Press Release: #MacabroXIX Programme

The 19th edition of Macabro will take place from August 25 to 30, with 7 virtual venues across Mexican territory

· The opening ceremony will be broadcast on August 25 on the festival's macabro.mx website and social media · The programme is made up of more than 70 titles, of which 69 feature films and short films that make up the official selection can be streamed on the Filminlatino.mx platform · The festival celebrates 100 years of German Expressionism, 60 years of El esqueleto de la Señora Morales, and 130 years since the birth of H.P. Lovecraft. · Writer Amparo Dávila is remembered with a podcast adaptation of four of her short stories. · Talks with national and international guests will be presented on macabro.mx · The festival closes with a streamed screening of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari with live music by the Mexican gothic rock band “El Clan”.

Macabro International Horror Film Festival of Mexico City celebrates its 19th anniversary and announces its film programme, as well as the activities that will take place in Mexico City from August 25 to 30. This year, Macabro has prepared a journey in which genre fans will need to navigate different platforms and media to enjoy the diverse programme that, as every year, revisits the classics while keeping pace with today's contemporary genre cinema. This year, more than ever, we need the exchange of ideas, and we will have the opportunity to engage in dialogue with genre creators, who will gather in various livestreams to see us, chat, and share their new projects with us. This summer, Macabro will travel from Mexico City to other latitudes hand in hand with technology. This time, we're coming to your home. OPENING This year, the festival opens on August 25 at 9:00 p.m. with a broadcast on the official macabro.mx website and social media, featuring a message from director Edna Campos alongside the Macabro Team.

The festival's kickoff will be celebrated with the traditional party at Bar UTA with a DJ set streamed live from its location on Donceles street in downtown Mexico City; it can be watched/heard through the Facebook pages of UTA Bar and Macabro

AWARDS CEREMONY / CLOSING The stream where the winners of Macabro XIX will be announced will take place on Sunday, August 30, at 9:00 p.m. After the awards ceremony, there will be a live musical accompaniment to the restored version of the foundational film of cinematic expressionism: THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI by Robert Wiene, performed by the Mexican gothic rock band EL CLAN. This is the band's second collaboration with the festival. This event is presented by Macabro and the Semana del Cine Alemán (German Film Week), and can only be watched via streaming at the specified time through macabro.mx, the Facebook pages of Instituto Goethe México, Canal 22, and Macabro Film Festival.

We thank Instituto Goethe México for its support in making this event possible.

OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL HORROR FEATURE FILM SELECTION

ANNONYMOUS ANIMALS Direction and screenplay: Baptiste Rouveure Country: France Year: 2020 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE

THE BERLIN BRIDE Direction and screenplay: Michael Bartlett Country: United States/Germany Year: 2019 Awards and festivals: Best Film, Blow-Up Chicago International Arthouse Film Fest 2019. Selection: Hof International Film Festival 2019, Fantaspoa 2020. MEXICO PREMIERE

THE BLOODY POP-CORN Direction and screenplay: Arno Pluquet Country: Belgium Year: 2020 Awards and festivals: Festival international du film fantastique de Bruxelles LATIN AMERICAN PREMIERE

CLARITA Direction and screenplay: Roderick Cabrido Country: Philippines Year: 2019 Awards and festivals: Best Director, Fantasporto 2020. Selection: Fantaspoa 2020. MEXICO PREMIERE

THE CURSE OF VALBURGA Direction and screenplay: Tomaz Gorkic Country: Slovenia Year: 2109 Awards and festivals: Best Film, Dracula Film Festival 2019. Selection: Sitges Film Festival 2019. Grossmann Fantastic Film & Wine Festival 2019. Trieste - Science + Fiction 2019. Terror Molins 2019. Abruzzo Film Festival 2019, Fantaspoa 2020. MEXICO PREMIERE

DEATHCEMBER Direction: Pollyanna McIntosh, Andreas Marschall, Isaac Ezban, Michael Varrati, Vivienne Vaughn, Juergen Kling, Bob Pipe, Rémi Fréchette, Sadrac González-Perellón, Ruggero Deodato, Sam Wineman, Florian Frerichs, Annika Marx, Alyosha Saari. Country: Germany Year: 2019 Running time: 77 min FESTIVALS AND AWARDS Semana de Terror de San Sebastián, South African Horrorfest, Anomaly Filmfest, Dead Lake Filmfest, Night Visions, Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre, Pancevo Film Festival, PDXtreme - Portland Underground Film Fest, CRASH International Fantasy Film Festival, /Slash X-mas, Montevideo Fantástico, Fantasy Filmfest, Panic Fest MEXICO PREMIERE FRIED BARRY Direction and screenplay: Ryan Kruger Country: South Africa Year: 2020 Awards and festivals: Best Cinematography and Best Editing, RapidLion Film Festival 2020. Selection: Cinequest 2020, Fantaspoa 2020. MEXICO PREMIERE

