Anyone attending this year’s Crazy8s gala screening at the Centre for Performing Arts on Saturday (February 23) is in for the strongest slate of films in the competition’s 20-year history.

With ambitious efforts like the Victorian-era, London-set “Ada” and the moody, perfectly cast drama “Parabola”—which convincingly stretches its narrative across two continents over two decades—we encounter virtually none of the frayed edges that usually (and charmingly) hint at the panic-stricken nature of Crazy8s, which allows for a scant three days of shooting and five of postproduction, all on a budget of $1,000.

In the case of Jerome Yoo’s “Idols Never Die”, the action all takes place in a small Korean town in the wake of a K-pop superstar’s sudden death.

Again, cannily using Lower Mainland locations including a school, a forest, and, most spectacularly, a temple mausoleum, “Idols Never Die” manages to sustain suspension of disbelief throughout its entire 17 minutes—already succeeding, therefore, in an area that so much Vancouver-shot Hollywood product can’t get right.

Talking to the Straight barely 48 hours after delivering his final cut, Yoo credits the film’s success to a highly talented team, but also to a lot of serendipity.

That last location was actually a substitute found and secured at the 11th hour.

The production was similarly blessed by Vancouver’s recent snowfall, adding enormous atmosphere to two crucial sequences.

And, craziest of all, Yoo’s entire cast of teen girls was nonprofessional.

“It’s not easy to find fluent-Korean-speaking teenage actors!” he says.

“It was street casting, basically. We grabbed anyone we could who looked 16.”

Working with casting director Ciarra Cook, Yoo in fact found his lead when young Catherine Shim accompanied a friend to the audition with no intention of trying out for the part herself.

“We literally had a five-minute conversation,” he marvels. "And she carries the film.

“That was the biggest potential crisis,” Yoo continues, insisting that the entire production was otherwise an unusually smooth affair. “By the end of the shoot they were like seasoned actors. I’m just so incredibly proud of them.”

Behind the camera, meanwhile, Yoo could count on experienced professionals, eager as ever to join the Crazy8s party, to give “Idols Never Die” its impressive sheen.

And he clearly made the right decision when he invited Kim’s Convenience star Andrea Bang to collaborate on the screenplay for his sweet (and occasionally creepy) tale of “four friends who find their sisterhood”.

He adds that there’s no underestimating the mentoring offered by Crazy8s each year to its six finalists.

“[Story editor] Rudy Thauberger gave invaluable notes about which story beats would or wouldn’t land. He’s a very talented writer,” he says.

Providing advice from the director’s chair, Zach Lipovsky—who recently wrapped the big-screen adaptation of Disney’s Kim Possible—simply urged the 24-year-old actor turned director to “just do it. There’s no time to doubt yourself or think about what’s right or wrong. You have to really just believe. It’s simply about having the courage to execute your vision and your story in the way you want it to be told.”

Sounds about right—although a ton of talent sure can’t hurt.

The Crazy8's gala screening and afterparty takes place at the Centre for Performing Arts on Saturday (February 23)