“Lucid,” a handmade horror film about a frustrated ’90s art punk’s trippy quest for inspiration, first emerged at Fantasia as a participant in Frontières‘ 2022 Shorts to Features lab and is returning to Montreal next week fully metamorphosed.
Ahead of the Canadian film’s world premiere on July 21 in the Fantasia International Film Festival’s Septentrion Shadows program, “Lucid” co-directors Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall have shared the trailer in exclusivity with Variety.
“Frontières gave us the chance to test-drive the surreal and handmade tone, sharpen our vision, and connect with a kind, yet brutally honest, community of genre lovers who didn’t flinch when we pitched them a Fried Chicken Monster,” Milligan told Variety last week.
“Making art and indie film is an act of rebellion,” she said. “We had to create this film outside traditional industry structures, and we were able to get through production thanks to an incredible community who showed up for the film.”
Milligan, who directed the “Lucid” short, is a veteran Canadian film and TV actor, while Fendall is a cinematographer, on, for example, Ethan Hawke’s doc “Seymour: An Introduction,” as well as producer and director. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, and working through their production company, Sublunar Films, the duo has developed a collaborative creative process that starts like that of a documentary.
“We get on the road, shoot on film, take photos, record sounds, collect fragments over months or even years,” said Fendall. “We love looking for locations that move and inspire us somehow.”
The film community of Vancouver Island is tiny compared to the City of Vancouver’s Hollywood North hub. “No creature shop in sight!” Milligan said. “So we turned to local artists to help us create our monsters. Our hair monster was designed and worn by drag artist Vivian Vanderpuss (“Rupaul’s Drag Race”) who also plays a major role in the film.”
“Lucid” reflects the importance of independent voices, Milligan added: “Our power is in our individuality – especially in today’s politically polarized climate where young folks crave authentic expression and hope.”
Canadian rising star Caitlin Acken Taylor (“Pistol”), who anchored the short, reprises the central role of Mia Sunshine Jones, an art student and fast-food worker, who takes a candy elixir to break her creative block and triggers a nightmarish journey of self-discovery.
For the feature, Acken Taylor is joined by her sister Georgia Acken (“Under the Bridge,” Jenn Wexler’s 2023 Fantasia hit “The Sacrifice Game”), who plays young Mia. The “Lucid” screening opens with Acken’s debut short “Look,” which Acken Taylor, who produced it, will introduce.
After Fantasia, “Lucid” will seek new audiences on the festival circuit. The filmmakers are already talking to distributors. “For a small-scale film, we’re thrilled by the unexpected attention we’ve received from established festivals and distributors,” Milligan said.
They are also making time to develop “Lucky,” their newest project. “Think ‘Mandy’ meets ‘Midsommar,’” said Milligan, “but make it Canadian, wet, and full of wasps.”
“Lucid” is written, directed, edited, and produced by Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall at Sublunar Films. Emanuel Foucault is also a producer. The cast includes Georgia Acken, Caitlin Acken Taylor, Amber Dandelion, John Luna, and Vivian Vanderpuss.
The 29th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival runs July 16 through Aug. 3 in Montreal.