In the age of rapid digital change and increased accesability, how we consume mass media has been forever altered. With such tiny miracles in our pockets at any moment we can pick our poison and watch content instantly.
How we watch content has stretched beyond 'on our phones' to 'how do you hold your phones'. To the chagrin of some, those raised in theaters specifically, the vertical format for a while has been the bane of our existence. It has been a losing battle from the start because, for younger generations, it's what they know. It's what they grew up on -- the umpteen number of social media platforms around the World mostly present in the vertical format.
The arrival of micro-dramas in China eight years ago cemented the format over there. And since the genre's migration into Western markets a couple of years ago the 9:16 aspect ratio is here to stay.
"The question now is not whether vertical cinema exists, but who is doing it with artistic ambition and genre DNA."
So what about fans of horror, sci-fi, fantasy and thrillers? What about us? There may not be a dedicated platform for it, yet, but there are a lot of filmmakers embracing the format and making their own micro-horror films.
That leads us to our friends at Fantastic Pavilion and their first ever, Fantastic Pavilion Vertical Cinema Cannes 2026. It will be an international showcase of works in the vertical 9:16 format, focused exclusively on horror, fantasy, sci-fi, and thriller. It is comprised of 28 projects from 17 countries, from all corners of the World, brought together with the purpose to highlight the format and its possibilities.
In the mix are a couple Mexican filmmakers that have graced our pages before. Our Mexican brother from another mother, Lex Ortega (Atros, Mexico Barbaro) y Carlos Meléndez (Mexico Barbaro II) both have vertical shorts in the program. Seeing as we spoke about China and the role that micro-dramas had in cementing the format there are two projects from China worth pointing out -- The Tower of Hunger directed by Hui Kuang, and The Golden Tomb Seekers (dir. Yifan Zhang, Ran Ou, Yong Chen) which is adapted from The Grave Robbers' Chronicles (Daomu Biji) a massive literary IP back in China.
All of the projects, the filmmakers and countries of origin will be found in the full annoncement from our friends at Fantastic Pavilion, below.
FANTASTIC PAVILION VERTICAL CINEMA — CANNES 2026 Official Press ReleaseThe audiovisual industry is no longer debating whether vertical format is legitimate. It has already happened. Mobile consumption, digital platforms, and a generation of filmmakers who grew up with a phone in their hand have produced a new narrative grammar — one that is short, immersive, and built for screens that fit in a pocket. The question now is not whether vertical cinema exists, but who is doing it with artistic ambition and genre DNA.The answer, in part, arrives at Cannes.In its first edition within the Fantastic Pavilion at the Marché du Film, Fantastic Pavilion Vertical Cinema Cannes 2026 presents an international showcase of works in the vertical 9:16 format, focused exclusively on horror, fantasy, sci-fi, and thriller. With submissions received from more than 17 countries and a rigorous selection process, the showcase brings together 28 projects that demonstrate something the industry has been slow to acknowledge: that genre filmmakers are the least afraid of formal risk, and that vertical format is not a limitation — it is a new kind of dread.Established voices, new languageOne of the most significant signals of this edition is the presence of filmmakers with consolidated careers who are choosing vertical format as creative territory worth exploring. Mexican filmmaker Lex Ortega — whose debut feature Atroz was described as the most violent film in the history of Mexican cinema, and who in 2025 directed Muertamorfosis, the first Mexican horror film created using artificial intelligence — presents Witness. Carlos Meléndez, director of two genre features, veteran of México Bárbaro II, and director of Netflix series Mi Encuentro con el Mal, enters with two works: The Offering and The Blind Alley. Lauand Omar, the Syrian-born, Germany-based filmmaker whose Curse of Mesopotamia (2016) landed coverage from Paris Match, Al Jazeera, and BBC World and opened at #1 at the box office in Iraq, brings Bitten Soon. And Iñaki Aguilar, the Mexican director based in Madrid whose debut feature Lujuria screened at Sitges in 2025 and won multiple Best Feature Film awards internationally, presents Garlic Clove.Their presence alongside emerging and first-time directors is precisely the point: vertical genre cinema is not a consolation format for those who cannot access traditional production. It is a deliberate choice being made at every