Fantasia Fest 2025 First Wave: The Genre Playground Returns with Nuclear-Powered Nightmares

1. I Live Here Now (Julie Pacino – World Premiere Directorial Debut)

This is the film everyone will be talking about. Julie Pacino’s feature directorial debut plunges audiences into what’s being described as a “vibrant and nightmarish psychodrama” that channels David Lynch, Dario Argento, and the Coen Brothers. Shot on vivid 16mm, the film stars Lucy Fry as Rose, a trauma-haunted woman trapped in a motel where reality completely unravels. The supporting cast is stacked: Madeline Brewer (Cam), Twin Peaks legend Sheryl Lee, Cara Seymour (Adaptation), and comedian Matt Rife in what’s promised to be an “exceptionally slimy” performance. This isn’t nepotism filmmaking, this is a bold new voice tackling generational trauma, capitalism’s stranglehold, and the pursuit of perfection through a genre lens that promises to be genuinely innovative.

2. Mother of Flies (The Adams Family – World Premiere)

When the Adams Family returns to Fantasia, you clear your schedule. This necromancy-focused horror comes from the filmmaking dynasty behind The Deeper You Dig, Hellbender, and Where the Devil Roams, each a Fantasia World Premiere that redefined independent horror. Written, directed, shot, edited, and scored by John and Zelda Adams and Toby Poser (who also star), Mother of Flies explores the “darkly shadowed, yet love-lined pathways between human life and death.” Born from the family’s own experiences battling cancer, this promises to be their most personal and powerful work yet, a poetic exploration of necromancy through two women’s intimate relationships with mortality.

3. Terrestrial (Steve Pink – World Premiere)

The Hot Tub Time Machine director’s genre pivots into psychological thriller territory, which is the kind of creative risk that either crashes spectacularly or creates something transcendent. Pink’s comedy pedigree (Accepted, About Last Night, co-writer of High Fidelity and Grosse Pointe Blank) suggests he understands character and behavior intimately, now he’s filtering that through paranoia and fear. Jermaine Fowler (Sorry to Bother You) leads as a sci-fi writer whose reunion weekend spirals into uncanny dangers that threaten his grip on reality. With James Morosini (I Love My Dad), Pauline Chalamet (Sex Lives of College Girls), Rob Yang (Succession), and Brendan Hunt (Ted Lasso) rounding out the cast, this has all the ingredients for a sleeper hit that’ll dominate genre conversations.

4. I Am Frankelda (Rodolfo & Arturo Ambriz – North American Premiere)

This is cinema history in the making, Mexico’s very first stop-motion animated feature film. From Guillermo del Toro protégés who gained recognition with Revoltoso (Fantasia 2016) and created the acclaimed Frankelda’s Book of Spooks series, this dazzling exploration of Francisca Imelda’s challenging childhood and her friendship with Herneval, prince of the dream realm, represents a milestone for Latin American animation. The craftsmanship, cultural perspective, and sheer ambition of bringing Mexico into feature-length stop-motion territory make this essential viewing for anyone who cares about animation’s evolution.

5. Chao (Yasuhiro Aoki – North American Premiere)

Studio 4°C’s latest creation is a 21st-century cyberpunk reworking of The Little Mermaid set in psychedelic Shanghai, and it sounds absolutely unhinged in the best possible way. Director Yasuhiro Aoki (Batman: Gotham Knight, Tweeny Witches) spent seven years and over 100,000 drawings crafting this “daring and dazzling burst of animated brilliance” about a shipbuilding designer who becomes engaged to a mermaid princess seeking human-merfolk peace. When Studio 4°C, the boundary-pushing animation house behind Tekkonkinkreet and Mind Game, tackles romantic comedy with cyberpunk aesthetics, you know you’re in for something visually spectacular and narratively wild.

Festival First Wave Standouts

Why Fantasia 2025 Is Already Essential Viewing

This first wave announcement carries the electric energy that made previous years so memorable, but with a maturity and scope that suggests the festival is entering a new phase of its evolution. The blend of established filmmakers taking creative risks (Terrestrial), breakthrough directorial debuts (I Live Here Now), returning festival favorites (Mother of Flies), historic cinema milestones (I Am Frankelda), and international genre innovations (Chao, The Woman) creates the perfect storm of established craft meeting experimental boldness.

The international representation is particularly strong this year, with groundbreaking animation from Mexico and Japan, psychological thrillers from Korea, and horror innovations from Canada and the United States. This isn’t just a festival lineup, it’s a snapshot of where genre cinema is heading in 2025.

For a review of INFLUENCER, we’ve got you covered. For more informaiton direct from the Festival, keep your eyes on the official website.