While indie horror flicks such as Neon’s B.C.-shot Longlegs have demonstrated their viability for box office success, producers say they have few avenues to find financial support for their genre projects.

“From my experience, the funding institutions in Canada seem too shy when it comes to horror,” says producer Stephen Sawchuk, one of several Canadian filmmakers who attended Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival (July 18 to Aug. 4) and its copro market Frontières (July 24 to 27), billed as the largest genre film festival in North America.

“It’s a bit of a head scratcher to me because there’s an incredible community of genre filmmakers and storytellers here. But I’ve seen a lot of great Canadian talent heading south of the border to sell and make their film because there’s just more opportunity and resources in the States,” he tells Playback Daily.

Sawchuk brought the Canadian premiere of his comedy short Hell is a Teenage Girl (pictured) to Fantasia. The short is set in a small town where a serial killer hunts down teenagers who drink, do drugs and have sex, and is centred on the killer’s estranged biological daughter.

Robert Vroom — who attended Frontières to pitch retro sci-fi/fantasy/horror project Scorpia, co-directed by Mark Slutsky and Sarah Watts — echoes Sawchuk’s point.

“I have another project that’s partially financed. I thought a project that’s been supported and has more than 50% of its financing in place would be an easier sell to sales agents or other financiers, and it hasn’t been the case,” he says. “From my perspective, it does feel like the market is a little more risk-averse, and maybe not feeling as generous in its wish to commit to indie projects.”

While Telefilm Canada doesn’t provide data on the types of films it finances in its annual reports, and declined to comment for this article, the funder does disclose the genre of selected features in some of its funding announcements.

Of the 13 big-budget English market features selected for this year’s Production Program, six were labelled as dramas, four as comedies, two as thrillers and one as sci-fi. Within the 22 films selected for the French market, 11 were dramas, seven were comedies, two were sci-fi/fantasy, one was an action/adventure and one was a musical.

“The way I look at it, it would create higher returns and pull in more money, which can then go back into being invested in even more Canadian content and across all genres,” argues Sawchuk. “Traditionally, horror is more cost-effective to produce and pulls in higher returns. And I can’t help but think that that would put more money back in the pool, not just for other genre filmmakers, but for all Canadian filmmakers.”

Filmmaker Vanessa Magic says the ROI for horror movies is one compelling factor for potential buyers. Magic pitched her project To the Sea, a genre-bending sci-fi/horror piece about love, loss, and grief, as part of the Genre Film Lab at Frontières. She also recently wrapped production on her short film I Am Pleased from You and Me Entertainment and Miss Magic Productions, about a young girl who goes on an internal journey to make her dreams come true.

Magic says elevated horror and diverse voices are working in film right now. “With films like Nope, M3GAN and I Saw the TV Glow, it’s been nice to see stories that offer fresh perspectives,” she says. “Audiences increasingly demand representation, including films with diverse casts, directors and storylines.”

“One of the things that excites me the most are films that are breaking the [narrative] structure,” says Chad Archibald, co-owner of Black Fawn Films and its genre-focused distribution arm.

He says Fantasia and the Frontières market have historically been a place where they find “really cool projects” and pitches looking for a buyer. “We love genre films, and we always see pitches here that are the strangest, absurd, craziest ideas that have been pitched around the world,” says Archibald.

Sawchuk, Vroom and Magic say they had a positive experience out of Frontières. Magic says she and producer Junitta Brownridge took more than two dozen meetings about To the Sea following their pitch, making inroads with international and Canadian distributors and sales agents. Sawchuk says he’s made positive headway with several genre projects on his slate, while Vroom says he has connected with potential European copro partners for Scorpia.

“[Fantasia] is such a breath of fresh air,” says Archibald. “It inspires so many filmmakers, including us, seeing films that are out there and unique and beautifully, strangely absurd.”

With files from Kelly Townsend

Photo by Craig Minielly