ABOUT THE FILM
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. And now, rapid development is pushing it toward extinction.
Why should we save these plants?
The film follows the 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. One even asked, “Why should we save these plants if you can buy them at Walmart?” This highlights the stark conflict between conservation and development in ‘flytrap central.’
There was hope that Washington DC would provide help for the Venus flytrap and other wildlife. A bill called The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would have given $20 million to North Carolina to protect endangered species. Since the bill didn’t pass and a new one is uncertain, federal help may not come. In the end, volunteers might have to dig up flytraps one by one to save them.
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. Shot in vivid 4K, the film reveals the flytrap in extraordinary detail, from the stillness of its open jaws to their lightning-fast snap. Intimate, golden-hour scenes capture the quiet dedication of the volunteers working to protect it.
Blending science, emotion, and visual wonder, FLYTRAP TOWN offers a powerful, immersive look at what it means to fight for the wild.
Brunswick County, NC has the largest wild Venus flytrap population, but its fragile habitat is vanishing. Amid a housing boom, volunteers in Boiling Spring Lakes rescue and relocate threatened flytraps, acting quickly to protect them.