode of The Twilight Zone, this is a visually impressive and unexpected little gem.
John Bonner | United States | 2024 | 10 mins | UK Premiere
LEAF
Nora and her son Sil set out to find one of the last green habitats in a future parched Earth. When Sil undergoes a strange physical change during their journey, Nora's fear grows of what they will find on the other side of the desert. Leaf is a stunning piece of storytelling and filmmaking.
Thom Lunshof | Netherlands | 2023 | 20 mins | UK Premiere
Masks
A husband draws his wife from a long-standing catatonic state by having her wear a series of increasingly disturbing masks. This is a dark tale on identity and how we often show different 'faces' to different people. Uneasy and unpredictable, Masks asks you to question your relationship between expectation and reality.
Andre LeBlanc | United States | 2024 | 13 mins | International Premiere
Content Guidance
Contains horror, graphic violence.
Fanomenon
Fantasy, sci-fi, horror, dark comedy, cult films, the unclassifiable, and much more. This year we present an expanded programme of new films, two new competitions, and a retrospective, The Weird of Oz.