The Star Wars saga is a formative franchise for so many: not just science fiction fans, but filmmakers who hope to emulate what George Lucas and his collaborators achieved. The original films have influenced countless directors and writers — including Coralie Fargeat. With her aptly-titled debut feature Revenge, the French filmmaker carved out a niche within the horror genre. Her latest effort, The Substance, has confirmed what a small group of cinephiles already knew: Fargeat knows how to get under your skin, and she’s going to have lots of fun doing it.
Last year, The Substance put Fargeat on the map in a major way. She’s up for Best Director at the Academy Awards, and all that prestige buzz has inspired her to look back at her first effort behind the camera. Ahead of the Oscars, Fargeat shared her first short film, La guerre des étoiles, with Letterboxd. As its title might suggest, Fargeat’s short is also a Star Wars fan film. It’s light on the blood and gore that would later become Fargeat’s calling card, but it reveals plenty about her taste as a filmmaker. Check out the film below.
