‘Zsazsa Zaturnnah’ bags bronze at Fantasia International Film Festival in Canada

The beloved comic book character “Zsazsa Zaturnnah” scored another international laurel, with the animated film winning the Bronze Audience Award for Best Animated Feature at the 30th Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada.

Rocketsheep Studio, the animation company behind the film, shared the news on social media alongside a colorful graphic of Zsazsa Zaturnnah. The film’s official page also celebrated the win with a creative photo of the superhero receiving her medal while standing on the third-place podium.

Directed by Avid Liongoren, Zsazsa Zaturnnah is a Filipino-French co-production based on Carlo Vergara’s iconic graphic novel of the same name. At this year’s film festival,  Japan’s “Cherry and Virgin” took home the Gold Audience Award, and France’s “Jim Queen” received the Silver Award.

“Zsazsa Zaturnnah” follows Ada, a shy gay hairdresser whose ordinary life takes a spectacular turn after she swallows a mysterious magical rock and transforms into a voluptuous, red-haired superhero.

The Fantasia recognition is the latest achievement for the film, which has been making its way through several major international festivals since its world premiere.

Last June, “Zsazsa Zaturnnah” premiered at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, where it was screened under the Midnight Specials section. It later made a stop at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) in South Korea before heading to Fantasia.

The film was one of four Filipino productions featured at Fantasia Film Festival. The lineup included “Hayop Ka!,” another Rocketsheep Studio production, as well as “Bangungot” from Dead Horse Productions and Studio Heartbreak’s “The Lovers.” 

While "Zsazsa Zaturnnah" was the only one of the four to take home an award, their presence marked another strong showing for Filipino cinema at the international genre festival.

 In September, the film will head to Hong Kong as the closing title of the 37th Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (HKLGFF). Creator Carlo Vergara will also be at the closing ceremony, where he will take part in a Q&A with festivalgoers.