MOVIES AT LA PLAZA: FANTASIA FESTIVAL— “I AM FRANKELDA”

Movie Review by Sergio Martinez

This was one of the Latin American films shown at the Fantasia Festival, and it was certainly one that was widely acclaimed by the public. It is also the first Mexican film made in stop-motion, an animation format that requires a considerable amount of time (three years, the filmmakers told us), as it involves filming each movement of the dolls or figures separately not to mention the film's elaborate set desi
gn and the effects necessary to transmit the sensations of terror and surprise that the various scenes of I am Frankelda deliver.

Directed by brothers Arturo and Roy Ambriz, the film we saw at the festival is based on the miniseries The Hidden Frights of Frankelda, broadcast by Cartoon Network Latin America and HBO in 2021. The film tells the story of Francisca Imelda, an orphan girl who lives with her grandmother, who does not treat her very well. The girl escapes from her unpleasant daily life by writing fantasy stories with terrifying characters. Although she tries to tell these stories to her schoolmates, they show little interest in them, and Francisca must deal with their scorn and mockery.

From that point on, however, the two parallel worlds —the narratives and their characters, which then take on real life —will intertwine. In fact, Herneval, the prince of that world of dreams and nightmares, had been able to reach that real world and ended up contacting the young writer, who by then had already adopted her new name: Frankelda, her homage to Mary Shelley, creator of Frankenstein.

The parallel world in which Frankelda will venture is not exempt from the palace intrigues that abound in the real world, and the young writer will also be involved in the events that occur there.

I Am Frankelda is a charming film in which the nightmares and fears of the author herself-and by extension, we could say, of all of us-converge with the girl's will not to let herself be defeated or abandon her new friends. Her images take us into a surreal atmosphere, further highlighted by the presence of monstrous-looking characters, although, by the way, not all of them are villains.

The two filmmakers (Arturo and Roy Ambriz)
and the art director of the film

Although it was only shown for one day at Fantasia, it is likely—and we hope—that it will be released in Montreal in the near future.

Running time: 113 min.