125 Selected Works. Six Categories. One Celebration of Horror Cinema.
The third edition of Sinister Horror Film Festival brings together filmmakers, screenwriters, and artists from around the world for a celebration of horror in its many forms.
Horror has never belonged to a single language, tradition, or way of telling stories. Its power lies in its ability to confront the unknown, challenge familiar boundaries, and reveal what other genres often leave unexplored.
With that spirit, Sinister Horror Film Festival announces the Official Selection for its third edition, taking place from November 28 to December 6, 2026, in Mexico City and online.
This year’s selection encompasses 125 works across six categories: Feature Film, Short Film, Animation, Music Video, Feature Screenplay, and Short Screenplay. Together, they represent filmmakers and writers working across different cultures, formats, and creative disciplines, united by an interest in the darker possibilities of storytelling.
For Sinister, horror is more than a genre. It is a cinematic language capable of expressing fear, imagination, social anxieties, and the most unsettling aspects of human experience. The festival remains committed to creating a space where independent voices can find recognition and where unconventional visions of horror can reach new audiences.
The 2026 Official Selection reflects that commitment.
Official Selection 2026
Feature Film
Seven feature films from Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Tunisia, and the United States form this year’s Feature Film selection.
Bakma
Directed by Abdelhamid Bouchnak
Tunisia
Deep Hallows – A Brazilian Gothic Fable
Directed by Beto Marquez
Brazil
The Demonatrix
Directed by Aurelio Voltaire and Jeff Ferrell
United States
El Convento
Directed by Luis Galindo and Ángel M. Chivite
Spain
El Ritual de Huasao
Directed by Isaac Berrocal Bravo
Spain
The Nation
Directed by Erick Ismael Hernández
Mexico
Unsavory Elements…
Directed by Tom Carter
United States
Short Film
The Short Film selection brings together 64 productions, with filmmakers representing countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
Albas
Directed by Carlos G. Gananian
Brazil
Atrocious
Directed by Nicolás Sánchez Márquez
Mexico
Ball Pit
Directed by Jarrod Yerkes
United States
Beast
Directed by Andrea Nocchetti
Italy
Bestiaire
Directed by Anne Zinn-Justin
France
The Black Tooth
Directed by Anita Serrano
Argentina
The Bogeyman
Directed by Kenneth Thompson
United States
Brian Won’t Wear Condoms
Directed by Genna Edwards
United States
Bullet and Lace
Directed by Nick Noyes
United States
Cat in the Gut
Directed by Buğra Mert Alkayalar
Türkiye
Catalepsy
Directed by Nicolás Ordóñez
Mexico
Come the Nightfall
Directed by Tom Michaels
United States
The Cronenberg Theory: The Man with No Face
Directed by Danny Traverso
Spain
The Curse of Ligeia
Directed by Kelly Murray
United States
Dahlia
Directed by Giovanni Eccher
Italy
Damiana
Directed by Diego Gallardo
Mexico
Dogs Reign
Directed by Axel Zeltser
France
A Drive at Dawn
Directed by Joe D’Ovidio
United Kingdom
El Revisor
Directed by Jandro (Alejandro López García)
Spain
Even the Moon Will Bleed
Directed by Rémy Barbe and Stef Meyer
France
Evening Class
Directed by Michael Clark Haney
United States
Glare
Directed by Denis Sidorenko
Cyprus
Gonfiami
Directed by Iacopo Zanon
Italy
Half Step Down
Directed by Gordon Alexander Watson and Elise Ann Ednea Antonia Maria Mifsud Watson
Malta
Healer
Directed by Armando Arenas
Mexico
He’s Sick
Directed by George James Fraser
United States
Hunger
Directed by Kat Aranch
Mexico
I Don’t Like Scares
Directed by Angel M. Chivite
Spain
I Found You
Directed by Diego Carli
Italy
Il Buio Non Esiste
Directed by Alessio Coccia
Italy
Il Fabbro di Anime
Directed by Edoardo Trotta
Italy
Il Giorno della Bestia
Directed by Martina Girlanda
Italy
Il Vecchio Terribile
Directed by Jacopo Marchini
Italy
Infestation
Directed by David Calbert
United States
I Owe You One
Directed by Santi Capuz and Diego Jiménez
Spain
La Tana dello Scoiattolo
Directed by Giuseppe Pio Clemente and Mattia Carlacchiani
Italy
The Leaked Tape
Directed by Ka Wee Teong
New Zealand
Liar
Directed by Azul Fernández
Mexico
Little One
Directed by Marco Navarro
United States
Mamma
Directed by Mike Montagna
Italy
Morningshed
Directed by Miette Deschenes
United States
Mr TV Man
Directed by Wes S Smith
United States
Necrosectos
Directed by Javier Lozano
Spain
Night Feeds
Directed by Rana Roy
United States
Risorsero dalla Tomba e Fu… L’Apocalisse!
