 |
| Mother Of Flies Photo: Fantasia International Film Festival |
The Adams family's Mother Of Flies yesterday became the first ever US-made winner of the Cheval Noir as this year's Fantasia International Film Festival awards were announced.
"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," said Jury President Pascal Plante. "It’s funny – every time I’m back in this neighbourhood, it brings me back to my Concordia days… and one teacher once told us, ‘Don’t just make films with your friends!’ and I was kind of always opposed to that concept. I try to make films with my friends as much as possible. But these filmmakers bring this up a notch: they even keep it in the family! The result is an earnest film; a true indie that feels authentic, vital, and impeccably crafted. The editing – on a laptop on Premiere Pro – and cinematography – with whatever prosumer camera you can get your hands on – are on point, to say the least. In short: it just rocks."
A special mention went to Yûta Shimotsu's New Group, with the jury saying "We want to acknowledge an idea that – for us – was the best conceived in the entire festival."
Those awards in full:
Cheval Noir Competition 2025
- Best Film - Mother Of Flies (D. John Adams, Zelda Adams, And Toby Poser)
- Special Jury Mention (Best Film) - New Group (D. Yuta Shimotsu)
- Best Director - Hadrah Daeng Ratu - The Book Of Sijjin And Illiyyin
- Best Screenplay - Connor Diedrich And Samuel Johnson - Terrestrial (D. Steve Pink)
- Best Cinematography - Alex Metcalfe, - Cielo (D. Alberto Sciamma)
- The Sandro Forte Award For Best Motion Picture Score - H6llb6nd6r - Mother Of Flies (D. John Adams, Zelda Adams, And Toby Poser)
- Outstanding Performance Award - Bakhytzhan Alpeis - Stinker (D. Yerden Telemissov)
- Outstanding Performance Award - Ui Mihara - I Fell In Love With A Z-Grade Director In Brooklyn (D. Kenichi Ugana)
2025 Cheval Noir Jury: Pascal Plante (President), Ethan Eng, Alison Foreman, Payton Mccarty-Simas, George Schmaltz
New Flesh Competition For Best First Feature 2025
- Best First Feature - It Ends (D. Alexander Ullom)
- Special Jury Mentions - Fucktoys (D. Annapurna Sriram) and Hellcat (D. Brock Bodell)
2025 New Flesh Jury: Chris Nash (President), Jim Brunzell, Louise Buckler, Deirdre Crimmins, Anelle Dehghani, Jean-François Leblanc
International Short Film Competition 2025
- Best Film - Barlebas (D. Malu Janssen)
- Best Director - Jo Ba-Reun - Floor
- Best Screenplay - Dylan Pun - Shrimp Fried Rice (D. Dylan Pun)
- Best Cinematography - Barlebas (Sam Du Pon)
- The Sandro Forte Award for Best Motion Picture Score - Proxy (Christopher Lund)
- Outstanding Performance Award - Ruby Zoom - The Collector & Agnieszka Rajda - Weird To Be Human
- Special Jury Mentions - Weird To Be Human (D. Jan Grabowski) & The Rebirth (D. Connie Shi)
2025 International Short Film Jury: Kaniehtiio Horn (President), Rémi Fréchette, Evan O’Brien, Carol Nguyen, Wylie Rush
Satoshi Kon For Excellence In Animation Competition 2025
- Best Animated Feature - The Girl Who Stole Time (D. Yu Ao & Zhou Tienan)
- Special Jury Mention - I Am Frankelda (Soy Frankelda) (D. Arturo Ambriz & Roy Ambriz)
- Best Animated Short / Bronze - My Organs Lying On The Ground (D. Shinobu Soejima)
- Best Animated Short / Silver - Éiru (D. Giovanna Ferrari)
