Macabro XXIII: Official short film selection and retrospectives of Lex Ortega and Pedro Rivero

Mexico City, July 24, 2024

Short film selection in its three categories
Retrospectives of Lex Ortega and Pedro Rivero

We are one month away from the start of this new edition, and that's why we want to share some previews of what's in store this year. The official short film selection will be made up of 59 productions from 12 countries, divided into three sections: international short films, Mexican short films, and animated short films.

We will also have a retrospective on two filmmakers who have championed genre cinema from their respective trenches: Lex Ortega, who has been part of the movement that has placed Latin American fantasy and horror cinema among the most relevant of this century; and on the other hand, Pedro Rivero, a screenwriter, director, and animation film producer who has shared his storytelling knowledge through teaching since 1998.

OFFICIAL SHORT FILM SELECTION

INTERNATIONAL HORROR SHORT FILMS

Cut Me If You Can | Dir. Nicolas Polixene & Sylvain Loubet dit Gajol | United States | 2023 | 21 min.
Apotemnofilia | Dir. Jano Pita | Spain | 2023 | 9 min.
Simon | Dir. LSDavid | Spain | 2024 | 12 min.
Los cómplices | Dir. Alberto Evangelio | Spain | 2023 | 13 min.
Hado | Dir. Rubi Rock | Spain | 2023 | 11 min.
Voyager | Dir. Pablo Pagán | Spain | 2023 | 20 min.
Sincopat | Dir. Pol Diggler | Spain | 2023 | 13 min.
Fck'n Nuts | Dir. Sam Fox | Canada | 2023 | 11 min.
Stop Dead | Dir. Emily Greenwood | England | 2023 | 7 min.
Ten of Swords | Dir. Faye Jackson | England | 2023 | 16 min.
The Thaw | Dir. Sarah Wisner & Sean Temple | United States | 2023 | 16 min.
Murderabilia | Dir. Nora Mandray | United States | 2023 | 15 min.
Robbie Ain’t Right No More | Dir. Kyle Perrit | United States | 2023 | 18 min.
Doris | Dir. Edem Dotse | Ghana | 2023 | 17 min.
La bestia | Dir. Joris Laquittant | France | 2023 | 23 min.
Juggernaut | Dir. Daniele & Emanuel Ricci | Italy | 2023 | 20 min.
The Watcher | Dir. Nathan Sellers | United States | 2022 | 9 min.
Arapuca | Dir. Joel Caetano | Brazil | 2023 | 20 min.
Shut | Dir. Niels Bourgonje | Netherlands | 2022 | 14 min.
Coleoptere | Dir. Martin Gouzou | France | 2023 | 15 min.
The Cost of Flesh | Dir. Tomas Palombi | France | 2023 | 9 min.
Girls | Dir. Julien Hosmalin | France | 2023 | 20 min.
Palace of Nocturnal Delights | Dir. Matheus Marchetti | Brazil | 2023 | 29 min.

MEXICAN HORROR SHORT FILMS

No le digas a papá | Dir. Ale García & Carla Sierra | Mexico | 2024 | 14 min.
Cuando abunda el silencio | Dir. Claudia Cuellar | Mexico | 2024 | 12 min.
En ciernes | Dir. Ana Victoria Méndez | Mexico | 2023 | 14 min.
Asístole | Dir. Andrea Carro | Mexico | 2023 | 18 min.
Agua Corre | Natalia Audirac Avendaño | Mexico | 2023 | 5 min.
Té de ruda | Dir. Jennifer Remba | Mexico | 2024 | 15 min.
Misión Mudanza | Dir. Axel Zapién | Mexico | 2024 | 15 min.
Hola Humanidad | Dir. Airam Rendón | Mexico | 2023 | 6 min.
AutopsI.A. | Dir. Lex Ortega | Mexico | 2023 | 5 min.
La luz agonizante | Dir. Rafael Martínez-García | Mexico | 2023 | 20 min.
La piedra roja | Dir. Jaime Jasso | Mexico | 2023 | 24 min.
Reconstrucción | Dir. Sergio Valdez Sánchez | Mexico | 2022 | 14 min.
Mamá | Dir. Manuel Escalante | Mexico | 2023 | 12 min.
Moscas | Dir. Santiago Gómez Fernández | Mexico | 2024 | 17 min.
Este lado hacia arriba | Dir. Rafael Rosales Rábago | Mexico | 2024 | 10 min.
Brujería | Dir. Juan José Hinojosa | Mexico | 2024 | 19 min.
Hola, mi vida | Dir. Juan Pablo Villavicencio | Mexico | 2023 | 17 min.
Korpus | Dir. Sinhué Benavides & Alexa de Hoyos | Mexico | 2024 | 7 min.
En el nombre de… | Dir. Marcos Muñoz Flores | Mexico | 2024 | 10 min.
El hombre sin rostro | Dir. Sergio Siruela | Mexico | 2023 | 12 min.
Sacrificio | Dir. Aldo Enrique Apango Ortíz | Mexico | 2023 | 12 min.
Orfeo | Dir. Roberto Telles | Mexico | Mexico | 2023 | 29 min.
Nocturno | Dir. Pablo Olmos Arrayales | Mexico | 2024 | 14 min
Flores y Cienfuegos | Dir. Henry Bedwell | Mexico | 2024 | 15 min.
El corazón bajo tierra | Dir. James Lucas | Mexico | 2024 | 23 min.

