Fantaspoa 2026: Brazilian Genre Fest Announces Festival Lineup

Fantaspoa Unveils Theme and 

Feature Lineup for 22nd Edition

 

Latin America’s leading fantastic film festival will hold its 

2026 edition from April 8th through the 26th in Porto Alegre, Brazil

 

Fantaspoa returns from April 8th through the 26th of this year, proudly reiterating its position as one of the world’s foremost showcases of genre cinema. In its 22nd edition, the festival celebrates two major milestones in fantastic film history: the 50th anniversary of Brian De Palma's CARRIE and the centenary of FAUST, the German Expressionist classic from F. W. Murnau.

 

The theme of this year’s Fantaspoa pays tribute to the symbolic and visual power of CARRIE. The official poster was created by artist Elizabeth Schuch, who also serves as the festival’s art director. Inspired by the striking imagery and emotional intensity of the 1976 film and the art of Gustave Doré that influenced Sissy Spacek’s interpretation of the character, Schuch developed an aesthetic concept that evokes the psychological horror and dramatic force that established the film as a genre landmark. The homage reflects Fantaspoa’s ongoing commitment to honoring the legacy of fantastic cinema while fostering its continual reinvention.

 

As has become tradition, the festival will open with a special live-scored screening. On April 8th, Fantaspoa's official opening event will feature FAUST (1926), F. W. Murnau’s German Expressionist masterpiece, presented in celebration of its 100th anniversary. The screening will take place at Instituto Ling and will feature a newly composed live score by Argentinian guitarist and composer Germán Suane.

 

The 22nd edition of Fantaspoa will present a robust program of more than 200 films — including 85 feature films — alongside lectures, masterclasses, panel discussions, and social events such as its beloved Costume Party Cruise. Among the selected feature films are ten World Premieres, eight International Premieres, 42 Latin American Premieres, eleven Brazilian Premieres, and ten Regional Premieres, representing productions from 41 countries.

 

These figures emphasize Fantaspoa’s growing relevance on the global festival circuit and the international industry’s confidence in its curatorial vision. It’s also relevant to mention that this will be the first year in which Fantaspoa will present a Silver Méliès award for Best European Feature film. This is the first time the award will be given by a festival outside of Europe, reinforcing the presence of Fantaspoa in the Méliès Federation, now as a core member.

 

Fantaspoa 2026 lineup includes films that have screened at some of the world’s most prestigious festivals, including Berlinale, Cannes, Toronto, Viennale, Rotterdam, Sitges, Annecy, Mar del Plata, South by Southwest, Sundance, Fantastic Fest, Karlovy Vary, Fantasia, Fantasporto, Tallinn Black Nights, and BAFICI.

 

Confirmed guests attending the festival's 2026 edition include Meekaaeel Adam, Clarissa Appelt, Oliver Bernsen, Jay Arden Black, Thales Banzai, Omar Calvo, Mauricio Chernovetzki, Abril Cicala, Daniel Dias, Aaron Fisher, Tomás Fleck, Diego Fuentes, Ritesh Gupta, Natasha Halevi, Karen Lam, Kate Kroll, Kapel Furman, Dean Francis, Diane Guerrero, Sean Gunn, Aleksandra Hansen, Luke Jaden, Rodrigo Lages, Sasha Lane, Kyle Mangione-Smith, Matheus Marchetti, Margaret Miller, Trevor O'Neil, Carolina Paiz, Chris Marrs Piliero, Cristian Ponce, Juan Pablo Raba, Pedro Rivero, Odeya Rush, Decker Sadowski, Pascal Schuh, Alberto Sciamma, Diego Velasco, Richard E. Williams, and James C. Williamson.

