I have a couple of regrets from this year’s VIFF and 99% of them are directly related to the fact that there simply aren’t enough minutes in a day or enough of me to be everywhere at once.

One of the films I saw on the line-up but which didn’t even make my short list due to time constraints was Denis Villeneuve’s Next Floor, an 11 minute short film which took home the Best Short Film award at Cannes.

I whish I could remember where I first heard about the film but needless to say, it sounded interesting from the beginning but listening to the description, I never imagined that it would look so fantastic. Our friends at Quiet Earth are on the ball and they’ve noted that the film has a website, complete with trailers and images and it’s all worth a look because it looks fantastic.

The film’s plot reads:

During an opulent and luxurious banquet, complete with hordes of servers and valets, eleven pampered guests participate in what appears to be a ritualistic gastronomic carnage. In this absurd and grotesque universe, and unexpected sequence of events undermines the endless symphony of abundance.

But the oddness here isn’t all – I’m completely taken with this trailer. It’s beautiful, eerie and disturbing all at once. Not a common happening for a film never mind a teaser trailer.

Next Floor is directed by Québécois Denis Villeneuve whose next project is Polytechnique, a dramatization of the 1989 Montreal Massacre. I’m very hopeful that at some point, we’ll have the opportunity to watch Next Floor – I’d be more than happy to shell out a few dollars for this one too.

Trailer is tucked under the seat! An additional trailer and more stills can be found at the film’s website.