'Fantasy A gets a Mattress': Local low-budget movie gains momentum in Seattle

"Fantasy A gets a Mattress" is taking Seattle by storm.

The movie, filmed in Seattle, won best narrative feature at the Seattle Black Film Festival back in April, and has sold out 20 screenings at the Beacon Cinema.

Now, it’s been chosen as an official selection at upcoming events including the Seattle Film Summit, Poulsbo Film Festival, Local Sighting Film Festival and Tacoma Film Festival.

In the movie "Fantasy A gets a Mattress," local rapper Fantasy A, who plays himself, faces evil landlords, dismissive locals, and the threat of homelessness.

The film paints an image of what it looks like to be an artist in Seattle.

It opens on the streets of Seattle. It flashes through familiar locations — the Smith Tower, a shutdown dry cleaner in Capitol Hill, signs in the Chinatown International District — as Fantasy A explains his dream of making it big, and how that dream was crushed.

Instead, Fantasy A has a new goal — getting a good night's sleep on a good mattress.

David Norman Lewis, who codirects the movie with Noah Zoltan Sofian, says that basic goal — getting a good night's sleep — speaks to the film's thesis.

"It's about increasingly lower expectations, which is why it's Fantasy A gets a mattress, not Fantasy A gets an apartment," he explains.