The twenty ninth Fantasia Fest isn’t over but, however we already know the massive winners in Montreal. On Saturday evening, filmmakers and jurors gathered in a theater at Cinéma du Musée to award seven of the competitors’s eight classes. (Les Fantastiques Week-Ends Du Cinéma Québécois, a regional class, was introduced final week.)
“Mom of Flies” took residence the Cheval Noir for Greatest Movie — the primary movie from the U.S. to realize this feat — in addition to Greatest Rating. The haunting function was a household affair, from filmmakers and punk band John Adams, Zelda Adams, and Toby Poser. They’re collectively often known as — look forward to it — the Adams Household.
“That’s simply good advertising and marketing,” joked director Pascal Plante, whose movie “Pink Rooms” gained the Cheval Noir in 2023. Plante served because the part’s jury president in 2025, and introduced Greatest Movie.
“I wish to put my coronary heart as much as the mic, so you possibly can hear how briskly it’s going proper now,” mentioned Zelda Adams, the eldest baby. “Thanks, Fantasia, a lot for this. I can’t imagine it. Each time we end a movie, we predict to ourselves, ‘Is it ok to get into Fantasia?’ And fortuitously, this one was!”
Just like the Adams’ previous Fantasia entries, “Mom of Flies” was shot of their residence within the Catskills. The transferring drama hangs within the area between life and demise, drawing from actual experiences with most cancers.
“Every part that we make has a private resonance, and this one has a very darkish resonance on the mobile stage,” mentioned mother Toby Poser. “Studying that it speaks to others means a lot to us.”
“In a Violent Nature” author/director Chris Nash served as jury president for the New Flesh Competitors for Greatest First Function. The prize went to “It Ends” from director Alexander Ullom. After the ceremony, Nash praised the debut for its sincerity, and mentioned, “Every part about it resonated with being a younger grownup and never understanding the place you’re going along with your life, after which realizing, that by no means ends. It sticks with you.”
Learn the whole record of winners from Fantasia 2025 under.
Cheval Noir
Greatest Movie: “Mom of Flies” (dirs. John Adams, Zelda Adams, and Toby Poser)
“This may not be the movie with essentially the most means or the flashiest camerawork, however it’s a movie that, in a meta manner, reminds us why we even trouble to make movies within the first place. It’s humorous – each time I’m again on this neighborhood, it brings me again to my Concordia days… and one instructor as soon as instructed us, ‘Don’t simply make movies with your mates!’ and I used to be form of all the time against that idea. I attempt to make movies with my mates as a lot as doable. However these filmmakers convey this up a notch: they even preserve it within the household! The result’s an earnest movie; a real indie that feels genuine, very important, and impeccably crafted. The modifying – on a laptop computer on Premiere Professional – and cinematography – with no matter prosumer digicam you may get your fingers on – are on level, to say the least. In brief: it simply rocks. Our Cheval Noir Award for Greatest Movie goes to ‘Mom of Flies’ by Zelda, John, and Toby… aka the Adams Household!” —Pascal Plante (“Pink Rooms”), Jury President
Particular Jury Point out/Greatest Idea: “New Group” (dir. Yuta Shimotsu)
Greatest Director: Hadrah Daeng Ratu, “The Guide of Sijjin and Illiyyin”
Greatest Screenplay: Connor Diedrich and Samuel Johnson, “Terrestrial” (dir. Steve Pink)
Greatest Cinematography: Alex Metcalfe, “Cielo” (dir. Alberto Sciamma)
The Sandro Forte Award for Greatest Movement Image Rating: H6LLB6ND6R, “Mom of Flies” (dirs. John Adams, Zelda Adams, and Toby Poser)
Excellent Efficiency Award: Bakhytzhan Alpeis, “Stinker” (dir. Yerden Telemissov)
Excellent Efficiency Award: Ui Mihara, “I Fell in Love with a Z-Grade Director in Brooklyn” (dir. Kenichi Ugana)
New Flesh Competitors for Greatest First Function
Greatest First Function: “It Ends” (dir. Alexander Ullom)
“’It Ends’ is a movie that manages to make use of low funds conventions and tropes to their fullest extent in an effort to create a movie that runs from being an unnerving thriller to a honest and bittersweet contemplation on time, friendship, and solitude; this may be a tough process for even essentially the most seasoned filmmaker, however Alexander Ullom succeeds with an unusual stage of grace and delicacy that rewards the viewers in methods they wouldn’t initially count on.”
