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Banner: the 60th Chicago International Film Festival

Genre: Fantasy


An assorted group of Japanese men and women stand behind a camera, shooting a short film.

After Life (1998) (Wandâfuru raifu)

Kore-eda Hirokazu  |   Japan
Japanese  
Drama, Fantasy

A cast of characters waiting in limbo must decide which memory they want to preserve before moving on in this fantastical and poignant drama.

A person lies on their back in muddy water.

Bird

Andrea Arnold  |   United Kingdom, France
English  
Coming of Age, Family Affairs, Fantasy

As her family and friend group slide into chaos around her, teenaged Bailey finds solace in an improbable stranger in this tough but tender fairy tale.

A woman stands with a shell to her ear.

Hanami

Denise Fernandes  |   Switzerland, Portugal, Cape Verde
Cape Verdean Creole, English, French, Japanese  
Coming of Age, Fantasy, Women Centered

When a young girl falls ill with a strange fever, she is sent to the foot of her island’s volcano, where she encounters a surreal world between dreams and reality.

A child wears the celebratory, oversized mask of a beautiful woman.

Reunion [short film]

Shiqi Xiao  |   China
Chinese  
Animation, Family Friendly, Fantasy

Alone at a lantern festival, young Yuan Yuan is pulled into the bustling realm of gods and spirits. After being swallowed by a dragon spirit, a powerful deity offers to grant her one true wish.

A star-shaped friend sits beside a friend with the face of a blue orb.

This World Is a Soda Can We Are Shaking It [short film]

Sera Mun  |   South Korea
Korean  
Animation, Family Friendly, Fantasy

At a summer music festival, a galactic burst leads to new dimensions. Two friends thrown apart by the blast try to make their way back together in this brilliantly prismatic short.