2025, the Year of Hotel Macabro

Macabro celebrated its twenty-fourth edition, from August 19 to 31, 2025, as the first and largest fantasy and horror film festival in Mexico. The festival was conceived as an exhibition space for independent contemporary horror cinema, as well as for the rescue and reappraisal of classic and cult film; the promotion of Mexican and Latin American filmmaking in the genre, historical review, and support for emerging talent, through a programming model that has served as a foundation and set the standard for genre-film exhibition in this country.

Macabro ran for twelve days of the capital's summer as an inclusive celebration of horror cinema, involving specialized and cinephile audiences, media outlets, industry activities, Q&A sessions with guests, master classes, screenings for vulnerable audiences, retrospectives, tributes, parties, music, and tourism promotion, across its various programming sections.

This year's line-up was shaped by milestones such as the tribute marking the 100th anniversary of American writer Richard Matheson and the tribute to Psycho. The Mexico Macabro banner focused on Mexican filmmakers who graduated from the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, which is celebrating half a century of existence this year. The showcase was once again made up of the contemporary national horror film competition — among which new films by Lex Ortega and Emilio Portes stood out — and the international one; the presence of national and international guests, retrospectives, industry events, and conversations around the contemporary horror genre.

Check out the complete Hotel Macabro line-up: https://macabro.mx/catalogo/

The list of winners: https://macabro.mx/hotel-macabro-conoce-a-las-y-los-ganadores-de-la-edicion-2025/

And the making-of: https://youtu.be/fpklGkhkNJQ?si=SZWR-E0GS-TgYNVw (abre en nueva pestaña)

Guests

National: Emilio Portes, cast of No dejes a los niños solos, Sandra Becerril, Lex Ortega, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Carlos Trujano, Alex G. Alegre, Mauricio Chernovetzky, Alejandro Aguirre, Rafael Martínez García, Carlos Armella, The Killer Film, José Luis Ortega Torres, Fernando Montes de Oca, Jennifer Remba

International: Richard Matheson JR, Teddy Grennan, Robbie Banfitch, Facundo Nuble, Pilar Boyle, Mariano Asseff, Luca Castello, Gabriel França, CD Vallada, Cris Tapia, Matias Desideiro, Jason and Brett Buttler, Gabriel Vilandré, Cristian Jaramillo, Vincent Hill, JJ Webber, Stephanie Van Hecke, Chad McLaron, Xabier Uría, Jorge Olguín, Silvia García Palacios, Lina Durán.

México Macabro: Fantastic Films from the CCC

This year, the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC), one of the most prestigious film schools not only in Mexico but in the world, turned 50 years old, and that is why Macabro dedicated a space within the classics section — one that has already begun its tour through 5 states of the Republic — under the programming banner Mexico Macabro 2025, with a retrospective of fantasy-genre short and feature films made by students of this institution, including Edgar Nito, Jorge Michel Grau, Michelle Garza, Fernando Urdapilleta, Emilio Portes, and Busi Cortés, among many others.

Full line-up: https://macabro.mx/grupo-mixto/mexico-macabro-fantasticos-del-ccc/#programas-especiales

Retrospective of Emilio Portes

This year, Macabro held a retrospective of Mexican filmmaker Emilio Portes.

https://macabro.mx/grupo-peliculas/retrospectiva-de-emilio-portes/#programas-especiales

Classics: 100 Years of Richard Matheson

Nearly a hundred years ago, one of the most influential authors, Richard Matheson, was born. We all know I Am Legend, Somewhere in Time, The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and Hell House. Matheson always loved telling stories. That love also brought him to film, writing Steven Spielberg's first feature film, and adapting Poe's stories for Roger Corman. Matheson showed us the way.

https://macabro.mx/grupo-peliculas/100-richard-matheson/#programas-especiales

Link to watch the talk with Richard Matheson Jr: https://youtu.be/VO6DA27-acE?si=DbE82FpcKDcvzQz0 (abre en nueva pestaña)

TRAINING ACTIVITIES

This year, we present three panels under the banner Macabro Lab, dedicated to exploring terror in the first quarter of the 21st century.