level of the industry.The weight of IP: China enters the verticalTwo of the selected works arrive carrying the weight of major intellectual properties from the Chinese market — and their inclusion signals something larger about where vertical micro-drama is heading globally.The Tower of Hunger (dir. Hui Kuang) is a sci-fi and fantasy work based on a strong Chinese IP. Its premise — a team of space adventurers stranded on a monster-driven planet with no food, forced to confront what humans become when pushed to the edge of survival — is exactly the kind of high-concept genre material that travels. The question the story asks is not how to survive monsters, but how humans become them.The Golden Tomb Seekers (dir. Yifan Zhang, Ran Ou, Yong Chen) is an action, adventure, and fantasy piece adapted from The Grave Robbers' Chronicles, one of China's most significant literary IPs. The novel series has generated a film adaptation in 2017 that grossed $150 million at the box office, multiple television series, and an extensive universe of related content. Its adaptation into vertical micro-drama format for this showcase positions the Fantastic Pavilion at the intersection of one of the world's largest entertainment markets and the emerging language of mobile-first storytelling. Chinese media attention for this selection is anticipated to be significant.A Latin American bridge: the Cartagena Fantastic allianceFrom its inception, the Fantastic Pavilion Vertical Cinema Showcase was designed as a global initiative. But building genuine Latin American representation required more than an open call — it required a deliberate alliance. That alliance came through Cartagena Fantastic, a partnership with Mórbido and AG Studios launched during the 65th edition of the Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival (FICCI) last April.Cartagena Fantastic served as both a preview of what will become a major dedicated genre section at FICCI in 2027, and as an active creative laboratory: in addition to receiving completed micro-stories, five teams from Colombia, Mexico, and Peru filmed their vertical genre works on location within the walls of the Caribbean city itself. The goal was clear — to accelerate the experimentation with vertical storytelling among Latin American genre filmmakers, and to bring those voices directly into the Cannes showcase.The result is visible in the official selection. Rodolfo Abdias Arrascue Navas (Peru, Tras los Espejos), whose feature documentary Ino Moxo: El Sueño del Brujo won Best Latin American Feature Film at the Viña del Mar International Film Festival in 2024; Alejandra Rocas (Colombia, Subconsciente), editor and genre film curator with Netflix credits and a seat on the BOGOSHORTS selection committee; and Jesús Rodríguez "Chiva" (Mexico, Aldaba), feature director of Los Jefes (2015) — all emerged from the Cartagena process and now represent Latin American vertical genre cinema on the Marché du Film stage."The fantastic genre holds answers to some of the questions we ask ourselves today: it is capable of creating community, loyalty, and positive results, especially when one of the concerns is whether the decline in theater audiences is due to a thematic disconnect with current film proposals. Furthermore, when discussing changes in formats and consumption habits, genre is the field with the least fear of taking aesthetic and formal risks. From this perspective, for a festival like FICCI, which is characterized by its focus on emerging Ibero-American talent, the creation of a space like Cartagena Fantastic is only logical. The rest is made possible by the partners found along the way to conspire with: Mórbido, AG Studios, and of course, the Fantastic Pavilion — allies with the same drive and the necessary degree of madness to call for the challenge of narrating through genre and verticality, from Colombia, the micro-stories that bring us to the Pavilion today." — Mónica Moya, Director of Industry, FICCI"For me, what matters is the story and the universe it creates — not the size of the window you look through. Fantastic cinema has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to narrative risk and formal innovation — it doesn't wait for permission to experiment, it leads. The Fantastic Pavilion Vertical Cinema Showcase exists because we believe a great horror story told in 9:16 is still a great horror story. The window is different. The dread is the same." — Pablo Guisa Koestinger, Founder & Executive Director, Fantastic PavilionOfficial Selection — Fantastic Pavilion Vertical Cinema Cannes 2026TAG — Mads Erichsen — DenmarkNahuales — Alejandro Cervantes Orozco — MexicoSnapshot — Joseph Archer — UKMy Father's Son — Miguel Angel Ferrer — USALate Night With Me — Bariş Fert — TürkiyeA Girl and her