Hege, Bjørn, and Romain face grief, isolation, and uncertainty in Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s Folktales, a documentary that trades trolls for emotional trials and the supernatural for self-discovery. With some people heading back to school, they may want to be aware other programs exist to help them deal with post-secondary.
In Norway’s far north, where winters stretch long and the aurora paints the sky, a group of young adults sets out on a modern hero’s journey. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s documentary Folktales doesn’t follow Vikings clashing with trolls or giants. Instead, its battles are quieter yet no less daunting: grief, fear, and the uncertainty of growing up. Unlike the heroes of the Eddas, these youths don’t all stride forward with courage, but they still answer the call. The film follows three 19-year-olds each weighed down by their own struggles.
Hege spends her nights partying, still drifting after losing her father many years ago. Bjørn shrinks from new friendships, convinced he is an outcast. Romain has withdrawn even further: he dropped out of school and hides from the world in fear. None of them knows what future to pursue, but all crave change. That chance comes through the Pasvik Program (Pasvik Folkehøgskole), a modern version of Norway’s folk schools. First established in the 1840s to bring education to rural areas, these schools were never about diplomas. They offered reflection, skill-building, and community. In Finnmark, this offering continues that tradition by inviting young people to take part voluntarily in an immersive experience—one that tests them both physically and emotionally.
Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s animated film, Death Does Not Exist, follows Hélène’s complex journey of self-discovery and societal critique amidst a fight for environmental justice.
This movie played at the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival on Thursday, July 17.
Spoiler Alert
Perhaps the reason “Death Does Not Exist” in Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s animated film is because Hélène is unsure about what to do next. After a botched attempt to make a statement by attacking a wealthy homestead with friends, she runs away! This gang of activists believe that by targeting a particular family of rich folk, it will send a powerful message throughout the country. Although their reason also includes saving the world from climate change, I feel there are better ways to deal with this crisis.
But when this woman shows a conscience, she flees the scene! Although the gunfight was short, just how many of them died is in question. Soon afterwards, the film looks at her and what she faces while hiding in the nearby woods. A nagging question arises: when will the inevitable manhunt begin? It happens when the authorities arrive and search the grounds. But in the few days Hélène (voiced by Zeneb Blanchet) stays hidden, the only other people she encounters may well be products of her own imagination.
When this protagonist says she feels lost and unsure whether showing her face is best, the big question we have to ask is will the people celebrate her as a hero? The film’s allegorical nature often obscures Hélène’s true feelings. While presented with the simplicity of a fable, the film’s allegorical nature often obscures this character’s true feelings–suggesting the writer and director are delving into a deep psychoanalysis of who Hélène is. Even she admits to feeling very detached from the world. Also, when I heard other reports making comparisons to Studio Ghibli‘s Mononoke Hime, I had to see this movie!
One obvious connection is the appearance of the giant wolves. They are guardians of the natural order. Though she finds herself in their wild territory, the film clarifies that civilization, not nature, is the true perpetrator of wrong. The rich only get richer, and the everyman is struggling. Some flashbacks reveal just how bad the treatment between the two social classes has become. Early in the movie, the attack at the mansion features a potentially blink-and-you’ll-miss-it detail: an old lady (perhaps the matriarch of the house) in a wheelchair. Although the story later details her presence, her initial appearance is subtle, making viewers question when she appeared.
Also, the dialogue doesn’t always explain these rebels’ motives. Clearer themes would make this movie understandable. One recognizable scene concerns this woman being in a garden that resembles Medusa’s lair–the stone garden! It’s a terrific visual moment, where the encroaching foliage is covering the human statues there. As for what that means, not everyone is going to understand the significance. It is a place of isolation and suffering for this legendary monster. And understanding its full significance will require another viewing.
Overall, her hero’s journey is very significant. The descent to the underworld may well signify her challenging Death and defining the terms for finding the meaning of life again. This may connect to how Orpheus reacted when he lost Eurydice, and he travelled to Hades’ realm to negotiate her return. Whether Dufour-Laperrière intended to evoke this legend, and its inherent tragedy, remains for him to say. From my perspective, what I found is a beautiful approach comparable to recreating this world much more than being a study of an animation style, which is similar to anime I’ve seen a lot over the decades, and the presentation is comfortably familiar.
Even though I found this film challenging to understand, the myth lover in me recognized those bits when reality had to be shattered by one literal ground-shaking moment! When an earthquake strikes, the world that gets transformed is as weird as Christopher Nolan’s film, Inception. The only difference is that buildings shake and everyone is unnerved! Nature’s response to this in-fighting is jarring, and it’s supposed to get these sides working together! But they don’t. When Hélène finally reflects on the events that occurred at the mansion—the catalyst for it all—I suspect the film intends for us to gain a deeper understanding with another viewing. The cyclic nature of this movie requires it!
Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film, The Boy and the Heron, has a lot of imagery that won’t be immediately understood. We offer our interpreation on this magical film!
Spoiler Alert
Hayao Miyazaki‘s latest film is perhaps his most personal. Unless fans know what his younger life was like, it’s easy not to understand what The Boy and the Heron are about. This semi-autobiographical work released by Studio Ghibli has lots of imagery to unpack, and not all of them subscribe to his beliefs regarding Shintoism.
Instead, I recommend watching the documentary “Never Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki.” (review and Amazon link) Even without this knowledge, what’s presented is more than his usual coming-of-age story about a youth not accepting the future, and being willing to move on.
When considering, this movie refers to Genzaburo Yoshino‘s book, “How Do You Live?” this theme is not all that surprising. Here, Mahito (Soma Santoki) is struggling to deal with life without a mother. This feature shows how Hisako died in a hospital fire. This happens during the onset of the Asian Pacific War, and is not a result of recent bombing, otherwise there would be American planes seen leaving the scene.
This Australian made film has some moments to make this animation stand out, and Scarygirl is a franchise few know about!
After Scarygirl made its Canadian premiere at Spark! Animation Festival yesterday, I had to wonder who would pick up this rather cute Australian film. I’m fairly sure Shout! Studios will acquire it because this narrative packs an environmental type of punch. Back home, she’s very popular, and there are a lot of products featuring this sort of goth girl from the sea!
When Arkie (Jillian Nguyen) wears an eye patch and has arms of an octopus, I can’t help but think she’s half pirate and a creature of the sea. As for how capable she is as a hero, this film sets up what she must learn before she can face Dr Maybee (Sam Neil). He’s a human who is basically Lex Luthor. As a scientist, he’s rather feared, and as a governor, sort of revered since he’s promising to save it from self-destructing. However, what his people don’t know is that he’s destroying one far off world in favour of saving his.
This mystery nightmare tour found in Mad God focuses on the descent through Hell–the ruins of Earth presumedly–with a nameless figure in search of something.
Fantasia Film Festival 2021 Encore performance Aug 24th 9:00 AM (EST)
Tickets can be purchased here
At a cursory glance, Phil Tippett’s Mad God looks like a product spat out of many creative minds. There that genre fans can recognize from the movies he’s worked on, namely Dragonslayer. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Robocop, but as for who produced this wild trip, the concept is 100% Phil.
The story came from a cumulation of experiences from this special effects maker’s life ever since he thought of it 30 years ago, and it took many more to realize. On this list includes the advice he was given from fellow filmmakers and also him reading a lot of Milton and Dante. The visuals are comparable to that of splicing all that’s creative from Tim Burton, Clive Barker, H.P. Lovecraft, Jan Švankmajer, Guillermo del Toro and Guy Maddin’s into a huge melting pot, and it works. This master of stop-motion animation crafted a movie that would’ve been shelved for good had it not been for his fans and colleagues who said, you gotta finish it.
The book Investiture of the Gods where the idea of Jiang Ziya: Legend of Deification takes inspiration from is not in verbatim.
Although American studios aren’t giving Jiang Ziya: Legend of Deification (姜子牙) the fanfare it needs for an Autumn 2020 release, word of mouth is barely enough to announce to the world that the sequel to Ne Zha is as colourful and visually spectacular. (2023Update: Well GO USA has this film available across various streaming channels, like Amazon Prime).
Eventually, fans of this shared universe will see the heroes we are being introduced to embark on a combined adventure. Here, this former general of the celestial army was banished from Kunlan, a city in the clouds which represents one of several heavens, because he disobeyed his lord’s order to kill Su Dajin, who is possessed by Nine-Tailed (Ji Guanlin), a fox demon. But before he could execute her, she showed how her supernatural life connects to a mortal, Xiao Jiu (Yang Ning), a young girl. He can’t destroy a soul at the cost of another. Continue reading “Too Fast and Not As Furious? On Jiang Ziya: Legend of Deification”
In Norway’s far north, where winters stretch long and the aurora paints the sky, a group of young adults sets out on a modern hero’s journey. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s documentary Folktales doesn’t follow Vikings clashing with trolls or giants. Instead, its battles are quieter yet no less daunting: grief, fear, and the uncertainty of growing up. Unlike the heroes of the Eddas, these youths don’t all stride forward with courage, but they still answer the call. The film follows three 19-year-olds each weighed down by their own struggles.
Spoiler Alert
After Scarygirl made its Canadian premiere at 
Fantasia Film Festival 2021
Although American studios aren’t giving Jiang Ziya: Legend of Deification (姜子牙) the fanfare it needs for an Autumn 2020 release, word of mouth is barely enough to announce to the world that the sequel to Ne Zha is as colourful and visually spectacular. (2023 Update: