Fantasia 2025: Occupy Cannes Review

Directed by: Lily Hayes Kaufman
Written by: Lily Hayes Kaufman

Starring:
Lloyd Kaufman
John Brennan
Charlotte Kaufman
Asta Paredes
Catherine Corcoran
Clay von Carlowitz
Justin A. Martell
Mark Quinnette
Doug Sakmann
Zac Amico
Ron Mackay
Matt Manjourides
Pat Kaufman
Corrado Adamo
Lisbeth Kaufman
Mark Finch
Liam Regan
Bjarni Gautur

Image Credit: Fantasia IFF

Running Time: 89 minutes
Not Rated

It’s nigh impossible to be a horror fan and not be at least familiar with Troma. The House that Toxie Built is one of the foremost purveyors of low-budget cinema and the longest-running independent studio in the world. From Class Of Nuke Em High and Tromeo & Juliet to the forementioned Toxic Avenger, Troma’s catalogue is full of B-movie bangers, an antidote to big-budget studio films and overly serious indie productions.

It’s not easy to make indie films for 50 years though, and the changing landscape has been a tricky one to navigate. That’s just one of the themes that runs though Occupy Cannes. The Troma-produced documentary, which had its world premiere at Fantasia Fest on Thursday, is a guerilla production that plays to the studio’s strengths while also making a strong statement toward the need for independent filmmaking to survive in the modern day.

Occupy Cannes looks specifically at the studio’s return to the Cannes Film Festival in 2013 and 2017, the first being 10 years after it was banned from its usual offices there due to an incident involving fake blood. Troma has remained a scrappy production studio, but changes in the industry have left it in a difficult spot in terms of securing distribution for its films.

With that in mind, the studio plots its return to Cannes to promote its (then) latest film, Return to Nuke Em High, Volume 1. The film documents the studio’s history at the prestigious festival and their struggles in 2013 and particularly 2017 as they find the festival a far less welcoming place.

Led by the irrepressible Troma president Lloyd Kaufman, the group resorts to their usual out-of-the-box tactics to get their film promoted so it can be seen by distributors while also railing against the system designed to box out independent productions. This leads to booths far off the beaten path, Troma-themed protests and other publicity stunts, all while trying to deal with efforts from the previously-friendly police to shut them down.

Like many of the best Troma productions, Occupy Cannes is serving dual purposes. The first is a lighthearted, heavily promotional film that pays homage to Troma’s past and puts a spotlight on their (relative) present. The second is to show the perils of media consolidation and how it’s crowding out defiantly independent companies like Troma, who full an essential role in the industry as a successor to people like Roger Corman who helped shape the course of film and gave many eventual filmmaking icons their start.

With Kaufman’s daughters Lily James and Charlotte at the helm and behind the camera as cinematographer, there’s little about Occupy Cannes that is unbiased in its portrayal of Troma. But it’s not trying to be neutral either; that’s clear from the get-go. This is a warm tribute to the company, telling the tale of their Cannes visits through their own eyes, and it’s a delight to see them pull off their trademark spectacle tactics to generate publicity for their cause.

On the other side, it’s only slightly less successful at its more industry-wide efforts to combat the slow smothering of indie cinema. That’s portrayed mostly through the group’s struggles against the Cannes police, who come up with increasingly draconian ways to prevent the studio’s low-brow tactics from sullying the festival. It’s hard not to draw the conclusion when giant promotional posters for Transformers and The Lone Ranger plaster the city, but a bunch of guys in Kabukiman and Toxie gear are threatened with arrest because of dubious “no masks because terrorism” claims.

There are admittedly a couple of moments where we’re left wondering, “What did you think was going to happen,” but those are surprisingly few considering the studio’s reputation. And Lily James Kaufman, who like her father and his company is working with little money, proves herself quite capable behind the camera as she puts together a film that only rarely finds itself meandering from its main theses.

Many times, documentaries like this with a few years between the event being documented and the film’s release can end up coming off like an enhanced Wikipedia entry. But that was never going to be the case with Occupy Cannes, which nicely carries the spirit of its studio and reminds us of the importance of a good shlocky horror comedy in an increasingly formulaic industry.

The Fantasia International Film Festival takes place in Montreal from July 16th through August 3rd.

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

Lily James Kaufman's Occupy Cannes is a documentary that effectively mines the Troma spirit for an enjoyable good time with a more serious message behind it. Kaufman effectively documents the studios' final leg trips to Cannes in silly but heartfelt ways. This may not be a must-watch for many, but it's sure to become a favorite of Troma's many, many fans as they keep trucking on and devote their efforts to putting the spotlight on independent cinema.