Films catalogue

Fantas

Halima Elkhatabi / 2024 / 12 min. / Canada / FRENCH

Synopsis

Tania decides to take her horse Fantas to meet her friends in her working-class neighborhood. By sharing her passion, she seeks to bring together two parts of herself, two worlds that have never crossed paths before and which will collide in an urban tale with surreal overtones.

Cast & Crew

  • Screenplay : Halima Elkhatabi
  • Cinematographer : Ménad Kesraoui
  • Editor : Xi Feng
  • Sound : Julia Innes
  • Sound mix : Isabelle Lussier
  • Sound editor : Olivier Calvert
  • Production : Halima Elkhatabi

Genre

Fiction

Topics

Activism and social struggles, Youth, Cultural diversity

Trailer

Biography

Halima Elkhatabi was trained at the National Institute of Image and Sound in Montreal (INIS), where she received the Excellence Scholarship. She has directed several documentaries and short fiction films that have received various distinctions: Coup de cœur of Cannes Short Film Corner and selection in Canada’s Top Ten at TIFF for "Nina"; Pioneer of Cinema Award at Ciné-Québec, Best Short Fiction Film Award at the Rimouski International Youth Film Festival, and Best Quebec Short Film Award at the Fantasia Festival for "The barricade" (screenwriter); Special Jury Mention at the Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois for the documentary "Head Against the Wall." She was also a finalist in the SODEC's "Write Your Short" competition, co-director of the film "St-Henri, the 26th of August”, and co-screenwriter of the youth series "Dounia, The Great White North." She produces some of her projects within Les Films de l’Autre and has been creating sound documentaries for several years (La route du bled, Chloe et Abdi). In 2024, she directed the short film "Fantas" (Les Films de l’Autre), the documentary "Living Together" (NFB), and the sound documentary "Sector Dodging" (Arte).

Festivals

- 2024 -

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Canada
FNC - Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, Montréal, Québec
Berlinale, Berlin, Allemagne

 

Director's statement

I wanted to create a little urban tale inspired by a true story. It's the story of a quest for self-determination, that of Tania, who wants to share her passion for horses in her neighborhood, her world. Seeing no incompatibility in this unlikely encounter, the young woman embarks on a surprising odyssey. In this way, the film stealthily portrays a reflection of the social determinism that Tania tries to thwart on the back of Fantas.

 

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