These are twenty Asian short films you shouldn’t miss at the Fantasia International Film Festival which will take place from July 20 – August 9, 2023 in Montreal, Canada.

To see the second part of this article please go HERE
You can also read about the feature films we recommended HERE

Memories of an absent loved one assume a form of their own as they emerge from a forgotten old video camera in this gorgeous, wistful work of austere graphic minimalism. – Rupert Bottenberg

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After a classmate returns, disturbingly different, from a disappearance in the forest, it’s the turn of 10-year-old country girl Chun Mei to be lured to the mountainside lair of a malevolent spirit. Human relations with other creatures great and small inform this ghastly yet gorgeous new work from award-winning Taiwanese animator Tsai Shiu-Cheng (TIME OF CHERRY BLOSSOMS), adapting the writing of novelist Gan Yao Ming. – Rupert Bottenberg

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Humble deliveryman A abandoned his career as an architect after a terrible personal loss, but one day, an old woman solicits his services. She wants him to build her last home, on the spot where she grew up, in his unique way. You see, A constructs houses out of objects linked to his clients’ most precious memories. He declines initially, wary of his own tragic recollections, but a gift with special properties from the kindly granny convinces him to help her. A resonant, magical, flawlessly crafted tale about confronting grief, finding peace, and the joy of giving, from the eminent South Korean studio VCRWORKS, creators of the memorable web series RHYTHMENS. – Rupert Bottenberg

A space pilot alone on a returning vessel finds herself in a frightening power struggle when her holographic virtual assistant suddenly begins to defy its programming. Writer/director Jennifer Zhang (FETISH) explores the nature of consciousness through a suspenseful rocket blast of sci-fi/horror, packing stunning production design and no shortage of tension. – Mitch Davis

Acclaimed production designer and director Whammy Alcazaren tells of the swelteringly hot acid trip of a sex-obsessed, terminally-online gay man and his conveniently placed cat. A cocky commentary on censorship, dictatorship and repression. – Ariel Esteban Cayer

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A young woman awakes with a broken limb and must use her survival skills and a flashlight to escape from a locked room. A gripping and purely visceral thriller from the twisted imagination of director Alistair Quak (HENCHMEN, Special Jury mention at Fantasia 2021). – King-Wei Chu

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As a symbol of their undying love, Yoon-il offers Hana his severed left ear. The plan is to have it frozen and permanently stored for safekeeping, but it quickly becomes clear that stowing the sliced-off appendage isn’t a simple matter. Morbid and sardonic (and thus so very South Korean), Monica An’s DEPOSIT is a romantic comedy that will make you wince and flinch while you giggle. – Rupert Bottenberg

A university student takes on the task of becoming an English tutor to a little girl who has trouble learning the language. As she’s teaching the girl how to write, she uncovers a dark and startling truth about the mysterious child and her mother. A creepy, shocking horror thriller that showcases the brilliant and powerful presence of South Korean genre cinema! – Steven Lee

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Secret policeman Agent Seven, tasked with surveilling underground reformist agitators, falls in love with their outspoken leader. Following a mass arrest, he barges in on her brutal assault by his colleague. He kills the malefactor and she escapes. Agent Seven follows a trail of her blood down a secluded forest path and loses his way, bringing him to a mysterious village of damned souls. A disturbing fever dream recalling the dark days of Taiwan’s White Terror period, from animator Fish Wang (GOLDFISH, Fantasia 2019). – Rupert Bottenberg

Stephen Lopez pays homage to the films of Nobuhiko Obayashi and imagines how the 14-year-old Jani and a talking catfish named Kiefer may oppose a tyrannical world of nuclear reactors and military curfews, where people are utterly devoid of empathy. – Ariel Esteban Cayer

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To see the second part of this article please go HERE
You can also read about the feature films we recommended HERE

For more information, please visit: https://fantasiafestival.com/en/