Shot for just $10,000 USD, audiences would be excused for thinking Calgary director Becca Kozak’s first feature length film Sugar Rot cost 10 times as much to make.
The horror film, which has all the gory trappings of the genre along with more than a healthy toping of punk rock, asks the question of what happens when a woman named Candy literally turns into something that people want to eat, ice cream.
All the while Candy fights to reclaim her body in more than a little bit of feminist subtext.
“I’ve been inspired by trauma, John Waters, and Russ Meyer, so sort of campier origin, but then something like Russ Meyer, you have all those strong female heroines,” said Kozak.
“Originally, when I went out to make the movie, I wasn’t expecting it to come off as serious. I mean, there’s a lot of comedic elements throughout so I’d almost call it like a feminist comedy.”
That the protagonist turns into ice cream, she said, worked as a metaphor on several levels.
“I wrote this script as a short version eight years ago when I went to creative writing school at University of Victoria. I mixed Juno and The Fly as the idea, and then ice cream just worked as a metaphor existentially, as well as a slow melting away.”
“People are trying to eat her, both in the cannibalistic way and the other way—men and women, insatiable. But really that’s just being a woman, having people constantly come at you.”
The Alberta premiere at CUFF, said Kozak, was by far the largest showing of her film to date. Sugar Rot was an official selection at Halifax’s FogFest in November of 2024.
“It’s super exciting. This is the biggest festival I’ve ever gone into, and I hope it’s auspicious in terms of the film getting into more festivals.”
“I hope that inspires people to know that they don’t have to write all these grants, especially if they’re making transgressive content, because why would the government of Canada fund transgressive content? If you truly want to make something that challenges people, you have to do it yourself and cheaper.”
The film is playing against another CUFF fan favourite on the evening of April 19, The Ugly Stepsister. And while both dive headfirst into the deep end for body horror, Kozak said audiences should if they have to pick one, to give punk rock a chance.
“There’s a little bit of competition with The Ugly Stepsister that night as well, but that’s playing again on Tuesday, and the director is not in attendance. So catch my movie on Saturday, and see the director in attendance. Catch Ugly Stepsister later. That’s what I recommend,” said Kozak.
Tickets for the showing of Sugar Rot, along with a post film Q&A with Kozak are available at www.calgaryundergroundfilm.org/2025/sugar-rot.
