PHOBE: THE XENOPHOBIC EXPERIMENTS

Overflowing with the kind of creative spirit and indefatigable commitment to vision that’s only possible within the arena of outsider micro-budget filmmaking, PHOBE is an inspiring and ambitious work awash with impressive Roman candle pyrotechnics, alien predators, lightsaber battles, and space cops with mullets. In 1994, aspiring Niagara, Ontario filmmaker Erica Benedikty worked part-time at a community cable channel. Over the course of a year—and aided by a dedicated team of friends, volunteers and fellow film rebels—she wrote, produced, directed and edited an ambitious, feature-length sci-fi action thriller for only $250. When Erica convinced her employers to broadcast the finished film, PHOBE became a local sensation. The film was invited to screen at festivals and remains one of Canada’s most infamous cult hits.