2024 Report: 12 Months of Macabro

Macabro celebrated its twenty-third edition, from August 22 to September 1, 2024, as the first and largest genre film festival in Mexico, as well as one of the most important of its kind in Latin America.

Macabro Fest 2024 took place over eleven days in an inclusive celebration of horror cinema that brought together specialized and cinephile audiences, media, the film community, Q&A sessions with guests, master classes, screenings for vulnerable audiences, workshops, music, retrospectives, tributes, parties, music, and tourism promotion.

This year's programme was dedicated to animation in horror cinema, with the participation of Spanish director Pedro Rivero, who was the subject of a retrospective. The Mexico Macabro focused on the work of Mexican director Lex Ortega. The showcase was once again made up of the national and international contemporary horror film competition; the presence of more than 50 guests; retrospectives and panel discussions on the central theme. The Creepy Van Films – Macabro call for entries was launched, and the 4th Fantastic Film Co-production Forum was presented, along with the evolution of Mexico Macabro from a section into an identifying hallmark for all Mexican films screened at the festival, among other activities. With this, Macabro confirmed its place as one of the most important and relevant festivals of its kind, not only in Mexico but in the world.

Check out the full Macabro XXIII programme here: https://macabro.mx/2024/catalogo/

You can see the list of winners here: https://macabro.mx/6603-2/

And our making-of: https://youtu.be/dabNgxGMnvY?si=oqY8ccNfw3MsoHsy (abre en nueva pestaña)

GUESTS AND RETROSPECTIVES

Pedro Rivero

As part of the programme for the twenty-third edition, Macabro paid tribute to director, screenwriter, and producer specializing in animation, and comic book and theater author, Pedro Rivero.

Originally from Bilbao, the filmmaker visited Macabro in Mexico City and the city of Puebla from August 27 to September 7 to present a retrospective of his cinematic work centered on animation and fantasy film: EL HOYO (THE PLATFORM) (2019), PSICONAUTAS, LOS NIÑOS OLVIDADOS (2015), LA CRISIS CARNÍVORA (2007), BIRDBOY (2010); as well as to give two master classes on his work and the genre, the first at the Centro Cultural España in Mexico City and the second in the city of Puebla.

Lex Ortega

Lex Ortega is probably one of the horror film directors of the generation that has succeeded in establishing Latin American fantasy and horror cinema as one of the most relevant audiovisual movements of this century, with stories, films, and names recognized around the world that have brought a new perspective to the genre, incorporating social issues, local legends, and global influence.

Lex Ortega's short film collection showcases a director unlike any other in Mexico, who has understood the elements of the genre from a dark, bloody, and violent place.

We had the participation of: Fernando Gastón (producer, Las tías), Ximena Sariñana (lead, Las tías), Martín Florio (screenwriter, Las tías), JJ Weber (producer, A game in the woods), Mike McCutchen (director, A game in the woods), Eleanor Newman and Emily Skeen (actresses, A game in the woods); John P. Crowley and Jameson Pitts (actors, A game in the woods); Diego Ortuño (director, Chuzalongo), Tupac Galarza (Chuzalongo), Emile Plonsky (Chuzalongo), Tayo Cortés (director, Domo), Jerzain Ortega (director, Lúgubre), Nick Gaglia (director, Pinkcity), Ryan Barton-Grimley (Listen carefully), Joao Zacharías (A Heranca), Alec Bonk (Blind Cop 2), Guile Branco (A Halloween Feast), Jenna Kennell (actress, screenwriter of Faceless after Dark), Juan Nunch and Francisca Hernández (director and lead of Río de Sapos).

