Fantasia Buzz: Bagman Reportedly Sparks Studio Interest as Potential Feature Adaptation
- Horror Movies Uncut
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
Fantasia Buzz: ‘Bagman’ Emerges as a Potential Horror Breakout Amid Reported Studio Interest
Every major genre festival has that one film people can’t stop talking about.
This year at the Fantasia International Film Festival, that title may belong to Bagman, a Canadian horror short from filmmaker Connor Gaston. While audiences are still making their way through Fantasia’s packed lineup, Horror Movies Uncut has learned through festival contacts that the short is generating significant industry attention, with multiple buyers reportedly circling the project. Among the names being mentioned is NEON, fueling speculation that Bagman could become the festival’s next feature-length acquisition.
Although no deal has been announced, the growing buzz suggests Bagman is quickly becoming one of Fantasia’s most talked-about discoveries.
The premise is deceptively simple.
A graduate researcher monitoring wildlife cameras notices a garbage bag suddenly appear in a remote forest clearing. Curious and increasingly unsettled, she sends her supervisor to investigate while watching every step of his journey through a live camera feed. What follows remains closely guarded, but the minimalist setup has apparently left a strong impression on festival audiences and industry insiders alike.
Rather than relying on traditional filmmaking techniques alone, Bagman reportedly blends stop-motion, surveillance footage, live camera feeds, and FaceTime-style technology to create its unsettling atmosphere. That multimedia approach has become increasingly popular within independent horror, but early reactions suggest Gaston’s execution is what separates the short from similar found-footage experiments.
Connor Gaston is hardly an unknown filmmaker in Canada.
The award-winning British Columbia director first gained international recognition with shorts including Bardo Light and Godhead, both of which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. He later made his feature directorial debut with The Devout, which screened at both the Vancouver International Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival before earning multiple Leo Awards, including Best Motion Picture. Gaston also participated in the TIFF Talent Lab, graduated from the Canadian Film Centre, and currently serves as a Senior Directing Instructor at Vancouver Film School.
While much of his previous work has leaned toward drama, fantasy, and the supernatural, Bagman appears to mark a darker turn into psychological horror.
The project is written by Vaughn Gaston, who has collaborated with Connor on previous productions, including The Cameraman series of shorts. Together, the pair continue building an impressive résumé within Canada’s independent film community, and Bagman could prove to be their highest-profile project yet.
The short stars Sam Rahmani as Nat and Donnell Thomas Capello as Doug.
Interestingly, Bagman is screening alongside Junction Row, the upcoming horror feature starring Katharine Isabelle, on July 28 at Fantasia, placing it directly in front of an audience already eager to discover the festival’s next breakout genre film.
Short films have increasingly become launching pads for major horror features. Projects like Lights Out, Mama, Saw, and Smile all began life as shorts before evolving into successful theatrical releases. If the reported interest surrounding Bagman proves accurate, Connor Gaston’s latest work could be the next title to make that leap.
For now, no acquisition has been confirmed, and no feature adaptation has been officially announced. But if the conversations happening around Fantasia are any indication, Bagman is a short horror fans should keep firmly on their radar.
We’ll be watching closely to see whether this mysterious garbage bag is carrying the next breakout horror franchise.
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