Gorgonas

Lava (2019), the animated film Ayar Blasco presented at the 34th edition of the Mar del Plata Film Festival, left many subplots unresolved in a sci-fi narrative in which an alien civilization dominated the planet through technological devices. This incompleteness, which could then be attributed to the director’s aesthetics, always free and prone to absurdity, was actually a pause that now, four years later, is resumed. The protagonist continues to be Débora, a somewhat insecure tattoo artist who ends up involved in the resistance when a new batch of invaders threatens to wipe out every single record of the human race. With the childlike strokes and the uncontrollably innocent humor characteristic of him, Blasco continues to shape his own epic, a hallucinated version of El Eternauta, with click beetles and all.

When his pet is killed by a probe from earth, Mercano, a Martian, travels to earth angered. Landing in Buenos Aires, at first noone takes any notice of him.

Deborah makes a living by drawing the skin of her clients. One night, her housemate invites her boyfriend and friend to their house. Sitting in the armchair, they consume the series of the moment, Gain of Clones, until, suddenly, the signal is cut off and the screen is dyed red while subliminal images float. No one remembers what happened the last two minutes. The answer will be in the enigmatic presence of giant cats that will later invade the city.

The Argentine comic strip is one of the few manifestations of Argentine national art that has transcended borders, driven by the silent talent of its main authors. Solano López, Brescia, Trillo, Altuna, Oesterheld, and Fontanarrosa are some of the names that have given an indelible identity to the Argentine stroke.

Hand-picked by Fantasia’s Mitch Davis, SMALL GAUGE TRAUMA is an extraordinary collection of 13 award-winning shorts from 8 countries. It represents some of the strongest and most eccentric highlights from the festival’s trailblazing history with the form and is a veritable must-have for lovers of the unusual, aficionados of the fantastic and anyone with an interest in world cinema.