The 15th edition of Terroríficamente Cortos has announced its contenders. Twenty-four short films, chosen from a pool of 385 submissions, will compete in the official section, which will be screened from 30 October to 1 November at Cines Ortega in Palencia. Cristian Beteta, director of Ángulo muerto and a previous Goya winner for Best Fiction Short Film, will serve as the honorary jury.
The festival will run until Wednesday, 4 November, featuring six days of horror, including three sessions of short films and three genre feature films. This cultural initiative is once again supported by the Palencia City Council, the Palencia Provincial Council, Morales Cervera Dental Clinic, and gastrobar Picogallo, alongside collaborations from Cines Ortega, the Guardo Musical Group (AMGu), Palencia Abierta shopping centre, and the consulting firm Sociograph.
Official section of short films
This year, 385 short films were submitted, with 24 selected for the official section. The screenings will take place at Cines Ortega, with eight titles shown per session on Friday 30 October, Saturday 31 October, and Sunday 1 November, all starting at 22:15. The selected films come from Spain, France, Sweden, Hungary, and Portugal. The competing titles include:
- 27B
- Amira
- Amor de padre
- Breathwork
- Canguro
- Cara de con
- Dagian
- El establo
- Gavage
- Happy
- Influenzer
- La cámara
- La casa de la bruixa
- Moho
- Pactum
- Red Devil
- Reyes malos
- Siempre hay un monstruo
- Sonrisa de mierda
- Te debo una
- Tenéis que verlo
- The Hunt
- Un trámite más
- Yo primero
Notable actors such as Diego Anido, Ruth Díaz, Eva Isanta, Fernando Cayo, and Antonio Pagudo will appear on screen, and several directors, producers, and actors from the selected shorts will participate in the festival.
Awards and jury
The finalists of the 15th Terroríficamente Cortos will compete for ten awards with a total prize pool of €3,100. These include:
- Jury Award for Best Short Film: €1,000
- Audience Award for Best Short Film: €300
- Best Performance Award: €300
- Best Cinematography Award: €300
- Best Special Effects Award: €300
- Best Soundtrack Award: €300
- Best Production Design Award: €300
- AMGu Award for Best Sound: €300
- AMGu Audience Award
- Sociograph Award for Most Impactful Short
The jury, composed of festival organisers, will include the esteemed honorary jury member Cristian Beteta, who previously won the Jury Award for Best Short Film and the Best Performance Award with Ángulo muerto, which also won the Goya for Best Fiction Short Film. This is not Beteta's first appearance at the festival; he previously won awards for Mi zona and Ayúdame.
The audience will have the opportunity to vote for the Audience Award for Best Short Film and the AMGu Audience Award via a QR code displayed at the end of each screening. Meanwhile, professionals from the Guardo Musical Group will select the winner of the Best Sound award.
Feature film showcase
Feature film screenings will commence on Monday, 2 November, at 20:15, starting with Crawlers, the latest film by Ángel Gómez Hernández. The director, who previously attended with El hombre del saco and won the Jury Award for Best Short Film with Behind in 2016, presents a story about residents of an apartment building quarantined due to a plague of venomous spiders. On Tuesday, 3 November, also at 20:15, the first feature film by Alejandro Amenábar, Tesis, will be screened, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of its release in 1996. The festival's poster reflects the iconic white and red tiles from a disturbing scene in the film. The feature film cycle will conclude on Wednesday, 4 November, at 20:15 with Buddy, the debut feature by Casper Kelly, which premiered in the midnight section of the 2026 Sundance Festival and won the Best Screenplay Award at this year's Sitges Festival.
Ticket prices and sales
The pass for the 15th Terroríficamente Cortos, granting access to all three sessions of the official short film section, is priced at €16 and will be available until Sunday, 25 October. From Monday, 26 October, individual tickets for each short film session will be sold for €6. Tickets for the feature films will also be available this afternoon at the same price, reduced to €4 for those who purchased the pass. Passes and tickets can be purchased at the Cines Ortega box office.
Provincial venue
The northern part of the province will once again embrace the terror of this small-format festival. Screenings of the 15th Terroríficamente Cortos in Guardo will take place on Monday, 2 November, at 18:00 in the Municipal Auditorium.
Photography exhibition
The theme of terror will also be explored through images in the 11th Terror Photography Competition Exhibition. Selected photographs will be displayed free of charge from Monday, 26 October, to Sunday, 8 November, at the Cultural Centre of the Old Jail in Palencia, Lecrác. The exhibition examines the representation of terror through a different artistic medium: photography.