Table 1: Terror in the 21st Century - Challenges and Opportunities for Independent Cinema

In this panel, we reflected with Mariano Assef, Pilar Boyle, Cristian Tapia, and Facundo Nuble on the following topics: exploring new technologies, platforms, independent distribution, financing, and connecting with audiences. Moderated by: Iván Contreras.

Table 2: Terror in the 21st Century - The Horror Audience: Why Do We Like Horror Movies So Much?

In this talk we explored the contemporary horror film audience: their habits, expectations, and ways of consuming content. What does an audience accustomed to sensory overload and instant access look for today? We reflected on how the genre adapts—or resists—new sensibilities, platforms, and narratives. Participants: Javier Martínez of Tulip Pictures and Ximena Hernández of Casa del Cine, with Iván Contreras.

Table 3: Terror in the 21st Century - Women in Horror Films

In this century, we are seeing more and more women behind the camera telling horror stories. Stories told from a different perspective and with a different point of view. In this talk, we reflected on this with Silvia García Palacios, promoter of L'Horror Film Festival, Lina Durán director of INSÓLITO International Fantastic Film Festival and audiovisual producer, and Jennifer Raquel Remba Uribe. Film director, screenwriter, producer, cultural manager, and teacher.

Full talk at the following link: https://youtu.be/9LpEXPyv20I?si=QFj9vfOiNvlBgXvn (abre en nueva pestaña)

INDUSTRY ACTIVITIES

Industry Dinner

As every year since 2022, we held our industry dinner, bringing together various players from the film industry. During this year's dinner, we presented the “Churubusco Macabro” award for the postproduction of a teaser, which will be given to a Mexican project selected through the open call of the Ibero-American co-production forum “Fantastika,” of which Macabro is part of the Mexico chapter.

Master class: Myths and Realities of Independent Distribution

How can we tackle independent film distribution? Let's talk about independent cinema, its challenges, qualities, and strengths, and about how we can distribute this type of film, with a focus on genre cinema. Taught by: Fernando Montes de Oca.

Master Class: Fujifilm: “Film Your Nightmares: Great Stories with Compact Equipment”

Let the horror story happen on screen, not behind the camera. In this session, we will explore how Fujifilm's compact X Series cameras and MKX lenses offer practical, professional solutions for demanding film productions. We will also give a live demonstration to show their performance in scenarios typical of horror filmmaking. Taught by: Jaime Ávila.

FANTASTIKA and LCI Insurance present:

Insuring a film production is a huge challenge, and no one is exempt from something going wrong, causing interruptions and unforeseen events that could jeopardize the future of your investment. That's why one of production's priorities is having insurance — but are you prepared for this? Do you know how and what types of insurance you need?

Representatives from LCI Insurance, the leading insurance company in Mexico's film industry, will share all the recommendations you need for insuring your audiovisual project.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Macabro celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Museo del Chopo with a talk, tarot, and the Sacred Mountain

, Macabro joined the celebration of the museum's 50th anniversary with a day of activities featuring magic, spirituality, the major arcana, and the occult; a talk between José Luis Ortega and Edna Campos about the museum as a cinematic space and symbol of an era. A special screening of Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Sacred Mountain was also held.

Book Presentation: “El carnaval diabólico” (The Devil's Carnival) by Sandra Becerril

The renowned horror writer Sandra Becerril joined the twenty-fourth edition of Macabro to present her latest novel, El carnaval diabólico (The Devil's Carnival).

Macabro celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Museo del Chopo with a talk, tarot, and the Sacred Mountain

, Macabro joined the celebration of the museum's 50th anniversary with a day of activities featuring magic, spirituality, the major arcana, and the occult; a talk between José Luis Ortega and Edna Campos about the museum as a cinematic space and symbol of an era. A special screening of Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Sacred Mountain was also held.

Edit-a-thon

Macabro and Wikimedia formed an alliance to hold several edit-a-thons (marathons for editing articles on the Wikipedia site) to write or correct articles about horror films. The first one took place during the festival, dedicated to editing articles about outstanding films that have been screened over the festival's 24-year history.

