Private Project

Fortune Favours the Fantabulous

Eccentric, non-binary fortune teller, conjurer and runaway Fei Liu lives and performs out of a tent in the middle of the marshes. Over the course of three days, figures and phantoms of present and past penetrate Fei's tent and plague their subconscious, threatening to unravel their way of life and throwing their own future - and grip on reality - into turmoil.

  • Emmanuel Li
    Director
    MUSIC FOR THE END OF THE WORLD, Have You Seen Buster?
  • Emmanuel Li
    Writer
    MUSIC FOR THE END OF THE WORLD, Have You Seen Buster?
  • Ana Ungureanu
    Producer
  • Herbie Baron
    Key Cast
    "Fei Liu"
  • Mei Henri
    Key Cast
    "Steph Lang"
  • Rozelle Gemma
    Key Cast
    "Cindy Fosh"
  • Martyn Spendlove
    Key Cast
    "Sid Fish"
  • Sarah Collins Walters
    Key Cast
    "Gemma "
  • Michael O'Brien Doran
    Director of Photography
  • Phoebe Baker
    Production Designers
  • David Kmet
    Production Designers
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    狡兔三窟
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Fantasy
  • Runtime:
    24 minutes 30 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    6,500 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English, Mandarin Chinese, Yue Chinese (Cantonese)
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of Westminster
Director Biography - Emmanuel Li

Emmanuel is a young, queer director whose imaginative tales often follow drifters and dreamers on the fringes of society, with a keen eye for nature, magical-realism and performance physicality.

Drawing from a multi-disciplinary background in theatre, magic, music and more, he strives to craft immersive and expressive worlds within each of his films. While versatile and diverse in style and genre, they are commonly infused with rich colour palettes, energised by eclectic characters and brimming with heart and humour.

In 2019, he co-founded youth-led production collective Big Tent Films, under which numerous shorts and music videos have been produced which have screened and been awarded at festivals worldwide, as well as cultivating almost 1 million views.

In 2021, Emmanuel was the recipient of the BFI's "Best New Talent" award for his short 'MUSIC FOR THE END OF THE WORLD'.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

With Fortune Favours the Fantabulous, I wanted to take aspects of my lived experience that I hadn’t seen represented on screen before, swirl them all in a glittery cauldron and conjure up a queer fairytale that could open hearts and minds as well as awakening the inner child within each of us. In a cultural landscape where anti-immigrant and anti-trans rhetoric and legislation loom over us, I wanted to tell a story that rallied against these by showing just how much beauty, value and sheer magic LGBTQ+ people of colour bring to the world. I wanted to craft a modern fairytale that’s as grand as it is intimate, mythical as it is mundane, and spectacular as it is sincere. – above all, it's a resounding statement that we are here to stay, and here to slay.