Particular Jury Mentions: “Fucktoys” (dir. Annapurna Sriram) and “Hellcat” (dir. Brock Bodell)
Worldwide Brief Movie
Greatest Movie: “Barlebas” (dir. Malu Janssen)
“An all too acquainted story, worry of the ability that ladies maintain. A narrative of resilience instructed via lovely pictures and a haunting soundtrack. The lead carries the viewers alongside together with her unforgettable unique voice and songs. Undoubtedly a straightforward and unanimous choice for the jury.”
Greatest Director: Ko Ba-reun, “Ground”
Greatest Screenplay: Dylan Pun, “Shrimp Fried Rice” (dir. Dylan Pun)
Greatest Cinematography: Sam Du Pon, “Barlebas” (dir. Malu Janssen)
The Sandro Forte Award for Greatest Movement Image Rating: Christopher Lund, “Proxy” (dir. Artem Skiy)
Excellent Efficiency Award: Ruby Zoom, “The Collector” (dir. Scott Leberecht) and Agnieszka Rajda, “Bizarre to Be Human” (dir. Jan Grabowski)
Particular Jury Mentions – “Bizarre to Be Human” (dir. Jan Grabowski) and “The Rebirth” (dir. Connie Shi)
Satoshi Kon for Excellence in Animation
Greatest Animated Function: “The Woman Who Stole Time” (dir. Yu Ao and Zhou Tienan)
Particular Jury Point out: “I Am Frankelda” (“Soy Frankelda”) (dir. Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz)
Greatest Animated Brief – Bronze: “My Organs Mendacity on The Floor” (dir. Shinobu Soejima)
Greatest Animated Brief – Silver: “Éiru” (dir. Giovanna Ferrari)
Greatest Animated Brief – Gold: “Off-Time” (dir. Nata Metlukh )
Jury Assertion: “For its full of life animation, its designs, and its drawn universe that delighted all three of us, its partaking sound design, its reflection on time, accelerationism, and the eye and care required to be in contact with oneself, with others, and with all of life: the Satoshi Kon 2025 Jury awards its Gold Prize for Greatest Brief Movie to ‘Off-Time’ by filmmaker Nata Metlukh.”
Northern Excellence for Greatest Canadian Filmmaker
Greatest Director (Function Movie) – Chloé Cinq-Mars, for “Peau À Peau” (“Nesting”)
Jury Assertion: “Anchored by a uncooked and uncompromising lead efficiency and immersive course, this movie leads us down an at instances terrifying younger mom’s downward psychological spiral. For its unflinching and deeply human exploration of an often-overlooked facet of motherhood, we give the award for Greatest Canadian movie to author/director Chloé Cinq-Mars for ‘Peau À Peau’ (‘Nesting’).”
Particular Jury Point out – Simon Glassman, for “Buffet Infinity”
2025 Northern Excellence Jury: Elza Kephart (President), Olivia Norquay, Joe Lipsett, Cam Maitland, Alanna Thain
AQCC Award
Greatest Movie: “The Virgin of the Quarry Lake” (dir. Laura Casabe)
Jury Assertion: “For its considered stability between the coming-of-age story and on a regular basis horror, for its robust symbolism linked to the crises of Twenty first-century Argentina and for the wonderful performances of all of the actresses, we award the Quebec Affiliation of Movie Critics (AQCC) prize to the movie ‘The Virgin of the Quarry Lake,’ by Laura Casabe.”
