AP just found out that — according to multiple psychics — she’s cursed. Even worse, if she wants to lift it she’s gonna have to sacrifice a baby lamb and come up with a grand in cash. Trashtown, USA, offers plenty of chances to do some pretty messed up stuff for a few bucks, so AP sets off on her scooter to make some money. Enter Danni (Sadie Scott), AP’s former flame, whose face is seemingly always bloodied and banged up. Together, they embark on an increasingly absurd reimagining of The Fool’s Journey.
Step aside Anora, there’s a new bad bitch in town. Writer, director, and star Annapurna Sriram serves charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent in this sexy, campy throwback to sexploitation classics. Shot in glowing 16mm and buzzing with the no-f*cks-given energy of John Waters and Gregg Araki, Fucktoys is unapologetic in every way — a transgressive indie freak-out with an exquisite cinematic style. More than just pastiche, Sriram is reclaiming power, changing the rules, and giving the finger to a system built on exploitation.
Special Jury Award: Narrative Feature Competition, SXSW 2025
Oct 4: Q&A
Supported by
Media Partner
Annapurna Sriram, Sadie Scott, Francois Arnaud, Big Freedia, Brandon Flynn, Damian Young
USA
2025
English
Violence, substance abuse, sexual situations
At International Village
At The Rio
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Timothy Petryni, Kurt Ravenwood, Lizzie Goodman, Jean Louis Droulers
Producer
Timothy Petryni
Screenwriter
Annapurna Sriram
Cinematography
Cory Fraiman-Lott
Editor
Lilly Wild, Grason Caldwell
Production Design
Nichole McMinn
Original Music
Jake Orrall
Annapurna Sriram
Annapurna Sriram grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, with early artistic influences informed by the unchaperoned movie rentals she found at the local public library. Despite awful grades and being sent away to reform school, Sriram received a BFA in acting from Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts. She spent many years working in New York both on stage and in television and film, and her most cherished work includes Jesse Eisenberg’s The Spoils, Wallace Shawn’s Evening at the Talkhouse, the television shows I Think You Should Leave and Billions, and the feature film Feral. Fucktoys is her directorial debut.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
KPop Demon Hunters: A Sing Along Event
The surprise hit of 2025, KPop Demon Hunters is a blast of good vibes and catchy tunes -- this generation's Ghostbusters, Gorillaz, or Spice Girls -- or some delightfully unholy combination of all three. Rated PG, all ages welcome!
Köln 75
The true story behind the greatest solo concert in jazz history, this is Keith Jarrett's legendary 1975 Köln Concert — as organized by 18-year-old rebel music promoter Vera Brandes. Fun, inventive and feminist, it's the Bend It Like Beckham of jazz films.
Frankenstein
Frankenstein and Guillermo del Toro might have been made for each other. The movie does not disappoint, a ripping yarn of grand adventure, spectacle, hubris, passion and XXL body parts, a tale of the fantastic that rings the imagination. Screening in 35mm.
Body and Soul
Our new Film Studies series explores the subversive cinema that led to the blacklist. Mike Archibald introduces one of the great boxing films, starring proto-Method actor John Garfield.