NIRVANA INN Direction and screenplay: Vijay Jayapal Country: India Year: 2019 Awards and festivals: Busan International Film Festival 2019, Pune International Film Festival 2020. MEXICO PREMIERE

PARABLE Direction: Beer Adriaanse Screenplay: Beer Adiaanse, Jaco Adriaanse Country: South Africa Year: 2020 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE

POISSA Direction: Arttu Haglund Screenplay: Arttu Haglund, Avi Heikkinen Country: Finland Year: 2019 Awards and festivals: Best Film at Fantasporto 2020. Selection: Helsinki International Film Festival 2019, Midnight Sun Film Festival 2019, Fantaspoa 2020. MEXICO PREMIERE

PRECARIOUS Direction and screenplay: Wes Terray Country: United States Year: 2020 Awards and festivals: Critics' Award at Fantasporto 2020, Fantaspoa 2020 MEXICO PREMIERE

TWO HEAD CREEK Direction: Jesse O'Brien Screenplay: Jordan Waller Country: United Kingdom/Australia Year: 2019 Awards and festivals: Monster Fest 2019, Syracuse International Film Festival 2019, Scare-A-Con Film Festival 2019, Razor Reel Film Festival 2019. MEXICO PREMIERE

THE VICE GUIDE TO BIGFOOT AKA 15 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT BIGFOOT Direction: Zach Lamplugh Screenplay: Zach Lamplugh, Brian Edmond Country: United States Year: 2019 Awards and festivals: Austin Film Festival 2019, Panic Fest 2019, Chattanooga Film Festival 2020, Fantaspoa 2020. MEXICO PREMIERE

OFFICIAL IBERO-AMERICAN HORROR FEATURE FILM SELECTION CABRITO Direction and screenplay: Luziano De Azevedo Country: Brazil Year: 2019 AWARDS AND FESTIVALS: Best Film - The Optical Theatre Festival 2019. Selection: Rio Fantastik 2019, Fantaspoa 2020. MEXICO PREMIERE

CERRO DE LOS DIOSES Direction: Daniel M. Caneiro Screenplay: Daniel M. Caneiro, Borja Figuerola Country: Spain Year: 2019 AWARDS AND FESTIVALS: Sitges Film Festival 2019. Grossmann Fantastic Film and Wine Festival 2019. Festival de Cine de Alicante 2019. Fant Bilbao 2019. MEXICO PREMIERE

EL DIABLO ME DIJO QUÉ HACER Direction and screenplay: Alex G. Alegre Country: Mexico Year: 2019 AWARDS AND FESTIVALS: Mórbido Film Fest, Marché Du Film de Cannes, Blood Window.

LA FIESTA SILENCIOSA Direction: Diego Fried Country: Argentina Year: 2020 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE

MATAR AL DRAGÓN Direction: Jimena Monteoliva Country: Argentina Year: 2019 Running time: 84 min. AWARDS AND FESTIVALS: Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata 2019. Morbido Film Festival 2019, Fantaspoa 2020.

RENDEZ-VOUS Direction and screenplay: Pablo Olmos Arrayales Country: Mexico Year: 2019 AWARDS AND FESTIVALS: Best Film at Morbido Film Fest 2019, Espanto Film Fest 2019, and Festival du Cinéma Espagnol et Latino-américain 2020. Selection: Miami Independent Film Fest 2019, Košice International Monthly Film 2019, Nox Film Festival 2020, Indie-LincsLincoln 2020.

TERMINAL CENTRAL Direction and screenplay: Mavi Simão Country: Brazil Year: 2019 AWARDS AND FESTIVALS: Maranhão na Tela Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival (Festival do Rio), Meetings with Brazilian Cinema (Cannes, Locarno and San Sebastian)

TÓXICO Direction: Ariel Martínez Herrera Screenplay: Santiago La Rosa, Ariel Martínez Herrera, Lautaro Núñez de Arco, Luz Orlando Brennan, Santiago Podestá Country: Argentina AWARDS AND FESTIVALS: Fantaspoa 2020 MEXICO PREMIERE

URUBÚ Direction: Alejandro Ibáñez Nauta Screenplay: Alejandro Ibáñez Nauta, Alejandra Heredia, Carlos Bianchi Country: Spain/Brazil Year: 2019 AWARDS AND FESTIVALS: Nocturna Festival Internacional de cine fantástico de Madrid 2019. LATIN AMERICAN PREMIERE