- Best Animated Short / Gold - Off-Time (D. Nata Metlukh )
2025 Satoshi Kon Animation Jury: Rachel Samson (President), Sam Chou, Chimwemwe Miller
Northern Excellence For Best Canadian Filmmaker 2025
- Best Director (Feature Film) - Chloé Cinq-Mars - Peau À Peau (Nesting)
- Special Jury Mention - Simon Glassman - Buffet Infinity
2025 Northern Excellence Jury: Elza Kephart (President), Olivia Norquay, Joe Lipsett, Cam Maitland, Alanna Thain
Aqcc Award 2025
- Best Film - The Virgin Of The Quarry Lake (D. Laura Casabe)
- Special Jury Mention - Burning (D. Radik Eshimov)
2025 Aqcc Jury: Miguel De Plante, Louis-Paul Rioux, Elijah Baron
Poulain Noir Competition 2025
- Best Film / Bronze - Christopher And The Bug (D. Vanessa Lynn Esteves)
- Best Film / Silver - Soap Box (Boîte À Savon) (D. Jimmy Pettigrew)
- Best Film / Gold - The Sound Of Raindrops (D. Max Banse, Julie Blanc, Alvaro Deolio, Elena Forlini, Estelle Jourdan, Gabriel Riera, And Lila Trouvé)
- Special Jury Mentions - The Little One And The Giant (D. Isabela Costa) & A Small Garden By The Window (D. Lee Jong-Hoon)
2025 Poulain Noir Jury: Ginette Petit (President), Luc Chamberland, Bryan Perro, Alex Parkinson
Les Fantastiques Week-Ends Du Cinéma Québécois Competition 2025
Mels Award For Best Short Film:
- 1st Place - Molosse (D. Marc-Antoine Lemire)
- 2nd Place - Butter Knife (D. Théophile Mur)
- 3rd Place - Itty Bitty Betty (D. Laura Buchanan)
- Special Mention - Girasol (D. Dominic Couturier & Pierre Inglebert)
- Aqpm Award For Best Emerging Production In A Short Film - Iconic (Adelaide Sokolov, D. April Daneau)
- Special Mention - Don't Judge A Unicorn By Its Horn (Ellie Charette & Arian Salarian, D. Ellie Charette)
- Arrq Award For Best Direction In A Short Film - Guillaume Boivin & Steve Villeneuve - The Screaming
- Special Mention - Théophile Mur - Butter Knife
- Evs Award For Best Emerging Direction In A Short Film - Andrew Cyr-Marcoux - L'écho Perdu
Royal Photo Award For Best Cinematography In A Short Film:
- 1st Place - Liane Paré - Dumpster Duchess (D. Raphë, Liana Paré)
- 2nd Place - Pierre Inglebert - Girasol (D. Dominic Couturier & Pierre Inglebert)
- 3rd Place - Martin Reisch - Island Of Forgetfulness (D. Erin Ross)
- Special Mention - Guillaume Langlois & Raphaël Ouellet - Greluche (D. Daphnée Côté-Hallé)
- Fantasia Award For Best Performance In A Short Film: Stéfanelle Auger - Envolée (D. Renaud Ouimet)
- Special Mention: Marguerite Bouchard - L'explosion, Et Puis Le Calme (D. William Tétreault) & Maximilian Isaacs - Here Comes Kermit Williams (D. Ryan Terk)
- Canadian Cinema Editors (Cce) Award For Best Editing In A Short Film - John-Daniel Arauz - Kitty The Viper (D. John-Daniel Arauz)
- Special Mention - Marc-Olivier Huard - Interurbain (D. Marc-Olivier Huard)
- Spira Award For Best Regional Short Film - Frères D'armes (D. François Lalonde)
- Special Mention - Rien Que Du Vent (D. Ph Debiès)
- Bam Music Award For Best Sound In A Short Film - Loud (D. Adam Azimov)
- Toon Boom Award For Best 2d Short Film - Grain (D. Ilana Zackon)
- Dragonframe Award For Best Stop Motion Short Film - Songes Et Étrangetés Au Jardin (D. Kimm D. & Caroline Hayeur)
- Special Mention - Exit The Red Room
A David Lynch Tribute (D. Corey Nikolaus)
- Coup De Coeur Sla Location Award For A Short Film - A Better Day (D. Scott Cowan)