Directed by Domenico Montixi
Italy
Rough Cut
Directed by Mitchell Vincent Slan
United States
Screen
Directed by Nikodem Rautszko
France
A Shadow Over Me
Directed by Mirko Filippi
France, Italy
She
Directed by Jonathan van Wieren
Netherlands
The Soulless
Directed by Liam Hooper
United States
STYXIɅ
Directed by Joshua Torresvalle
Mexico
There Is Always a Monster
Directed by Gaston Haag
Spain
The Tide
Directed by Ian Rayburn
Canada
Tinieblas
Directed by Raúl Cerezo
Spain
Tristán La Lía
Directed by Borja Pascual
Spain
Ultimo Ballo
Directed by Fabrizio Denaro
Italy
Un Posto Appartato
Directed by Carlo Alessandro Onnis
Italy
Una Sola Carne
Directed by Eduardo Jiménez Castañeda
Mexico
Under the Midnight Sun
Directed by Lisa Hammer
United States
Underground
Directed by Alejandro Jiménez Fierro
Mexico
Visceral
Directed by David Campanella
Italy
Vore
Directed by Samuel Carvajal Yannarella
Colombia
Window Watcher
Directed by Gil Shalev
Israel
The Wonder
Directed by Alexandre Bilardo
Denmark, Switzerland
Animation
Animation offers filmmakers a different relationship with horror, where the limits of physical production give way to imagination. The five works selected for 2026 demonstrate how animated storytelling can create its own unsettling worlds, characters, and visual identities.
Ghosts in the Fog: An Animated Friday the 13th Fan Film
Directed by Vincente DiSanti and Juan Rivera
Mexico
The Puppeteer’s Assistant
Directed by Anna Birchler and Tyler Brown
United States
Roxy and the Evil Hamster
Directed by Aarón Bolaños Carballo
Mexico
Thalassomania
Directed by Oly Chen, Lexi Baca, and Ryn Reid
United States
The Three Naughty
Directed by Victor Volkov
Mexico
Music Video
Horror has long shared a creative relationship with music. Beyond cinema, its imagery and atmosphere have become part of the visual identities of musicians and performers across genres.
The Music Video selection recognizes 11 works that bring these two forms of expression together, offering artists and directors another space to experiment with horror as a visual language.
Black Widow’s Web
Directed by Richard Pearce and Lezzy Osbourne
Carach Angren — “Ik Kom Uit Het Graf (I Come from the Grave)”
Directed by Zoran Bihać
“The Cunningham Wake” by The Lycan Bite
Directed by Greg Kissner
The Dark Esquire: Lexicons
Directed by Michael Ferrara
Demons and Saviors
Directed by Jessica Spinelli
Freak (Nakaza)
Directed by Andrija Mitrović and Lidija Perišić
I Destroy Myself
Directed by Daniel Pino
I Want Your Brains Not Your Body, Sincerely Zombie
Directed by Luke Ostermiller
Mama Doom — “Woven Linen”
Directed by Anne Hickey
Stella Tenebras
Directed by Mark Von Bismark
Take It Back
Directed by Lee Daehan
Feature Screenplay
Before horror reaches the screen, it begins with an idea.