INDUSTRY ACTIVITIES

PRESENTATION OF THE 4TH IBERO-AMERICAN HORROR AND FANTASY PROJECT CO-PRODUCTION FORUM

Organized since 2021 by Festival TerrorMolins (abre en nueva pestaña) together with the independent producers' associations APIMA (abre en nueva pestaña) (Argentina) and PAC (abre en nueva pestaña) (Spain), joined this year, 2024, also by the collaboration of Macabro FICH and FantasoLab (abre en nueva pestaña), the Ibero-American Horror and Fantasy Project Co-production Forum is a gathering created by and for independent production companies, whose goal is to foster a network that allows for sharing experiences and knowledge, endorsing projects in development, and generating co-productions among Ibero-American countries.

Held online, it consists of various talks and case studies, as well as a Pitching event in which a selection of projects, specially chosen for their potential and interest as international co-production, are presented to companies from the participating countries.

Link to the presentation of the 4th co-production forum: https://www.youtube.com/live/a94iv91Jviw?si=-RXxPQktnsEFZVxe (abre en nueva pestaña)

CREEPY VAN FILMS - MACABRO SCREENPLAY CONTEST

This year, Macabro launched the Creepy Van Films – Macabro screenplay contest in collaboration with Creepy Van Films, which will award three Mexican-origin screenplays with the possibility of being acquired and produced by the Miami-based production company.

The rules for the call can be found here: https://macabro.mx/2024/concurso-guion/

MACABRO LAB: TALKS AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS

Macabro also presented a talk on animation in Mexico with the participation of various Mexican animators.

https://macabro.mx/2024/evento_especial/animacabro-la-animacion-en-mexico/

MACABRO XXIII BY THE NUMBERS

Films screened: 138 Screenings: 112 Feature films: 51 National premieres: 25 Latin American/North American premieres: 6 World/international premieres: 5 Short films: 87 Countries: 35 Institutions: 8 Sponsors and allies: 23 Media partners: 8 Venues: 19 Procine venues: 11 Venues in other states: 4 Platforms: 1 Audience at CDMX and Puebla venues and streaming: 20,690 Streaming audience: 6,333 Guests: 40 Press releases: 162 Social media mentions: 971 Facebook followers: 476,148 X (Twitter) followers: 31,413 Instagram followers: 23,444 YouTube followers: 2,830 TikTok followers: 705

VENUES IN OTHER STATES

MACABRO PUEBLA

From September 3 to 7, Macabro presented a selection of this year's programme for the second consecutive year at various venues in the city of Puebla, including the Teatro de la Ciudad, the Cinemateca Luis Buñuel, the Centro Cultural MUSA, and Cine Inminente in Tehuacán. We had Pedro Rivero as a special guest, who, in addition to presenting two of his feature films, gave a talk to students at UDLAP.

MACABRO TIJUANA

Macabro presented a first edition of the festival at the Sala Carlos Monsiváis of the Centro Cultural Tijuana in the city of Tijuana. With a programme made up of six films representative of this year's line-up, including award-winning films, classics, and contemporary Mexican cinema.

MACABRO UNIVERSITARIO

We present the first edition of Macabro Universitario, in which the festival had a presence at FES Acatlán, the Centro Cultural "Jaime Torres Bodet" of the IPN, and the film club of the Universidad de Guanajuato, presenting a programme made up of international short films and a strong presence of Mexico Macabro.

Even though Macabro has maintained an ongoing relationship with universities, this has grown over the course of its editions, and this year seeks to consolidate a university tour that reaches not only universities in Mexico City and the metropolitan area, but also other, more distant states, with the aim of spreading, training, informing, and involving the university student community in the world of fantasy and horror cinema, mainly that produced in Mexico and Latin America.

INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE

Macabro understands partnerships as opportunities to expand the promotion and production of the genre in Mexico and around the world. This year we will continue our collaborations at events, venues, and countries such as: Fantaspoa: the Porto Alegre International Fantasy Film Festival (Brazil), Caostica (Spain), and the members of the Latin American Fantasy Film Alliance.

We highlight our participation in the FISHING FESTIVALS space at the 22nd edition of Bogoshorts in Colombia.

