Mother of Flies (2025)

[BluBonnet]

This movie has already accomplished something no US movie ever did before.

‘Mother of Flies’ Becomes First U.S. Feature to Win the Top Prize at Fantasia Film Festival

“Mother of Flies,” a small independent film from Fantasia regulars the Adams family, has won the jury-selected Cheval Noir award for best film at the 29th Fantasia Film Festival.

Acquired by Shudder in advance of the festival, “Mother of Flies” is written and directed by John Adams, Zelda Adams, and Toby Posner and also stars the family trio, as well as daughter Lulu Adams. One of the buzziest films at the festival, it is also the first U.S. film to win Fantasia’s coveted Cheval Noir for Best Film.

In the Cheval Noir jury statement, jury president Pascal Plante wrote, “This might not be the film with the most means or the flashiest camerawork, but it’s a film that, in a meta way, reminds us why we even bother to make films in the first place. [It’s] an earnest film; a true indie that feels authentic, vital, and impeccably crafted.”

In a ceremony held tonight in Montreal’s packed Cinéma du Musée, Fantasia’s artistic director and director of international programming Mitch Davis handed out more than 50 awards and special mentions to international and Canadian features and shorts across the genre spectrum of storytelling.