HOTEL MACABRO BY THE NUMBERS

• Films screened: 139
• Screenings: 143
• Feature films: 52
• National premieres: 26
• Latin American/North American premieres: 4
• World/international premieres: 4
• Short films: 87
• Countries: 24
• Institutions: 6
• Sponsors and partners: 25
• Media partners: 5
• Venues: 18
• Procine venues: 5
• Platforms: 1
• Audience at Mexico City venues and streaming: 19,221
• Streaming audience: 7356
• Guests: 55
• Press mentions: 243 pieces with a reach of 1,728,902,704
• Social media mentions: 683
• Website visits: 127,818
• Facebook followers: 467,954
• X followers: 31,073

MEXICO MACABRO 2025

Macabro, the International Horror Film Festival of Mexico City, brought the Mexico Macabro line-up to five states across Mexico, presenting a curated selection of contemporary Mexican horror and fantasy cinema.

This traveling line-up was made up of 15 feature films, 37 short films, 3 medium-length films, 2 short-film programs, 1 film-appreciation workshop, and 1 talk with directors. Some of the Mexican titles screened included Alex Winter, Mírame, Guardado Hermano, La feria de los horrores, Rabia, and Muertamorfosis; in addition to two retrospectives: the one dedicated to Emilio Portes and the one called “Fantásticos del CCC” (Fantastic Films from the CCC), featuring various standout works by graduates of this institution.

Naucalpan, State of Mexico; Iztapalapa, Mexico City; Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato; Tehuacán and Puebla, Puebla; as well as Oaxaca and Zaachila, Oaxaca, will be the venues visited this year by the Mexico Macabro line-up.

Mexico Macabro: 24 Years Promoting and Rescuing National Horror Cinema

Since the festival's first edition in 2002, MACABRO has included the Mexico Macabro section in its line-up, with the goal of promoting, rescuing, and reviewing titles in the horror and fantasy genre that are part of the country's film history and national identity — a history that has been partly forgotten, and one that found, first and foremost, its core audience among fans of the genre, uncovering the dark images and nightmares of our culture and society.

Over the years, what began as a simple section within the festival gradually became the hallmark of the entire Mexican line-up at every event, consisting of the screening of classics, selected Mexican films, director retrospectives, tributes, collaborations, book publishing, production support, seminars, interviews, and panel discussions, as well as the promotion of genre rediscoveries.

That's why this year Macabro is proud to bring the genre's most recent work to these five states, with the sole aim of introducing and bringing Mexican cinema closer to Mexican audiences, preserving the history of national cinema and rescuing its memory.

MEXICO MACABRO 2025 SHOWCASE BY THE NUMBERS

Feature films: 15 Short films: 37 Medium-length films: 3 Talks: 1 Workshops: 1 Venues: 10 States: 5 Number of screenings: 43 Total attendance: 1,085 people (reaching children, university students, men, women, and Indigenous communities)

Check out the making-of for the showcase at this link: https://youtu.be/x9rEXN2uSnc?si=3D2q7SosvM1_VPJn

FANTASTIKA – Ibero-American Horror and Fantasy Co-production Forum

On Tuesday, October 14, as part of the Sitges Film Festival, it held an activity aimed at production companies, professionals, and creators from the Ibero-American film community.

With both in-person and online attendance from much of its international community, the event offered an annual roundup of recent successes and current and future strategies, as well as a roundtable on current issues, challenges, and opportunities for Ibero-American financing and co-production.

The roundtable featured prominent figures from the industry, including Jara Ayucar – Head of Marketing Policy at ICAA, Norbert Llaràs – Co-founder of Film Financing Market, Maria Florencia Torchia – Coordinator of Ventana Sur Fantastic!, Carolina Barco – Independent Consultant for EGEDA / SEGO Creative, and Ricard Sales – LaCima Producciones. It was moderated by Mònica Garcia Massagué – General Director of the Sitges Film Festival Foundation.

FANTASTIKA had a 2025 full of milestones:

• The addition of Macabro FICH as co-organizer in Mexico, and of Fantasolab as a collaborator in Colombia
• The start of collaboration with international initiatives such as Sitges Film Festival (Spain), Ventana Sur Fantastic! (Argentina), and HisteriaLab (Costa Rica), where several FANTASTIKA activities have taken place or will take place.
• More than 170 projects received, associated with a total of 13 countries.
• 24 finalist projects in its Pitching Forum, attended by 78 production companies together with 41 professionals from other fields. Also noteworthy were another 20 semifinalist projects.

The call for entries for Pitch 2026 is currently open. Check the details at www.fantastikaforum.com