MOTELX 2026: More International Titles Added, a Block of Iron Curtain Horror, And Shorts Programmes Announced

MOTELX 20 Years | (20th Edition)

 

Antevisão da Programação 

3-13 September  

 

Cinema São Jorge and Cinemateca Portuguesa

 

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Twenty years only come around once. The first titles unveiled for MOTELX's landmark anniversary edition span J-Horror ("AnyMart"), a psychological thriller starring Monica Bellucci ("The Birthday Party"), French body horror ("Species"), sci-fi horror ("Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant" and "Our Effed Up World"), and films featuring major names from the music world: Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods stars in "Game", written and produced by Geoff Barrow of Portishead, while RZA (Wu-Tang Clan) returns with his latest feature, "One Spoon of Chocolate", executive produced by Quentin Tarantino. Swedish-born, Portuguese filmmaker Solveig Nordlund becomes the second recipient of the Noémia Delgado Award for Outstanding Women in Horror. Suite 13 spotlights Sergio Martino's acid giallo cinema, while Lost Room turns its focus to the enigmatic work of José de Sá Caetano. A brand-new strand, Lost in Europe, presented in partnership with the Cinemateca Portuguesa, revisits horror films produced behind the Iron Curtain. Another special section, developed with Goethe-Institut Portugal and entitled Talking About Death (Never Killed Anyone), brings together works by Werner Herzog and Jörg Buttgereit.

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Horror is knocking at the door once again — and this time it is dressed for the occasion. The highly anticipated 20th edition of MOTELX - Lisbon International Horror Film Festival, unveiled this evening, will take place from 3 to 13 September, running for 11 days for the very first time, across Cinema São Jorge and Cinemateca Portuguesa. The Festival's 20th anniversary celebrations are already underway through a series of Warm-Up events taking place across Lisbon in the lead-up to September. Today, MOTELX unveils a substantial preview of this year's programme, with the full line-up to be announced in August.

 

Following last year's honouring of legendary American producer Gale Anne Hurd, the 2026 Noémia Delgado Award for Outstanding Women in Horror will be presented to Swedish-born, Portuguese filmmaker Solveig Nordlund. With this distinction, MOTELX celebrates one of the pioneering women of fantastic and horror cinema, as well as one of the most singular voices in Portuguese filmmaking, whose body of work bears the unmistakable influence of H. P. Lovecraft and J. G. Ballard.

 

The first ten international feature films heading to Room Service, MOTELX's main competition section, have now been confirmed. Todd Rohal's "Fuck My Son!" (USA) is an unapologetically outrageous X-rated comedy. "Game" (UK), directed by John Minton, stars Jason Williamson (Sleaford Mods) and is written and produced by Geoff Barrow (Portishead). Fresh from the Berlinale, Yusuke Iwasaki's "AnyMart" (Japan) exposes the darker side of Japanese labour world. From the Cannes Film Festival come Marion Le Corroller's French-Belgian body horror "Species" and Léa Mysius' "The Birthday Party" (Belgium/France), featuring Monica Bellucci. New Zealand directing duo Thunderlips (Jordan Mark Windsor and Sean Wallace) deliver the irreverent sci-fi comedy "Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant". Kenji Tanigaki's "The Furious" (Hong Kong) is an unstoppable, blood-soaked action thrill ride. Alice Maio Mackay's "Our Effed Up World" (Australia/Canada) follows a group of friends confronted by an alien invasion. "One Spoon of Chocolate" (USA) is the fourth feature directed by RZA (Wu-Tang Clan), a revenge thriller executive produced by Quentin Tarantino. Completing the first titles is Mohammadreza Ardalan's "Poultry Farm" (Iran), in which an orphan becomes entangled in a macabre feud between two ruthless rural landowners.

