Dracula Film Festival, Romania’s leading showcase for fantasy and horror cinema, returns this fall with its 13th edition, bringing national premieres of international productions and a wide array of competitions for filmmakers. Running from October 29 to November 2 in Brașov, the event will feature ten feature films and more than 30 short films.

The event, which consistently ranks among the world’s top 90 genre festivals according to Dread Central, will again highlight the diversity of contemporary fantasy cinema, from animation and sci-fi to thriller and horror, the organizers said.

The official competition includes the Dracula Trophy for best feature film, Little Dracula for best international short, Vladut for best Romanian short, and Dracula Digital, a contest for young amateur filmmakers creating short films on mobile phones.

This year’s feature competition presents titles such as Lily’s Ritual (Spain), The Krampus Rises (Italy/Spain/US), Ever After (US, starring Malcolm McDowell), Labyrinth (US, directed by Ryuhei Kitamura), and A WWII Fairy Tale (UK), a documentary about Michael Mann’s cult classic The Keep.

Short film competitions will bring Romanian and international entries spanning themes from dystopias and folklore to satire and supernatural horror. 

Young filmmakers aged 16 to 29 will compete in Dracula Digital, with finalists challenged to create new shorts within 60 hours during the festival.

Beyond cinema, the festival experience will expand with Dracula Fantasy Con, a parallel event running from October 31 to November 2 at Coresi Shopping Resort, gathering artists and creators from comics, literature, video games, and fantasy art.

Screenings will take place at Cinema Modern in Brașov, with tickets available from October 1 at Biletebrasov.ro. Full program details will be published soon here.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: press release)