ZOMBIES EN EL CAÑAVERAL: EL DOCUMENTAL Direction and screenplay: Pablo Schembri Country: Argentina Year: 2019 Awards and festivals: Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Audience Award at Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre 2019. Selection: Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata 2019, Insólito Festival 2019, Festival Internacional Pachamama 2019, and Fantaspoa 2020. MEXICO PREMIERE

TRIBUTES AND CELEBRATIONS

German Expressionism “Between 1918 and 1923, chaos reigned in Germany, and as a result the horrified German mentality broke free of all the conventions that generally condition human life. Under these conditions, the unhappy and restless soul not only took refuge in the fantastic realm of horror but also wandered, like a stranger, through the everyday reality of that time… That wandering soul was the one that conceived the madmen, sleepwalkers, vampires, and murderers who made up the expressionist reality of Caligari and the other films” – Siegfried Kracauer.

Marking 100 years since the start of this movement, which spanned theater, architecture, music, painting, and film, Macabro has prepared a tribute with activities alongside the live musical accompaniment of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, including a screening of F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu and a panel discussion featuring film professor and promoter Raúl Ojánguren; the visual artist and director of Aurora: Guanajuato International Horror Film Festival; and film critic Rafael Paz. This discussion will be moderated by the director of Macabro and can be viewed on the macabro.mx website on Sunday, August 30, at 5:00 p.m.

This celebration will also include “Dos Monjes” by Juan Bustillo Oro, a film recently restored by the UNAM Film Library, considered one of the works most influenced by expressionist aesthetics in Mexico. To present it, we will be joined by the director of the UNAM Film Library, Hugo Villa; filmmaker Julián Hernández; and film critic and horror cinema specialist José Luis Ortega Torres. The talk can be followed on Wednesday, August 26, at 5:00 p.m., through the macabro.mx website

The restored copy of “Dos monjes” is available on the UNAM Film Library's website.

AMPARO DÁVILA Amparo Dávila, a prominent figure in Mexican literature. A storyteller of human, unusual, and sinister tales. In 1950, she published her first work, “Salmos Bajo la Luna”. In 1977, she received the “Premio Xavier Villaurrutia” (Xavier Villaurrutia Award) for “Árboles Petrificados”. In 2015, she was awarded the “Medalla de las Artes” (Medal of the Arts); in March of this year, 2020, she received the “Premio Jorge Ibargüengoitia” (Jorge Ibargüengoitia Award); and now, following her sad passing from this world, she becomes the honoree of MACABRO's 19th edition. With the support of Radio UNAM, during the festival's 5 days, listeners will be able to hear an adaptation of four of her stories: “El Huésped”, “Alta Cocina”, “El Espejo” and “La Casa Nueva”, the latter in two parts. It can be heard from August 19 to 23 on the RADIO UNAM frequency. A rebroadcast will air from August 25 to 30 on the Macabro website. MEXICO MACABRO

Macabro celebrates 60 years of “El esqueleto de la Señora Morales” Dir. Rogelio A. Gonzáles | 1959 | Mexico To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the premiere of Rogelio A. González's film, thanks to the generosity of Claro Video, Canal 22 will broadcast El Esqueleto de la señora Morales on national television on August 27 at 10:00 p.m., a Mexican black-comedy film starring Arturo de Córdova, Antonio Bravo and Amparo Rivelles.

The film will be presented by filmmaker Roberto Fiesco.

130 YEARS SINCE THE BIRTH OF H. P. LOVECRAFT

“When talking about films based on or inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, many of us immediately think of tentacled appendages and abject viscosity. However, there are other essential elements in the author's work that have permeated fantastic cinema around the world; from his dreamlike landscapes and peculiar style to the ruthless and indifferent cosmicist vision of his mature work, which proves that beyond the tentacle, Lovecraftian cinema also exists”. – Claudia Ortiz.

Macabro, in collaboration with the Lovecraftian organization “En la noche de los tiempos”, presents this tribute to the writer from Providence, featuring a virtual panel moderated by Claudia Ortiz, the collective's leader and a scholar of Lovecraft's work, joined by film researcher and promoter Jorge Grajales; multidisciplinary artist and Círculo Lovecraftiano administrator Octavio Villalpando; and screenwriter and film critic Claudia Cabello.

This panel discussion can be followed on our website macabro.mx on Friday, August 28, at 5:00 p.m. As part of the celebration, Macabro has scheduled a streaming of the German film DIE FARBE by director Huan Vu, based on the story by H.P. Lovecraft, which can be watched on the Filminlatino platform from August 25 to 30.

