diff --git a/crates/slag-core/src/runtime.rs b/crates/slag-core/src/runtime.rs
index 51e9329..e639a45 100644
--- a/crates/slag-core/src/runtime.rs
+++ b/crates/slag-core/src/runtime.rs
@@ -257,6 +257,38 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(out.last(), Some(&SteelVal::IntV(22)));
     }
 
+    /// `#:fit 'contain` must survive the whole trip: Steel keyword plist ->
+    /// element hash -> decode. A quoted symbol is what packs actually pass,
+    /// and a silent decode miss turns every video back into a cover-crop.
+    #[test]
+    fn video_fit_contain_decodes_from_a_real_symbol() {
+        let rt = runtime(bundled_only());
+        let out = rt
+            .run(&format!(
+                r#"(require "{UI_MODULE}")
+                   (list (video "k" #:fit 'contain)
+                         (video "k" #:fit (and #t 'contain))
+                         (video "k" #:fit (and #f 'contain))
+                         (video "k"))"#
+            ))
+            .expect("video build failed");
+        let SteelVal::ListV(videos) = out.last().expect("no output") else {
+            panic!("expected a list of videos");
+        };
+        let contains: Vec<bool> = videos
+            .iter()
+            .map(|v| match crate::decode::decode(v).root.kind {
+                crate::element::Kind::Video { contain, .. } => contain,
+                other => panic!("expected a video, got {other:?}"),
+            })
+            .collect();
+        assert_eq!(
+            contains,
+            vec![true, true, false, false],
+            "literal and (and ...) symbols must decode; falsy/absent stay cover"
+        );
+    }
+
     /// A component loaded under a prefix must expose its own `render`, which is
     /// what lets every component share one engine.
     #[test]
diff --git a/crates/slag-gpui/src/materialize.rs b/crates/slag-gpui/src/materialize.rs
index 92aded0..759e700 100644
--- a/crates/slag-gpui/src/materialize.rs
+++ b/crates/slag-gpui/src/materialize.rs
@@ -21,9 +21,9 @@ use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
 use gpui::{
-    div, img, px, AnyElement, Div, Entity, FontFeatures, Hsla, InteractiveElement, IntoElement,
-    ObjectFit, ParentElement, RenderImage, ScrollHandle, SharedString,
-    StatefulInteractiveElement, Styled, StyledImage, WeakEntity, Window,
+    canvas, div, img, px, AnyElement, Corners, Div, Entity, FontFeatures, Hsla, InteractiveElement,
+    IntoElement, ObjectFit, ParentElement, RenderImage, ScrollHandle, SharedString,
+    StatefulInteractiveElement, Styled, WeakEntity, Window,
 };
 use gpui_component::{
     alert::Alert,
@@ -989,9 +989,16 @@ fn build_key_capture(
 }
 
 /// Build a video surface: the last-presented frame (see `ensure_videos`)
-/// cover-fitted into the styled box, or an empty panel before the first frame.
-/// The frame is looked up in the component-owned map, not fetched from the app,
-/// so one render pass presents one consistent frame per key.
+/// fitted into the styled box (`#:fit 'contain` letterboxes, the default
+/// cover-crops), or an empty panel before the first frame. The frame is looked
+/// up in the component-owned map, not fetched from the app, so one render pass
+/// presents one consistent frame per key.
+///
+/// Painted through `canvas`, not gpui's `img`: `img` writes the image's aspect
+/// ratio into its own layout style, which overrides `size_full` in taffy — the
+/// element lays out at full width times aspect height, overflows the box, and
+/// the clip eats the bottom of every frame whose aspect is narrower than the
+/// box, regardless of the requested object fit.
 #[inline(never)]
 fn build_video(
     el: &Element,
@@ -1007,7 +1014,19 @@ fn build_video(
     };
     let boxed = apply_style(div(), &el.style, theme).overflow_hidden();
     let boxed = match ctx.videos.get(key) {
-        Some(frame) => boxed.child(img(frame.clone()).size_full().object_fit(fit)),
+        Some(frame) => {
+            let frame = frame.clone();
+            boxed.child(
+                canvas(
+                    |_, _, _| (),
+                    move |bounds, _, window, _| {
+                        let target = fit.get_bounds(bounds, frame.size(0));
+                        let _ = window.paint_image(target, Corners::default(), frame, 0, false);
+                    },
+                )
+                .size_full(),
+            )
+        }
         None => boxed.bg(theme.secondary),
     };
     finish_interactive(boxed, el, ctx)