Particular Jury Point out: “Burning” (dir. Radik Eshimov)
Poulain Noir
Greatest Movie – Bronze: “Christopher and The Bug” (dir. Vanessa Lynn Esteves)
Greatest Movie – Silver: “Cleaning soap Field”/”Boîte À Savon” (dir. Jimmy Pettigrew)
Greatest Movie – Gold: “The Sound of Raindrops” (dirs. Max Banse, Julie Blanc, Alvaro Deolio, Elena Forlini, Estelle Jourdan, Gabriel Riera, and Lila Trouvé)
Jury Assertion: “‘The Sound of Raindrop’s is a movie of exceptional inventive mastery. Its animation stands out for its originality, the standard of its visible composition, and a proper strategy that’s each poetic and metaphorical. Via the story of two brothers threatened by a storm, each inside and exterior, the movie addresses a fragile topic with nice sensitivity. It resonates with the viewer with out ever overstating its message and invitations us to replicate on what binds us collectively. The music and sound design help the narrative with subtlety and persistently considerate selections. Congratulations to all the staff for this daring, highly effective, and transferring work.”
Particular Jury Mentions: “The Little One and the Big” (dir. Isabela Costa) and “A Small Backyard by the Window” (dir. Lee Jong-hoon)
Les Fantastiques Week-Ends Du Cinéma Québécois
MELS Award for Greatest Brief Movie
- 1st Place – “Molosse” (dir. Marc-Antoine Lemire)
- 2nd Place – “Butter Knife” (dir. Théophile Mur)
- third Place – “Itty Bitty Betty” (dir. Laura Buchanan)
- Particular Point out – “Girasol” (dirs. Dominic Couturier and Pierre Inglebert)
AQPM Award for Greatest Rising Manufacturing in a Brief Movie: “Iconic” (Adelaide Sokolov, dir. April Daneau)
- Particular Point out: “Don’t Choose a Unicorn by Its Horn” (Ellie Charette and Arian Salarian, dir. Ellie Charette)
ARRQ Award for Greatest Route in a Brief Movie: Guillaume Boivin and Steve Villeneuve, “The Screaming”
- Particular Point out: Théophile Mur, “Butter Knife”
EVS Award for Greatest Rising Route in a Brief Movie: Andrew Cyr-Marcoux, “L’écho Perdu”
Royal Photograph Award for Greatest Cinematography in a Brief Movie
- 1st Place – Liane Paré, “Dumpster Duchess” (dir. Raphë, Liana Paré)
- 2nd Place – Pierre Inglebert, “Girasol” (dir. Dominic Couturier and Pierre Inglebert)
- third Place – Martin Reisch, “Island of Forgetfulness” (dir. Erin Ross)
- Particular Point out – Guillaume Langlois and Raphaël Ouellet, “Greluche” (dir. Daphnée Côté-Hallé)
Fantasia Award for Greatest Efficiency in a Brief Movie: Stéfanelle Auger, “Envolée” (dir. Renaud Ouimet)
- Particular Point out: Marguerite Bouchard, “L’explosion, et puis le calme” (dir. William Tétreault) and Maximilian Isaacs, “Right here Comes Kermit Williams” (dir. Ryan Terk)
Canadian Cinema Editors (CCE) Award for Greatest Enhancing in a Brief Movie: John-Daniel Arauz, “Kitty the Viper” (dir. John-Daniel Arauz)
- Particular Point out – Marc-Olivier Huard, for Interurbain (dir. Marc-Olivier Huard)
Spira Award for Greatest Regional Brief Movie: “Frères D’armes” (dir. François Lalonde)
- Particular Point out: “Rien Que Du Vent” (dir. PH Debiès)
Bam Music Award for Greatest Sound in a Brief Movie – “Loud” (dir. Adam Azimov)
Toon Increase Award for Greatest 2D Brief Movie: “Grain” (dir. Ilana Zackon)
Dragonframe Award for Greatest Cease Movement Brief Movie: “Songes et étrangetés au jardin” (dirs. Kimm D. and Caroline Hayeur)
- Particular Point out: “Exit the Pink Room | A David Lynch Tribute” (dir. Corey Nikolaus)
Coup de Coeur SLA Location Award for a Brief Movie: “A Higher Day” (dir. Scott Cowan)