The MotelX Lisbon International Horror Film Festival has launched its 20th edition with its largest schedule ever, running over 11 days at Cinema São Jorge and Cinemateca in Lisbon.
The anniversary event opens on Thursday and features more than 170 films from 40 countries across more than 145 cinema screenings. Organisers have scheduled up to 14 screenings on peak days during the expanded festival run.
Pedro Souto, who directs the festival alongside João Monteiro, told newspaper Correio da Manhã that organizers only truly believe reaching two decades once they get there. He explained that the decision to expand the festival to 11 days was made to properly celebrate the milestone.
Founded in 2007, MotelX has become Portugal's landmark event for genre cinema, drawing international horror fans and directors to the capital each autumn. The screenings are hosted at Cinema São Jorge, a traditional film venue on Avenida da Liberdade, and the Cinemateca Portuguesa, which serves as the national film archive.
Portuguese Cinema Highlights
Souto emphasized that Portuguese filmmakers maintain a strong presence in this year's lineup. He stated that horror production in Portugal is gaining consistency at the production level, although securing film financing remains an ongoing challenge for creators.
Among the highlighted domestic works is BodyHackers, a Portuguese-Italian co-production directed by Carlos Conceição and starring Joana Ribeiro and Alba Baptista. Souto also recommended the Enigmatic Trilogy by director José de Sá Caetano, featuring the films As Ruínas no Interior, Um S Marginal, and Azul, Azul, which are being screened consecutively for the first time.
International Highlights
On the international front, festival programmers selected several surprising new releases. Souto highlighted Pinocchio Unstrung, directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield, noting that the horror adaptation was made possible because copyright protections on several classic Disney characters are expiring.
Under international copyright law, works and characters enter the public domain after author protections expire, allowing independent filmmakers to adapt iconic fairy tale figures into low-budget horror features.
The lineup also features Game, a thriller produced and co-written by Geoff Barrow. Barrow is widely recognized as the founder and multi-instrumentalist of the influential British trip-hop band Portishead.
French director Marion Le Corroller brings Species to the festival. Souto noted that the film examines the intense socio-economic pressures facing Generation Z in contemporary society.
South Korean director Na Hong-Jin presents Hope, a major international horror project starring real-life acting couple Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. Fassbender and Vikander lead an international cast in the mystery thriller.
Honours and International Circuit
The 20th edition of MotelX is honoring four prominent figures in genre cinema. Special tributes will be paid to Portuguese-Swedish director Solveig Nordlund, Italian director Sergio Martino, and the veteran American filmmaking couple Roger and Julia Corman.
Souto concluded that the festival has a rich program to offer audiences, adding that organizers now hope moviegoers will turn out in large numbers to support the screenings.
The celebration of Portuguese and genre cinema coincides with major activity across the international film festival calendar. The Venice International Film Festival begins on Wednesday with the premiere of Ink, directed by Danny Boyle.
Portuguese film productions will also maintain a presence in Spain, where several Portuguese co-productions are set to compete at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Furthermore, two Portuguese co-productions are scheduled to make their world premieres at the Marseille International Film Festival in France.
