How to Make a Phantastik Film

A satirical film featuring a housewife and her attempts at counterculture. A one minute film commissioned by the Images Festival in 2003 for their Minute Movies program. It was designed specifically for the experimental-film-lovin’ audience at the festival. It pokes a bit of fun at experimental filmmakers in general, and it actually demonstrates a valid but obscure technique. This technique took me almost two years to figure out, and I subsequently discovered that it was already known and was deliberately kept from me. It’s about sharing techniques instead of hoarding them, and having fun. It won Jury’s Choice and Audience Favorite at the CSIF $100 Film Festival, Best Film Overall at the Toronto One Minute Film and Video Festival and received Special Mention by the jury at The Festival International de Court Metrage in Lille.

Directed by Lindsay McIntyre, How to Make a Phantastik Film leans on a strong ensemble — Kate Boorman, Clinton Carew — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 2003.