Fantasia 2025 I A Simplistic Review - ‘Occupy Cannes’

It is a TRADITION in this county, and around the world for that matter, to resist.

Resist the NORM

Resist the STATUS QUO

Resist the OPPRESSORS

Even when what you’re fighting for consists of copious amounts of sex, gratuitous amounts of gore and of course anything that is unsavory to your typical citizen of the world; hell, what more is there in this world…love?

‘Occupy Troma’ follows everyone’s favorite celluloid revolutionary, Lloyd Kaufman, and his band of Tromaville rebels as they take a relaxing trip to the Cannes Film Festival in 2013 looking for distribution for ‘Return to Nuke ‘Em High Vol. 1.’

Directed by Lloyd’s daughter, Lily-Hayes Kaufman, you sense a struggle as she tries to keep things together with an international cabal of fans and volunteers who live, eat, sleep, and breath Troma all with different ideologies on how to best serve the interest of the mission.

Their occupation, while civil, is constantly interrupted by the local police who may or may not be on the payroll of the film festival, with the irony that the French, a pretty liberal bunch when it comes to sex and violence (at least on film).

The independent spirit of Troma will forever be a mainstay for me, growing up with ‘The Toxic Avenger’ and it’s sequels and even later films like ‘Poultrygeist’ and ‘Shakespeare’s Shitstorm’ but while all the exploits of this merry band are front and center, there is the pervasive and insidious nature to films now where the DIY-ness of making a film is going away and without the backing of big distributors and studios; where is the independent spirit going?

Luckily we live in a society where streaming apps are thriving, for better or worse, and Troma will always have a place in the world thanks for places like Shudder and festivals like Fantasia of course.

After 50 years Troma continues to march forward, disrupting media at all costs, and damning all the squares that try to resist.

Viva la Troma!

Courtesy of Fantasia Film Festival

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