Fantasma

Argentine filmmaker Lisandro Alonso wrote and directed this spare and contemplative mood piece, inspired by Tsai Ming-liang's portrait of an empty movie theater, Goodbye, Dragon Inn. Argentino Vargas, who appeared in one of Alonso's previous works, Los Muertos, is invited to attend a special screening of the film, and travels from his small rural village to Buenos Aires for the event. When he arrives, however, Vargas discover only two other people have shown up -- Misael Saavedra, the protagonist of another of Alonso's films, and Alonso himself. Vargas begins exploring the mammoth theater where the screening is taking place as images of himself and his community flash on the huge screen. Fantasma received its North American premier at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival.