By Eric Ortiz
The Fantastic Pavilion presents a weekly recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema.
Festivals
The Official Selection of the 79th Cannes Film Festival (May 12-23) includes such genre flicks as: Na Hong-jin’s Hope (Competition), Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (Un Certain Regard), Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell (Out of Competition), Quentin Dupieux’s Full Phil (Midnight Screenings), Marion Le Corroller’s Sanguine (Midnight Screenings), and Yeon Sang-ho’s Colony (Midnight Screenings).
The 2026 Marché du Film (Cannes’ film market) is certainly around the corner, so the selected projects for the Frontières Platform (May 16 and 17) have also been revealed:
Proof of Concept (May 16, 10:00 hrs. at Palais K, Palais des Festivals)
Aulken (Didier Konings)
“Mistrust spreads through a homestead of 14th-century famine refugees as a young orphaned boy’s arrival coincides with a threat from the countryside that can take any form… including that of the refugees themselves.”
Baldoon (Gwynne Phillips, Briana Templeton)
“It’s 1829. John and Nancy McDonald’s farm is haunted by a mysterious force, putting their lives and sanity on the line.”
Duppy (Ajuan Isaac-George)
“Left with her grandparents in the Jamaican countryside, a lonely 12-year-old girl summons a vengeful spirit to take revenge against her strict grandmother, unknowingly forming an unbreakable pact with a shapeshifting demon.”
Magai-gami (Norihiro Niwatsukino)
“In a cursed forest ruled by false gods called Magai-gami, survival depends on one rule: never look away.”
Read the Bones (Oan Hostench)
“After a disfiguring accident during her first photoshoot, a young aspiring model spirals into delusion and revenge, reinventing herself as a cult-like icon, until brutal retribution turns her into a macabre work of art more powerful in death than she ever was in life.”
Spiral (Kourtney Roy)
“In the City of Light, young artist Kat spirals into a pit of madness and mayhem, leaving a trail of bloody carnage through the elite art world whose recognition she so desperately craves.”
You’ve Been Chosen (Viljar Boe)
“When Fredrik begins receiving anonymous letters with instructions that reward obedience and punish resistance, he is drawn into a brutal system that challenges both his free will and his sense of responsibility.”
Buyers Showcase (May 17, 16:15 hrs. at Palais K, Palais des Festivals)
Astrolatry (David Gordon)
“A chronic masturbator’s obsession with a beauty cream model propels him into violent delusions, culminating in an accident that creates a murderous, psychosexual creature.”
Grind (Peter Collins Campbell)
“A down-and-out NYC delivery biker attempts to make all of his rent in one manic night of food delivery, and nearly dies in the process.”
Queen of Malacca (Angga Dwimas Sasongko)
“From victim to perpetrator. In a world where criminal empires are built on blood, fear, and ancient prophecy, one woman dares to rewrite fate.”
The Glorious Dead (John Adams, Toby Poser)
“A small town sheriff wakes to find the world she believed in no longer exists.”
The Wrath (Shayne Putzlocher)
“In the beautiful backdrop of Thailand, a sinister spirit plots to seek vengeance on an ex-lover who broke his heart. When Devyn brings her new husband, Ben, to Koh Samui to film a documentary, the Thai folk-legend they’ve come to feature becomes their horrific reality.”
Tracking: The Cyprus Tigers (Andreas Kyriakou)
“Tracking: The Cyprus Tigers traces how Hong Kong martial arts cinema infiltrated Europe during the VHS era, using the cult film The Cyprus Tigers and Jackie Chan’s Armour of God, shot in Cyprus and Croatia respectively, to reveal a forgotten network of cinematic exchange driven by the video store boom rather than studios.”
Hanna Bergholm’s Nightborn (2026), Curry Barker’s Obsession (2025), Natalie Erika James’ Saccharine (2026), and Corin Hardy’s Whistle (2025) are part of the Fantasy Filmfest Nights’ 2026 lineup. The screenings are taking place in the following German cities: Berlin (Aprl 16-19), Frankfurt (April 23-26), Hamburg (Aprl 16-19), Cologne (Aprl 16-19), Munich (April 23-26), Nuremberg (Aprl 16-19), and Stuttgart (April 23-26).
Grimmfest (Manchester’s International Festival of Fantastic Film) unveiled the artwork for its 18th edition (October 8-11). Additionally, the festival confirmed that the sci-fi horror feature Ivan (2026) is part of the program.
Submissions are now open for the 2026 Isla Calavera (the Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival), happening from November 6 to 15. The deadline to submit your work, via Festhome or FilmFreeway, is October 1.
News
Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno, 2006) will return to U.S. cinemas on October 9, to celebrate its 20th anniversary. According to Deadline, the beloved fantasy picture is set to be “presented theatrically for the first time by Cineverse and Fathom in 4K, and with versions available in both 3D and HDR by Barco.”
Pierre Tsigaridis’ Frankie, Maniac Woman (2025), a horror movie about a female killer (Dina Silva), is hitting select theaters in the U.S. on April 24. You can watch here its trailer.
Synopsis: “Battling against the legacy of childhood trauma, internalised misogyny, and the image-obsessed fat shaming of the LA music business, aspiring singer-songwriter Frankie Ramirez finally snaps, with bloody results.”