FLYTRAP TOWN | Feature Documentary | 90min | Radius Films | Status: early post-production
Further offline pending funding - https://www.flytrapfilm.com/
-
Directed by Robert Ford ( Producer of Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, The Deepest Breath, Rising Phoenix)
-
SYNOPSIS
The VENUS FLYTRAP is both terrifying and adorable - a carnivorous plant with a jaw-like trap that has fascinated people for centuries. Around the world it is kept as a beloved ‘pet’ and lovingly hand-fed with live insects.
It has also been immortalized in pop culture, from Little Shop of Horrors to Super Mario Bros. But few realize that this legendary plant only grows wild in one place on Earth: a 75-mile radius around Wilmington, North Carolina.
Brunswick County, NC holds the highest concentration of wild Venus flytraps, but its fragile habitat is disappearing. This area sits at the center of an urgent environmental battle, where a housing boom clashes with conservation efforts. In the town of Boiling Spring Lakes a dedicated network of volunteers called Flytrap Champions dig up Venus flytraps threatened by construction and move them to safe ground. These flytrap relocations are known as ‘rescue missions’ and the volunteers are ready to mobilize at short notice, dedicating their time and passion to the iconic plant.
The film follows the personal stories of individuals fighting for the flytrap’s future and the sacrifices they make to preserve it. But not everyone in this area agrees that the flytrap is worth saving. Some local residents, facing housing shortages and high costs, question the focus on protecting a plant when they need homes.
With the wild Venus flytrap population down 93% in just 50 years, FLYTRAP TOWN is a timely, urgent and visually striking exploration of a species in peril - and the people racing to save it.
Produced by Radius Films in association with Wilmington-based Hendy Street Produxions, FLYTRAP TOWN blends science, emotion, and visual wonder, and offers a powerful, immersive look at what it means to fight for the wild.