ANIMATED HORROR SHORT FILMS

Bubbleman Superstar Mission El Cobra | Dir. Alban Gily & Thierry Bonneau | France | 2023 | 14 min.
Les Bêtes | Dir. Michael Granberry | United States | 2024 | 11 min.
La Valla | Dir. Sam | Spain | 2023 | 14 min.
Santa Sombra | Dir. Patricio Plaza & Paula Boffo | Argentina | 2023 | 2 min.
Pandemonium | Dir. Louise Bailliet, Olivia Gombault, Candice Loret, Lilou Martin & Lucille Rizzo | France | 2023 | 7 min.
En medio de la nada | Dir. Óscar Fabián Triana | Colombia | 2023 | 7 min.
Fermento | Dir. Andrea Ortega Botello | Mexico | 2023 | 4 min.
Amanita | Dir. Carolina Revilla Casillas and Alexa García Ángeles| Mexico | 2023 | 11 min.
Todo está perdido | Dir. Carla Pereira & Juanfran Jacinto | Spain | 2023 | 7 min
Camille | Dir. Denise Roldán | Mexico | 2024 | 10 min.
O Cacto | Dir. Ricardo Kemp | Brazil | 2023 | 10 min.
Prends Chair | Dir. Armin Assadipour | France | 2023 |17 min.

RETROSPECTIVES

Lex Ortega

Lex Ortega is probably one of the horror film directors belonging to the generation that has managed to establish Latin American fantasy and horror cinema as one of the most relevant audiovisual movements of this century, with stories, films, and names that are surprising audiences around the world and that have brought a new perspective to the genre, incorporating social issues and local legends into the genre's canon.

One of the creators of the celebrated anthologies México Bárbaro I and México Bárbaro 2, of the film "most violent in the history of Mexico," and of one of the episodes of the new season of the iconic horror series "La hora marcada," Lex Ortega's collection of short films and features is a showcase of a director unique in Mexico, one who has known how to understand the elements of the genre from a very dark, bloody, and violent place.

Director, sound engineer, screenwriter, and musician. Without government support, his films have been financed with his own resources, crowdfunding, and other private production companies. A proud horror film director who has been seen to grow and establish himself in this trench.

- Edna Campos

Short films:

Devourment | Mexico | 2010 | 6 min.
T is for Tamales | Mexico | 2011 | 5 min.
Frío | Mexico | 2012 | 6 min.
Contra Natura | Mexico | 2013 | 23 min.
Bendición de Madre | Mexico | 2013 | 7 min.
The Dreamcatcher | Mexico | 2015 | 3 min.
La Peste | Mexico | 2016 | 3 min.
SDT Viral Torture Porn | Mexico | 2017 | 2 min.
autopsI.A. | Mexico | 2023 | 5 min.
La Hora Marcada: “Smog” | Mexico | 2023 | 34 min.

Feature films:

ATROZ | Mexico | 2015 | 87 min.
ANIMALES HUMANOS | Mexico | 2020 | 88 min.

Pedro Rivero

Some years ago, about eight or nine as I recall, an animated film arrived via Filmfreeway that radiated a great deal of darkness and hopelessness: Psiconautas, los niños olvidados. After watching it, I decided the film had to be part of Macabro's programme that year, the same year Xabier Uria and Iñigo Portillo, from the Caostica festival in Bilbao, visited us. Both knew Pedro Rivero very well, and thanks to them the video arrived in which I saw Pedro for the first time, giving thanks for the award he had won while little birds flew in and out of his head. I later had the chance to meet Pedro in person on two occasions, and I promised to invite him to Macabro.

Screenwriter, director, and animation film producer; comic book and theater author. -FANT DE HONOR Award for his professional career, awarded by the Bilbao Fantasy Film Festival, nominated for and winner of Goya awards for his short film Birdboy and the feature film Psiconautas, co-writer of the famous film El Hoyo and its sequel, set to premiere at the end of the year. Director of the animation film festival Animakom Fest, Pedro Rivero is a full-time creator who lives to tell stories, sometimes disgusted with life, but always with a lucid and biting humor that captures the dark side of things and complex characters. An honor to have him as a guest and honoree this year. The promise was kept.

- Edna Campos