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As the Marché du Film approaches, the Fantastic Pavilion returns to Cannes for its third and most ambitious edition yet, unfurling a freshly sharpened slate of horror, fantasy and genre titles from across the globe.
With six films featured in this year’s Fantastic Galas, the Pavilion not only reasserts itself as a vital hub for international genre cinema – one of the hottest commodities at any major market in recent years – but also promotes a diverse range of talent and hosts regional spotlights and cross-border collaborations that continue to redefine how horror travels.
Among the most talked-about entries is “Turkish Coffee Table” (“Cam Sepha”), a Turkish psychological thriller directed by Can Evrenol. The film is a remake of Caye Casas’ controversial breakout Spanish original “La Mesita del Comedor” (“The Coffee Table”) and it serves as a full-circle moment for the Pavilion; the project’s remake rights were acquired during last year’s IP Remake Showcase.
Now reimagined through a distinctly Turkish lens, the film explores the emotional erosion of a young couple after the arrival of a new child and the purchase of a deceptively innocuous piece of furniture. Evrenol’s adaptation delivers existential dread through domestic claustrophobia, marking the first project realized under the new Morbidogate banner, a joint venture between Globalgate and the Morbido Group.
From Mexico, Adrián García Bogliano’s “Talking to a Stranger” stars genre icon Gigi Saul Guerrero in a harrowing supernatural tale of grief and mental fragmentation. Guerrero plays Patricia, a woman spiraling into despair as ghostly visions invade her dreams and threaten to dismantle her family from within.
The film, produced by Mórbido Films and Corazón Films, anchors this year’s inaugural Fantastic Focus, a new initiative spotlighting Mexico’s genre cinema with multiple projects across galas, development showcases and work-in-progress screenings. It’s a fitting centerpiece for the Pavilion’s celebration of Mexico’s rising horror vanguard, which includes prominent industry figures like Guerrero, García Bogliano, Javier Colinas, Sofia Garza-Barba and Alex Kahuam, all attending this year’s edition.
Kahuam himself makes an appearance in the lineup with “The Remedy,” a supernatural chiller about a desperate man who invokes an ancient, flesh-eating entity to save his dying loved one. The film features a stacked cast including Timothy Granaderos (“13 Reasons Why”), London Thor (“Gen V”) and horror icon Doug Jones (“The Shape of Water”). Produced by Kahuam Films and Breakwall Pictures, “The Remedy” underscores the Pavilion’s growing role in linking Latin American talent with global production infrastructure.
Spanish-language horror continues to dominate the slate with “The OSHA Rule” (“La Regla de OSHA”), directed by Ángel González. Set in the urban shadows of Latin America, the film fuses Santería mysticism with gangland drama, following a young thief and his sister as they confront supernatural retribution. The film, gritty and metaphysical in equal measure, also stars Mariela Garriga and Edgar Vittorino, and was produced by Sangre Yoruba AIE in co-production with RTVE.
Genre traditionalists will find much to appreciate in “Ancestral,” a gothic horror entry from Spain helmed by Pablo Aragüés and Marta Cabrera. The film stars Almudena Amor (“The Good Boss”) as Carla, a woman returning to her ancestral village only to uncover a legacy of female bondage and supernatural retribution. Produced by Redwood Films, “Ancestral” blends folklore, feminine trauma and tightly wound suspense.
Rounding out the slate is the metaphysical survival horror “Eyes of the Abyss” from Argentina’s Daniel de la Vega. Described as a fusion of “The Thing” and “Hell in the Pacific,” the film centers on a soldier waking up aboard a warship adrift in the South Atlantic, littered with corpses and riddled with spectral menace. With Verónica Intile leading the cast, the film is still in post-production but has already made noise on the circuit with recent showcases at BIF Market and Blood Window.
Alongside its Gala presentations, the Pavilion’s industry-forward programming continues to evolve. The Fantastic Round Robin returns in an expanded format with eight curated projects pitched to elite sales agents and distributors in closed-door sessions. The IP Remake Showcase, which gave birth to “Turkish Coffee Table,” returns with ten titles up for international remake rights, reinforcing the Pavilion’s reputation as a genre dealmaking hotspot.
Now entering its third year, the Fantastic Pavilion has grown from an upstart experiment into a tentpole fixture at Cannes, drawing over 2,600 visitors in 2024 alone. With cocktail receptions, panels on financing and diversity, a new collaboration with Yes She Cannes and the ever-popular Fantastic Night party, it’s become as much a celebration of genre culture as a locus of serious industry business.
“This year’s Fantastic Galas have become true staples of Cannes, with double proof of success. First, because they now stand as premier events uniting cast and crew. And second, because one of the films we’re showcasing wouldn’t exist without last year’s IP Showcase at the Pavilion. We connect creators with investors from around the world, bring them together, create business opportunities, secure deals and, above all, make movies happen,” says Fantastic Pavilion executive director Pablo Guisa Koestinger.
“The fantastic galas have garnered such a buzz across our last three years,” adds Pavilion producer Alex Noyer. “They are an opportunity to showcase the vibrancy of the horror community worldwide. This is why the cast and crew show up and want to impress. We are so proud of this amazing lineup.”
With its chilling new lineup and bold international scope, the Fantastic Pavilion is staking its claim as the soul of genre cinema at Cannes.
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