 

One of the major additions to this year's programme is "Lost in Europe: Horror Behind the Iron Curtain", a new strand presented in partnership with the Cinemateca Portuguesa. Echoing the work of Lost Room in rediscovering neglected Portuguese cinema, this programme turns its attention to forgotten horror films from across Eastern Europe and the countries once separated by the Iron Curtain. The selection comprises "The Singing, Ringing Tree" ("Das singende, klingende Bäumchen"; East Germany, 1957), directed by Francesco Stefani; "Werewolf" ("Libahunt"; USSR, 1968), directed by Leida Laius; "The Rat Saviour" ("Izbavitelj"; Yugoslavia, 1976), directed by Krsto Papić; "Ferat Vampir" (Czechoslovakia, 1981), directed by Juraj Herz; Andrzej Żuławski's "Possession" (France/West Germany, 1981); and "Strangler vs Strangler" (Yugoslavia, 1985), directed by Slobodan Šijan.

 

Death is often swept under the carpet, but horror cinema has always found a way to confront it head-on. That is the starting point for the new special programme Talking About Death (Never Killed Anyone), presented in partnership with Goethe-Institut Portugal. Through a series of talks and three landmark works of German genre cinema, the programme reflects on life's one true certainty. It includes Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu the Vampyre" (1979), his celebrated reinterpretation of Murnau's silent classic, alongside Jörg Buttgereit's cult films "Nekromantik" (1988) and "The Death King" ("Der Todesking", 1990).

 

In 2026, Lost Room turns its attention to Portuguese filmmaker José de Sá Caetano, born in Leiria in 1933, who, alongside directors such as José Fonseca e Costa, Luís Galvão Teles and António de Macedo, was among the founding members of the Cinequanon cooperative. “As Ruínas no Interior” (1976) is the cornerstone of a trilogy completed with “Azul Azul” (1984), with “Um S Marginal” (1983) in between. These three interconnected films establish subtle relationships through recurring characters, situations and narrative echoes, and together make up the core of his filmography. To this day, José de Sá Caetano remains one of the most overlooked figures in Portuguese cinema, whose surrealist universe deserves to be rediscovered.

 

Suite 13 — a section that explores the legacy of film history and the contemporary relevance of its transgressive impulses — presents, at the 20th edition of MOTELX, a programme curated by guest programmer Carlos Alberto Carrilho entitled “Sergio Martino e Acid Giallo: Atmosferas que Turvam os Sentidos”. The programme examines the intersection between the filmmaker's work and the language of the subgenre, defined by its intense chromatic and sonic saturation that evokes both fear and ecstasy. Martino's films have recently been rediscovered through a number of 4K restorations, as well as public acknowledgements from Quentin Tarantino and Guillermo del Toro, both of whom have cited his decisive influence on their careers. The full programme will be announced soon.

 

The MOTELX Award - Best Portuguese Horror Short Film, the Festival's most prestigious prize, carries a €5,000 award and will feature ten films in competition: “amordemoura”, by Tiago "Ramon" Santos; “A Hora do Chico”, by João Severo and Rafael Sá Carneiro; “Final da Noite”, by Duarte Gandum and Henrique Gandum; “Tardo”, by Carlos Calika; “Consolatio”, by Pedro M. Afonso; “Estou Aqui”, by Ana Rita Martins; “Spirit Caller”, by Vítor Dutta; “Bruno, o Boneco”, by Diogo dos Santos Oliveira; “consumido”, by [carrozo]; and “Royal”, by Hinata Almeida and Tomás Pascoal.

 

As for the Méliès d'argent Award for Best European Short Film, this first announcement highlights the Portuguese films selected for the competition: “Sweet Hearts”, by Diogo Coutinho and Gonçalo Claro da Fonseca; “Codec: ♥ Amanda ♥”, by Rafaela Cardoso; “Calhau”, by Paulo Abreu; “A Onda”, by Ramón de los Santos; “Olhos, Olhos, Nariz, Boca”, by Sofia Santa-Rita; “Quietud”, by Gonçalo Almeida; “Cure My Misery”, by Kiril Savateev and "Katabasis", by João Silva. 