We are also an active participant in the genre film market Blood Window, held as part of Ventana Sur, in Argentina.

PRESENCE IN OTHER CITIES AND STATES

Last year, our tour was able to reach the following states: CINEFILIA Cinemateca Luis Buñuel (Puebla), Aurora, the Guanajuato International Horror Film Festival, and Cinetekton (Puebla).

Also, 2023 was the year Macabro partnered with CEDECINE (Cineclub Network) for the screening of Rojo Profundo (Dario Argento) in 20 film clubs across the Mexican Republic. In this way, it continues its work of decentralizing its activities and spreading genre cinema among different audiences.

MACABRO NOCTURNO

Macabro Nocturno is a Macabro project in partnership with La Casa del Cine Mx that presents a monthly screening, since February 2015, of genre classics and part of the festival's film archive since its founding in 2002. After a one-year pause due to the pandemic, we resumed activities in September 2021.

MACABRO PRESENTA

As part of its ongoing annual programme of genre film exhibitions, Macabro has established the Macabro Presenta label to screen premieres and genre classics at various venues, with the Cineteca Nacional as its main theater.

SESIONES DEL MACABRO

Since Macabro's 2021 edition, we have presented our podcast, which focuses on horror cinema both national and global, as well as featuring interviews with leading figures in the genre.

MACABRO COVEN

This space was born in 2020 with the mission of giving visibility to the work of women directors, producers, screenwriters, actresses, technicians, promoters, managers, writers, and creatives working in horror cinema. Macabro is a festival made by empathetic women and men who are aware of the social issues affecting Mexico and the world. This is a positive and inclusive initiative that seeks to use its platform to improve the position of women in the film world. The work of Macabro Coven has also been reflected in the “Charlas del Coven” (Coven Talks), which feature conversations with women horror creators via the Instagram channel: IG @macabrocoven

In March we will launch the third production call and the first post-production call for horror short films directed by women.

MACABRO LAB

Macabro Lab was born in 2014 as its own initiative in partnership with Nuevas Resonancias and the Sociedad Mexicana de Directores y Realizadores de Obras Audiovisuales, with support from IMCINE. In its first two editions (2014 and 2015), it was produced under a new model that sought to bring the community of new filmmakers, producers, and screenwriters closer to a platform for training, improvement, and development of genre works. With the goal of relaunching this project, the Macabro Lab horror cinema seminar was born in 2019, held over 3 consecutive days by renowned filmmakers and specialists in the national and international genre film circuit. The sessions were held at the Facultad de Cine and ran alongside the eighteenth edition of Macabro Fich.

In 2020, the Horror Cinema Seminar continued, focusing on the areas of screenwriting, filmmaking, production, and project pitching. The sessions were once again held online with the support of the Facultad de Cine over 3 consecutive days in September, led by renowned filmmakers and specialists in the national and international genre film circuit.

In 2023, Macabro Lab offered a project development workshop titled “Del guion a la pantalla” (“From Script to Screen”), given over two days by Argentine filmmaker and screenwriter Fabián Forte.

CINDIE MACABRO

We continue our partnership with CINDIE, a platform specializing in independent film from around the world, to create the CINDIE MACABRO channel, which was launched with the aim of streaming a collection of Latin American horror films. The collaboration is commercial in nature and has a reach across Latin America.

SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT

In terms of environmental sustainability, Macabro as a festival has sought to raise awareness among its staff, volunteers, and audience by implementing strategies that value justice, peace, water conservation, and reduced use of paper and plastic; the health of staff and attendees at the event; respect for ecosystems; energy conservation; and recycling practices.

In terms of economic sustainability, we promote responsibility in spending and investments, value proper development and the satisfaction of basic needs, support the local economy, value volunteer and unpaid work, and recognize that a community's standard of living is linked to the contributions of people from neighboring areas, both within and outside the country.

OUR PARTNERS