Fantasia 2025 I A Simplistic Review - ‘I Fell in Love With a Z-Grade Director in Brooklyn’

A core memory I have is trying to shoot a movie about a farmer and his cannibal brother stalking two guys who’s car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Needless to say, the film was never finished and the footage shot is likely gone on a forsaken DSLR camera.

Now I can only dream about being a Z-Grade director, and instead have settled for speaking into a microphone and writing half baked reviews.

However, there are still people out there fighting the good fight for low-budget cinema (of course Fantasia being a safe place for any and all cinema) and in (and I’ll only type this title once more) ‘I Fell In Love With a Z-Grade Director In Brooklyn’ spins a yarn how SUCCESS isn’t measured in box office returns, but in re-discovering passion and not expecting anything in return aside from being happy. What a concept in the bleak reality we live in.

‘Z-Grade’ is delightful in it’s obvious homage to another low-budget movie studio in New York. Jack, our never-say-die director, is directing his first film which hits a snag when his lead actress leaves, but discovers gold in a puddle of vomit in Shina, a wayward Japanese actress trying to find something new outside of the studio system which has given her everything.

Sure, there are the rom-com notes to hit during ‘Z-Grade’s’ sub-90 minute runtime, but it doesn’t take away from the whimsical affair between Jack and Shina, and not to mention the subtle love letter to New York and Brooklyn.

A love story about movies, a city and two people who couldn’t be more different; what’s not to love?

Courtesy of Fantasia Film Festival

The 2025 Fantasia Film Festival runs from July 16th to August 3rd.