Demons — Brian Avenet-Bradley, Laurence Avenet-Bradley — USAThe Tower of Hunger — Hui Kuang — ChinaWitness — Lex Ortega — MexicoWANA — Quetzalli Bulnes Salazar — MexicoAgain — Anastasia Sidorova — UKChat GPTerror — Daniel Escobedo — MexicoThe Offering — Carlos Meléndez — MexicoDracula wants to die — Mauricio Peralta — ChileGarlic Clove — Iñaki Aguilar — SpainThe Blind Alley — Carlos Meléndez — MexicoThe Golden Tomb Seekers — Yifan Zhang, Ran Ou, Yong Chen — ChinaBitten Soon — Lauand Omar — GermanyInternal Fatal Ærror — Elias Nathan Suarez — EcuadorFruit — Cristiano de Oliveira Sousa — BrazilThe Alley — Leandro Mark, Pablo Camaiti — Argentina / UruguayThe Walkers — Marcel Rutschmann — MozambiqueA Destiempo — Laura Antonia Zambrano — ColombiaSubconsciente — Alejandra Rocas — ColombiaVisor — Carlos Armando Castillo — ColombiaAldaba — Jesús Rodríguez "Chiva" — MexicoAnima de Marea — Laury T. Herrera — ColombiaNo Nacidos — Liannys Badillo Acosta — ColombiaTras los Espejos — Rodolfo Abdias Arrascue Navas — PeruLex Ortega (Mexico) — WitnessFilmmaker, screenwriter, sound designer. Debut feature Atroz was hailed as "the most violent film in the history of Mexican cinema" and became a worldwide cult sensation. Co-created the México Bárbaro anthology franchise and contributed to the rebooted La Hora Marcada series — the show that originally launched the careers of Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón. In 2025 released Muertamorfosis, the first Mexican horror film created using artificial intelligence.Carlos Meléndez (Mexico) — The Offering / The Blind AlleyGraduate of NYFA Los Angeles. Two features: After School (2014, Best Director/Best Film at Encuentro Mundial de Cine) and Hysteria (2016, Best Director at Macabro Horror Film Festival). Part of México Bárbaro II. Directed Netflix series El Desconocido and Mi Encuentro con el Mal. Over 10 short films screened at festivals worldwide including Morelia, Macabro, and Toulouse.Lauand Omar (Germany) — Bitten SoonBorn in Syria, raised in Germany, trained in Miami and Toronto. Feature Bekhal's Tears (2005) premiered at the Emirates Film Competition in Abu Dhabi and became the first Kurdish film selected at an Arabic film festival. Second feature Curse of Mesopotamia (2016) gained international coverage from Paris Match, Al Jazeera, and BBC World, and premiered as the #1 film at the box office in Iraq.Iñaki Aguilar (Spain) — Garlic CloveMexican filmmaker based in Madrid. Debut feature Lujuria (2025) screened at Sitges Film Festival and won multiple Best Feature Film awards at festivals worldwide. Short film El Exorcismo de Dolores won the Rivas Plató de Cine Award at the Rivas Film Festival in 2025.Jesús Rodríguez "Chiva" (Mexico) — AldabaMusic video director who made his feature debut with Los Jefes (2015), produced by and starring members of the hip-hop group Cartel de Santa. The film portrays structural violence in northern Mexico using non-professional actors.Leandro Mark & Pablo Camaiti (Argentina/Uruguay) — The AlleyLeandro Mark is known for co-directing the Argentine comedy El novio de mamá. Pablo Camaiti is a Buenos Aires-based director and producer who has specialized in integrating artificial intelligence into audiovisual projects.Alejandro Cervantes Orozco (Mexico) — NahualesMexican director, screenwriter, editor and producer specializing in fantasy, horror, sci-fi and romance. Short film La Bestia received four awards at the 7SIFF in Argentina. Has screened work at Morelia and multiple genre-focused festivals.Quetzalli Bulnes Salazar (Mexico) — WANAPrimarily known as an actress and TV host (WWE en Español, Telemundo, Netflix). Pursuing a master's degree in film and writing her first horror feature. WANA is likely part of her directorial debut. Notable for her massive reach with Spanish-speaking audiences.Mads Erichsen (Denmark) — TAGSelf-taught, award-winning director known for Heksen, Fishermen Vs. Bikers, and Vindmøllernes sus. Released feature Better Day in 2025, which circulated at European festivals.Rodolfo Abdias Arrascue Navas (Peru) — Tras los EspejosFilmmaker, visual anthropologist, cinematographer, producer and university professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Co-founder of Casa Luz Films, recognized by Peru's Ministry of Culture. Feature documentary Ino Moxo: El Sueño del Brujo (2024) won Best Latin American Feature Film at the Viña del Mar International Film Festival in Chile.Alejandra Rocas (Colombia) — SubconscienteAudiovisual editor, archive collector, and genre film curator in Colombia. Graduate of Universidad Nacional de Colombia's Film and Television program. Edited Netflix series including Haunted, Ventino, and Arelys Henao, and served on the BOGOSHORTS selection committee. Subconsciente is likely her directorial debut.