 

Below is the complete list of feature films in competition in the 22nd Fantaspoa program:

 

ADORABLE HUMANS (dirs. Anders Jon, Michael Kunov, Kasper Juhl, and Michael Panduro. 2025, Denmark. Brazilian Premiere)

ANIMALS OF THE LAND (dir. Luke Jaden. 2026, United States. World Premiere)

APPOFENIACS (dir. Chris Marrs Piliero. 2025, United States. Latin American Premiere)

THE ARBITER (dir. Marc Price. 2025, United Kingdom. International Premiere)

ARMAGEDDON ROAD (dir. Karen Lam. 2026, Canada. World Premiere)

BACKSTAGE MADNESS (dir. Amanbek Azhymat. 2025, Kyrgyzstan. Latin American Premiere)

BAGWORM (dir. Oliver Bernsen. 2025, United States. Latin American Premiere)

BARRIO TRISTE (dir. STILLZ. 2025, Colombia/United States. Regional Premiere)

THE BEARDED GIRL (dir. Jody Wilson. 2025, Canada. International Premiere)

BEYOND THE NEST (dir. Rodrigo Lages. 2026, Brazil. World Premiere)

BLUEBIRD (dir. Jay Arden Black. 2026, United States. World Premiere)

BODY BLOW (dir. Dean Francis. 2025, Australia. Regional Premiere)

BUFFET LIBRE (dir. Zoe Berriatúa. 2025, Spain. Latin American Premiere)

BULK (dir. Ben Wheatley. 2025, United Kingdom. Latin American Premiere)

CAMP (dir. Avalon Fast. 2025, Canada. Latin American Premiere)

CAUTIVERIO (dirs. Sebastian Jimenez Franco and Omar Calvo. 2026, Panama. World Premiere)

CIELO (dir. Alberto Sciamma. 2025, Bolivia, United Kingdom. Regional Premiere)

COMPLIANCE (dir. Kyle Mangione-Smith. 2026, United States. World Premiere)

CORPORATE RETREAT (dir. Aaron Fisher. 2026, United States. Latin American Premiere)

THE CRAMPS: A PERIOD PIECE (dir. Brooke H Cellars. 2025, United States. International Premiere)

THE CURSE (dir. Kenichi Ugana. 2025, Japan. Latin American Premiere)

DEAD EYES (dir. Richard E. Williams. 2026, Australia. Latin American Premiere)

DEATHGASM 2: GOREMAGEDDON (dir. Jason Lei Howden. 2025, New Zealand. Brazilian Premiere)

DEATHSTALKER (dir. Steven Kostanski. 2025, Canada. Brazilian Premiere)

THE DOLLMAKER (dir. José María Cicala. 2025, Argentina. Latin American Premiere)

EXILE (dir. Mehdi Hmili. 2025, Luxembourg/Qatar/France/Saudi Arabia/Tunisia. Latin American Premiere)

FABULA (dir. Michiel ten Horn. 2025, Netherlands/Belgium/Germany. Regional Premiere)

THE FENCE (dir. Dmitry Davydov. 2025, Russia. Brazilian Premiere)

FIFTEEN (dirs. Yossy Zagha and Jack Zagha. 2026, Mexico. Latin American Premiere)

THE FORBIDDEN CITY (dir. Gabriele Mainetti. 2025, Italy. Latin American Premiere)

FOREIGNER (dir. Ava Maria Safai. 2025, Canada. Latin American Premiere)

GAUA (dir. Paul Urkijo. 2025, Spain, United States. Latin American Premiere)

GODZILLA EN SANTA FE (dir. Alexander Duré. 2025, Argentina. Brazilian Premiere)

GOSH!! (dir. Joe Odagiri. 2025, Japan. International Premiere)

THE GHOST GAME (dir. Dong-wan Son. 2025, South Korea. Latin American Premiere)

GRAVITY (dir. Leo Tabosa. 2025, Brazil. Regional Premiere)

HEART OF DARKNESS (dir. Rogério Andrade Nunes. 2025, Brazil/France. Regional Premiere)

THE JOURNEY TO NO END (dir. Xiang Chen. 2025, China. Latin American Premiere)

IAI (dir. Zenzo Sakai. 2026, Japan. Latin American Premiere)

IMPOSTERS (dir. Caleb Phillips. 2026, United States. International Premiere)

IN THE MOUTH (dir. Cory Santilli. 2025, United States. International Premiere)

INTERIOR (dir. Pascal Schuh. 2025, Germany. Latin American Premiere)

KARMADONNA (dir. Aleksandar Radivojevic. 2025, Serbia. Latin American Premiere)

THE KIRLIAN FREQUENCY (dir. Cristian Ponce. 2025, Argentina. Brazilian Premiere)