 

In 2026, Cult Room presents two films connected by their unusual relationship with audiovisual translation, under the subtitle Lost in Translation. “Hen Dui Hen”, the original title of a 1974 Taiwanese martial arts film, was released in Portugal as “Kung Fu à Portuguesa”. Unlike in other countries, it was screened with its original Mandarin soundtrack accompanied by subtitles specially written by Raúl Solnado and Pedro Bandeira-Freire, neither of whom spoke the language, resulting in an especially inventive translation. The second film, “A Teia de Gelo” (2012), directed by Nicolau Breyner, sits somewhere between an action thriller and Gothic horror. In an effort to reach international audiences, Breyner shot two complete versions of the film, one in Portuguese and one in English. MOTELX will present the exceptionally rare English-language version, starring Diogo Morgado, Margarida Marinho and Paula Lobo Antunes.

 

SectionX — MOTELX's most experimental and underground section — brings together three filmmakers in 2026 whose works engage with the dynamics of contemporary and subversive institutional power. “Chronovisor” (USA), by Jack Auen and Kevin Walker, is an academic noir centred on a machine allegedly invented by Benedictine monk Pellegrino Ernetti to film the past. From former David Lynch collaborator Zachary Aaron Nichols comes “Variations on Violence” (USA). Completing the programme is “Sunshine Express” (Iran), a Kafkaesque allegory presented in the format of a reality show.

 

The Big Bad Wolf couldn't miss MOTELX's 20th anniversary celebrations. Ahead of the Festival, the character will make an appearance during the 2026 Warm-Up programme, with an Open-Air Cinema event taking place on 14 August at Jardim das Amoreiras. This year also marks the return of the now traditional Peddy Paper at Cinema São Jorge, the ALMA Sensory Workshop, and the Short Scares screenings for different age groups, alongside a national premiere of a feature film. Another major addition is a photography workshop led by Bernardo Gramaxo in collaboration with Associação Passa Sabi, where eight young participants explored Lisbon's Rego neighbourhood armed with Instax cameras.

 

Also returning is the MOTELX Award - Best Portuguese Horror Screenplay, which in 2025 honoured “Quem Mata no Camarido? (Seis Betos e Meia)” by António Xavier Rodrigues. The fourth edition of the award once again carries a €2,000 cash prize and features seven unproduced feature-length screenplays in competition: “A Ostra”, by Pedro Garrido; “Hóspede”, by Miguel Monteiro Rico; “O Silêncio que Fica”, by Ana Lamas; “Privação (Ou Coisas Ditas de Joelhos)”, by António Xavier Rodrigues; “Púcaro Negro”, by Maria Leonor Toscano and Raquel Cabaço Pereira; “Rosa dos Ventos”, by Alexandre Guedes de Sousa; and “Todas as Respostas”, by Stephane F. Oliveira.

 

As always, MOTELX is about more than cinema. The Events programme still has new surprises to unveil. “Hotel Pastiche” is an exhibition by João Telmo (Nova Companhia) that revisits the hotel as one of cinema's most iconic settings, reimagining ten classic horror film (“The Shining”, “Psycho”, among others) scenes set in hotels. The exhibition will be on display throughout the Festival at a venue to be announced. Another highlight of this 20th edition is Monster Day, taking place on 5 September, dedicated to the monster as one of horror's defining figures. The day begins with a monster-making workshop for children as part of the Big Bad Wolf programme, followed by a Monster Competition, awarding a €500 cash prize, in which a dedicated jury will assess monster design. The celebrations conclude with a monster-themed party and meet-up at the MOTELX Lounge.

 

This year's Warm-Up programme extends across July and August, setting the stage for MOTELX's 20 years of horror. On 31 July at midnight, Cinema Nimas hosts “Saccharine” (Australia, Natalie Erika James) as part of another Nimas After Hours screening. On 1 August, Casa do Comum welcomes a Short Film Screening followed by a DJ Set at 9pm. On 14 August, MOTELX and the Santo António Parish Council once again join forces for Open-Air Cinema at Jardim das Amoreiras, with the Big Bad Wolf screening at 6pm followed by “The Guest” (USA, 2014, Adam Wingard) at 9pm. Finally, on 27 August, just ahead of the Festival's opening, MOTELX teams up with Black Cat Cinema — an open-air cinema project that screens films in unexpected locations across Lisbon — to present the classic “The Others” (Spain/United States/France, 2001, Alejandro Amenábar) at Palácio do Grilo at 9pm.

 

More details about the rest of the programme for the 20th edition of MOTELX will be announced soon.