This year’s Oscars season has been loaded with pain and controversy. Between the wildfires and the “Emilia Pérez” mess, a time of celebration has become more negative than anyone could’ve hoped. If there has been one consistently shining beacon of positivity in filmmaking and creativity, it’s been everyone surrounding “The Substance.” Actress Demi Moore has been receiving awards and acclaim as has the film’s writer and director, Coralie Fargeat.
And you know what’s even more heartwarming than seeing them succeed? Seeing Fargeat’s fan-made “Star Wars” film.
Letterboxd posted the 14-minute video on their official YouTube channel. Fargeat created it when she was 17. It is exactly the kind of beautifully amateurish piece of cinema that you would expect from a teenager with more passion and heart than money and resources. It’s also the kind of thing that reminds you about how purely wonderful this kind of filmmaking can be when someone truly loves the art of film.
Fargeat’s film combines “The Empire Strikes Back” with “Return of the Jedi.” It starts with the Battle of Hoth and the Rebels’ toppling over an AT-AT before fleeing the planet. We then transition over to the storming of Jabba’s Palace and Luke having to fight off the rancor. All of this is being done with action figures from Fargeat’s collection. This is even more impressive when you know this was done in 1993, before the 20th anniversary re-releases of the films and the resurgence of merchandise.
Making the movie extra special is how Fargeat then transitions to reusing some footage from “Jedi” and then into live-action, homemade costumes and her friends as actors. The costumes range from impressive, to terrifying, to brazenly self-aware. At one point Han Solo dons an Indiana Jones fedora while knocking out stormtroopers and taking down the Death Star shields. And not to give away spoilers, but yes, the Ewoks start dancing at the end. Oh, and it’s all in French, so it gives it that surreal art-house quality that you won’t find anywhere else. Except France.
There is everything wonderful and wholesome about this. To know that Fargeat went from this, to an Oscar nominated writer and director is the dose of hope that we all could use today. Take a look at the full film above and embrace the smile it’ll put on your face.
The 97th Annual Academy Awards will take place March 2nd, 2025.
UPDATE
Mere hours after the video was discovered by press, it has been removed from YouTube, due to a copyright claim by Disney.