LABYRINTH OF LOST BOYS (dir. Matheus Marchetti. 2025, Brazil. Regional Premiere)

LEVITATING (dir. Wregas Bhanuteja. 2026, Indonesia/Singapore/Taiwan/France. Latin American Premiere)

LIFE AT SANDY’S (dir. Aleksandra Hansen. 2026, Norway, United States. World Premiere)

LUCID (dirs. Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall. 2025, Canada. Latin American Premiere)

LUGER (dir. Bruno Martín. 2025, Spain. Brazilian Premiere)

LUNA ROSA: THE 7TH ASCENSION OF ATABEY (dir. Omar Rodríguez-López. 2025, Puerto Rico/Mexico/Germany. Brazilian Premiere)

MAD MASK (dir. Nagano, Katsuya Arai. 2025, Japan. Latin American Premiere)

MAG MAG (dir. Yuriyan Retriever. 2025, Japan. Brazilian Premiere)

MARAMA (dir. Taratoa Stappard. 2025, New Zealand/United Kingdom. Latin American Premiere)

MATAPANKI (dir. Diego “Mapache” Fuentes Badilla. 2026, Chile. Brazilian Premiere)

MEAT KILLS (dir. Martijn Smits. 2025, Netherlands. Latin American Premiere)

NARCISA’S WILL (dir. Clarissa Appelt, Daniel Dias. 2025, Brazil. Regional Premiere)

NESTING (dir. Chloé Cinq-Mars. 2025, Canada. Latin American Premiere)

OLIVIA & THE CLOUDS (dir. Tomás Pichardo Espaillat. 2024, Dominican Republic. Regional Premiere)

PEEPING TODD (dir. Josh Munds. 2025, United States, International Premiere)

THE PERIL AT PINCER POINT (dirs. Jake Kuhn and Noah Stratton-Twine. 2026, United Kingdom. Latin American Premiere)

THE RED MASK (dir. Ritesh Gupta. 2025, United States. Latin American Premiere)

REMANENCE (dir. Kapel Furman. 2026, Brazil. World Premiere)

SACRIFICIOS (dir. Mauricio Chernovetzky. 2025, Mexico. Latin American Premiere)

THE SCHOOL DUEL (dir. Todd Wiseman Jr. 2024, United States. Latin American Premiere)

THE SERPENT’S SKIN (dir. Alice Maio Mackay. 2025, Australia. Brazilian Premiere)

SUNSHINE EXPRESS (dir. Amirali Navaee. 2025, Iran. Latin American Premiere)

THEATER IS DEAD (dir. Katherine Dudas. 2025, United States. Latin American Premiere)

TONY ODYSSEY (dir. Thales Banzai. 2026, Brazil, United States. Latin American Premiere)

THE TRAIL OF THE WOLF (dir. Ángeles Hernández. 2026, Spain. Latin American Premiere)

THE TREK (dir. Meekaaeel Adam. 2026, South Africa. Latin American Premiere)

THE TURKISH COFFEE TABLE (dir. Can Evrenol. 2025, Turkey. Brazilian Premiere)

UNDER THE BURNING SUN (dir. Yun Xie. 2025, United States. Latin American Premiere)

VIOLENCE (dir. Connor Marsden. 2025, Canada. Latin American Premiere)

THE VILE (dir. Majid Al Ansari. 2025, United Arab Emirates. Latin American Premiere)

VIRTUOUS WOMEN (dir. Cíntia Domit Bittar. 2025, Brazil. Regional Premiere)

THE VOICES OF OUR MOTHER (dir. Mark O’Brien. 2026, Canada. World Premiere)

THE WHISTLER (dir. Diego Velasco. 2026, Venezuela, United States. World Premiere)

A WOMAN CALLED MOTHER (dir. Randolph Zaini. 2025, Indonesia. Latin American Premiere)

WRONG HUSBAND (dir. Zacharias Kunuk. 2025, Canada. Latin American Premiere)

YOU ARE THE FILM (dir. Makoto Ueda. 2026, Japan. Latin American Premiere)

YOU GOTTA HAVE FAITH (dir. Tomás Fleck. 2025, Brazil. Latin American Premiere)