Fucktoys is a 2025 American surrealist black comedy-drama film written and directed by Annapurna Sriram in her feature filmmaking debut. The film stars Sriram, Sadie Scott, François Arnaud, Big Freedia, Damian Young, and Brandon Flynn.
The film premiered at the South By Southwest Film Festival on March 9, 2025, where it received the Special Jury Award in Narrative Feature Competition.
Premise Learning she can lift a curse for a payment of $1,000 and the sacrifice of a baby lamb, sex worker and ingénue AP sets out on her moped across the pre-millennium alternate reality city of Trashtown, United States to try and earn enough money. Throughout her journey she encounters a series of bizarre, larger than life characters that force her to navigate the pervasively transactional reality of her world. Sriram describes the film as "neo-camp" and American New Wave revival. The film's journey through the night structure has been compared to films like After Hours and Good Time, and its visual iconography inspired by the tarot, based on the Fool's journey through the Major Arcana.
Cast
Production Sriram's inspiration for the style of the film includes films such as Angel and Crimes of Passion, and the works of John Waters, Gregg Araki, and Jim Jarmusch. The film was shot on super 16mm. The film was inspired by a previous relationship of Sriram, with her stating: "I had this breakup happen in my late 20s, and it was because a psychic told me that if I didn't dump my boyfriend, I was going to get really sick and wasn't going to have the career I was supposed to have. So I called him and said, ‘OK, the psychic says we have to break up.’ I got off the phone and felt like an insane person, because who has a call with a psychic who's like, ‘Do this life-changing thing,’ and then you immediately do it? So I felt very gullible and naive. I was heartbroken, and I started writing scenes." The film's title was described as a riff on the term "fuck boy". The film's poster was illustrated by Canadian artist Suspiria Vilchez.
The film was shot in Louisiana.
Release A festival trailer for the film was released on March 6, 2025. The film premiered at the 2025 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival, where it won the Special Jury Award for a Multi-Hyphenate.
Reception On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 29 reviews.
Accolades
Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival New Flesh Competition: Special Jury Mentions Annapurna Sriram 2025New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film FestivalU.S. Narrative Feature Jury AwardFucktoys 2025 South by Southwest Special Jury Award for a Multi-Hyphenate Annapurna Sriram 2025 Vancouver International Film Festival Audience Award, Altered States Fucktoys Andrew Tracy, "Three Canadian films claim audience awards at VIFF" . Playback, September 20, 2025. 2025 San Diego Asian Film Festival Grand Jury Prize 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards Someone to Watch Award Annapurna Sriram
References
External links