Screenwriting remains an essential part of Sinister Horror Film Festival’s commitment to supporting the development of new stories and recognizing the writers behind them.
The Feature Screenplay selection recognizes 20 projects conceived for feature-length storytelling. These works represent ideas and narratives with the potential to develop into future horror films.
Beacon on Dark Shores
Written by Anthony A. Labriola
Before We Were Afraid
Written by Lorraine Flett
Black Sequence
Written by Michael Ferrara
Black Sunshine
Written by Kirk Allen Muesse
Camp Carnage
Written by Kensie Mckee
Cold West
Written by Jason Myers
Ghost in a Jar
Written by Jason Lally
Isle of the Lost
Written by Leah Kafetz Rothman
Kolo
Written by Oliver Jakovljević and Jim Holderied
Lohusa: Ümmü Sübyan
Written by Şafak Güçlü
Mr. Oxenfree
Written by Jody Matzer
Nocturne
Written by Víctor Osuna
The Pit
Written by Maxwell Seiler and Anthony Altamura
Plushed Spirit
Written by Abigail Espinal-Andrade
Sanguis Septem
Written by Caprice Castano
Song of the Damned
Written by Jon Russell Cring
Squeak
Written by Evan Schullery
The Werewolf of Hollywood
Written by Christopher Buonopane
What the Devil Fears
Written by Lee Copeland
Wolves in the Trenches
Written by Bodhi Jude Maxfield
Short Screenplay
A short screenplay demands precision. With limited space to establish characters, build tension, and leave an impression, the format challenges writers to find strength in every scene.
The 18 projects in this year’s Short Screenplay selection recognize writers developing horror stories within the possibilities of the short format.
Auld Lang Stab
Written by Nathan D. Ludwig
Bar in the Woods
Written by Robert Cunniff
Bird’s Nest
Written by Ludwig Suykerbuyk
Bunzilla
Written by Emma Zadow
El Pesado Peso del Espejo
Written by Marcelo Rubén Castellano
The Green
Written by C.S Luis
Khepris Eye
Written by Nilson Bernardi Ferreira
The Little Black Boy
Written by Cherelle Ann Sarah Higgins
L.O.T Lizards
Written by Deshon S Smith
My Masterpiece
Written by Erik J Waldman
The Prompt
Written by David Francischelli
Serious Applicants Only
Written by Cara McWilliam-Richardson
Spiderpocalypse
Written by Eugene Hattingh
Success
Written by Michelle T Clemens
Surpr(A.i)se
Written by Mićo Ivanović
Talking To God…?
Written by Max Jordan
Thick
Written by Chucho E. Quintero
The Vein
Written by Mike Ferrara
A New Chapter for Sinister
Every Official Selection represents more than a collection of titles. Behind each film, music video, and screenplay are filmmakers and writers who have committed their time, resources, and imagination to bringing an idea into existence.
Sinister Horror Film Festival recognizes that commitment and the importance of creating opportunities for independent horror to be seen, discussed, and celebrated.
The third edition begins on November 28, 2026, with the festival’s opening event at Cinemanía Plaza Loreto in Mexico City. The online program follows from November 29 through December 5, extending the festival beyond its physical venue.
The edition concludes on December 6 at 7:00 PM (Mexico City time) with the Sinister Awards, recognizing achievements across the festival’s competitive categories.
The Official Selection marks the beginning of this year’s celebration, with further announcements to follow as the festival approaches.
To every filmmaker, writer, artist, and creative team selected for the third edition: your work is now part of Sinister’s story.
Welcome to Sinister Horror Film Festival 2026.
SINISTER HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
November 28 – December 6, 2026
Mexico City, Mexico & Online
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