By Eric Ortiz
The Fantastic Pavilion presents a weekly recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema.
News
Sinners (2025) became the most nominated picture in the history of the Academy Awards! The vampire period piece got 16 noms, including Best Picture, Directing (Ryan Coogler), and Actor in a Leading Role (Michael B. Jordan).
Weapons (2025), The Ugly Stepsister (Den stygge stesøsteren, 2025), Frankenstein (2025) and Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) are some of the other genre movies that will compete at the Oscars on Sunday, March 15.
Festivals
Adrián García Bogliano’s Talking to a Stranger (Hablando con extraños, 2026), starring Gigi Saul Guerrero, has gotten a trailer, ahead of its world premiere at the prestigious International Film Festival Rotterdam. The dates of its IFFR screenings are February 2 (Press & Industry), February 3 (with Q&A), February 5 (with Q&A), and February 6.
Synopsis: “A grieving mother is confronted by an uncanny presence that wears the face of her lost child.”
The 33rd Gérardmer International Fantastic Film Festival kicks off tomorrow, January 27, and runs through February 1. Its robust lineup includes Sam Raimi’s Send Help (2026) as opening night film, plus Takahide Hori’s Junk World (2025), Rod Blackhurst’s Dolly (2025), Martín Mauregui’s Crazy Old Lady (Vieja loca, 2025), and Christophe Gans’ Return to Silent Hill (2026).
The documentary Boorman and the Devil (2025) – about Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) – and Kenichi Ugana’s horror flick The Curse (2025) are part of FrightFest Glasgow’s 2026 program. The festival is taking place from March 5 to 7.
Blood Window and the Fantastic Pavilion are happy to announce that the call for projects for the 2026 Blood Window Showcase is now open! Find here the full announcement.
And don’t forget that “registration for the 2026 Marché du Film opens on 2 February.”