PANORAMA MACABRO

Every year, Macabro uses this section to present a selection of contemporary out-of-competition films, including documentaries, special short-film programmes, fantasy or sci-fi features, and audiovisual works for different media. This year, Macabro presents:

FULCI FOR FAKE Direction and screenplay: Simone Scafidi Country: England/Italy Year: 2019 Awards and festivals: Venice Film Festival 2019, Sitges Film Festival 2019, Milano Film Festival 2019, South Africa Horror Fest 2019, Abertoir Film Festival 2019, Night Visions Film Festival 2019. MEXICO PREMIERE

LO MÁS CAOSTICO DE MACABRO VOL 5

Lo más Caostico de Macabro can be streamed on Procine's Facebook page and will air Saturday, August 29, at 10:00 p.m. on Canal 22. The chaotic Xabier Uria will present the programme that same Saturday in a livestream from Bilbao.

INDUSTRY, PRESENTATIONS, AND ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES Webinars As part of its academic and training offerings, this year Macabro presents a series of webinars led by our partners Nikon, Black Shark Films and Fix Comunicación on cinematography, motion graphics and film marketing. They can be followed on August 26, 27 and 28 at 1:00 p.m. on the official website macabro.mx Macabro Lab 2020

Macabro LAB is a multidisciplinary laboratory created by Macabro FICH with the goal of fostering the training of filmmakers in horror cinema and related genres and subgenres. The 2020 edition of Macabro Lab will take place from August 19 to 22.

This year we are presenting two activities:

A screenwriting workshop for projects in development, which will have the opportunity to take part in a pitch session that could lead to presenting at film markets. The workshop is led by Argentine filmmaker and screenwriter Santiago Fernández Calvete; and a horror cinema seminar. The topics to be covered in the masterclasses that make up the seminar's programme are: theoretical foundations, screenplay, production, filmmaking, project development and financing.

The seminar will be led by filmmakers and genre-cinema specialists, including the founders of TANU Distribución, screenwriter and filmmaker Abraham Sánchez, and producer Juan Carlos Ayvar, among others.

Macabro Coven

As part of the Macabro Coven activities, there will be a presentation of Cerulia: Un storyboard de Sofía Carrilo, a publication that launches the Découpage collection with texts by Rocío Corona and Yolihuani Curiel. The Découpage collection is part of the project titled Pequeña Galería de la Cinematografía, Galería de Ideas y Letras, supported by the 2019 Institutional Call for Scientific Research of the Directorate of Research and Graduate Studies Support at the Universidad de Guanajuato. Cerulia: Un storyboard de Sofía Carrillo will be presented by Alejandro Montes, director of Aurora, Guanajuato International Horror Film Festival; Liliana García, coordinator of the Découpage collection, and Sofía Carrillo herself. The presentation can be followed on the macabro.mx website on Saturday, August 29, at 5:00 p.m.

The awards ceremony for Macabro Coven's first horror short-film contest directed by women will take place on Sunday, August 30, at 1:00 p.m. on the macabro.mx website

Dates, venues The 19th edition of Macabro International Horror Film Festival of Mexico City will take place from August 25 to 30 on the FilminLatino platform, Canal 22, TV UNAM, Radio UNAM, the official UNAM Film Library website, Facebook PROCINE and the official macabro.mx website

Acknowledgments Institutions IMCINE, Mexico City Ministry of Culture, Procine, UNAM Film Library

Regular venues Cineteca Nacional, Teatro de la Ciudad “Esperanza Iris”, Museo de la Ciudad de México, Museo Archivo de la Fotografía, Cinematógrafo del Chopo, Casa del Cine, Cine Villa Olímpica, Museo Panteón de San Fernando, cineclubs and cultural centers

Sponsors Nikon México | Black Shark Films | Fix Comunicación | Tannhäuser Film Tank | Cinextasis | Facultad de Cine | ArTec | Concordia | CTT Exp & Rentals

Partner establishments UTA Donceles | Pulquería Insurgentes | La guarida del diablo panzón | La Buenavida Fonda | Malavida Expendio | La Vienet | Churrería general de la república | Bucardón | La Bipo Coyoacán

Partner festivals Caostica |Aurora | Zinema Zombie |Smart Films |Fantaspoa | Red Mex Fest and FantLatAm

Social media: Facebook: MacabroFich | Twitter: @macabrofich | Instagram: @macabrofich | YOUTUBE: MacabroFichChannel

HT: #MacabroXIX #EstaVezNosotrosVamosAtuCasa

Press contact: [email protected]