The FINAL GIRLS BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL proudly unveils its 9th edition, featuring a captivating array of horror cinema that includes nine feature films, twelve short film blocks, and a variety of horror-themed events and workshops led by international genre experts. This year’s program highlights queer horror narratives, digital dystopias, eco-horror, folk horror, the absurd & surreal, and more. Scheduled from February 7-11, 2023, the festival will take place at City Kino Wedding and will also feature an online component for broader accessibility.
Dedicated to elevating the work of women and non-binary filmmakers in the horror genre, Final Girls Berlin Film Festival has earned recognition as one of MovieMaker Magazine’s Top 50 Genre Festivals in the World and has been named among Dread Central’s The Best Horror Festivals in the World. This edition continues the festival’s tradition of challenging conventions and showcasing groundbreaking horror that pushes boundaries and sparks conversation.
Selections include:
BOOGER
Written and directed by Mary Dauterman, US, 2023 (German Premiere)
Anna struggles with grief and loss of control after her best friend Izzy’s tragic death. In her search for Izzy’s escaped cat, Booger, Anna faces eerie transformations following a bizarre cat bite. Eerie and strange, Booger toes the line between cringe-comedy and tragedy in a tale of confronting grief.
MY ANIMAL
Directed by Jacqueline Castel, Canada, 2023 (German Premiere)
Bobbi Salvör Menuez (Euphoria) and Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies) star in this genre-bending supernatural love story. Tormented by a hidden family curse, Heather is forced to live a secluded life on the outskirts of a small town. When she falls for the rebellious Jonny, their connection threatens to unravel Heather’s suppressed desires, tempting her to unleash the animal within.
TIGER STRIPES
Written and directed by Amanda Nell Eu, Malaysia, 2023
An 11-year-old girl experiences puberty when her body begins to morph at an alarming and horrifying rate. In fear of being labelled as a demon, she struggles to maintain being normal at school by trying to conceal her grotesque self… that is until she decides that she no longer wants to hide from the world.
T BLOCKERS
Directed by Alice Maio Mackay, Australia, 2023
Ancient parasites rise from a small town, taking the most fearful and susceptible hosts. A young filmmaker finds herself as the only one who can sense the possessed resistance before the horror escapes and spreads. T BLOCKERS is equal parts gross-out comic horror and heartwarming coming-of-age story. It’s a loving homage to queer cinema of the past, a “power of friendship” comedy that centres trans experiences, and a middle finger to the bigots of the world.
WHERE THE DEVIL ROAMS
Written & Directed by Zelda Adams, John Adams & Toby Poser (German Premiere)
In the dregs of Depression Era America, a family of performers travels a cold, dying carnival circuit. Seven likes books; Maggie’s fond of hammers; daughter Eve’s obsessed with scissors. On a ratty stage,quiet Eve sings for their supper, but off-stage their bloody side act is booming. When the family’s bond is severed by a violent comeuppance, Eve is there to pick up the pieces. After stealing magic from a sinister Devil-dealing carny, the family’s gruesome act begins to shine. But Eve must continue to cut and sew, as the Devil guides them from below.
SOMEWHERE QUIET
Written and directed by Olivia West Lloyd, US, 2023 (German Premiere)
After escaping a brutal kidnapping, Meg travels with her husband, Scott, to his family’s isolated compound in Cape Cod. When they arrive, they discover Scott’s odd, aristocratic cousin, Madelin, is staying next door. Soon, Madelin’s presence is inescapable, and Meg and Scott’s relationship begins to fracture. Meanwhile, Meg is haunted by vivid nightmares and a growing suspicion that Scott is hiding something. What happens to the Final Girl after the credits roll? That’s the question writer/director Olivia West Lloyd, in her feature debut, brilliantly unravels. Jennifer Kim leads a pitch-perfect cast as the traumatised Meg, along with Kentucker Audley, Marin Ireland and Micheál Neeson in an eerie and disquieting horror tale where reality is constantly in question.
OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL
Written and directed by Ellie Foumbi, US/France, 2021 (Berlin Premiere)
Marie Cissé (Babetida Sadjo) works as the head chef at a retirement home in small-town France. Her easy day-to-day life spent caring for residents, hanging out with her co-worker and best friend Nadia (Jennifer Tchiakpe), and teasing a potential new romance is disrupted by the arrival of Father Patrick (Souleymane Sy Savané), an African priest whom she recognizes from a terrifying episode in her homeland. As he further endears himself to the residents and staff, Marie is forced to decide how best to deal with this reminder of her troubled past.
BIRTH/REBIRTH
Directed by Laura Moss, written by Laura Moss & Brendan J. O’Brien, US, 2023
Rose (Marin Ireland) is a pathologist who prefers working with corpses over social interaction. She also has an obsession—the reanimation of the dead. Celie (Judy Reyes) is a maternity nurse who has built her life around her bouncy, chatterbox six-year-old daughter, Lila (A.J. Lister). When one tragic night, Lila suddenly falls ill and dies, the two women’s worlds crash into each other. They embark on a dark path of no return where they will be forced to confront how far they are willing to go to protect what they hold most dear. This standout directorial debut from Laura Moss reimagines Mary Shelley’s classic horror myth Frankenstein with such a contemporary understanding that it becomes something exciting, terrifying, and singularly new.
COLD LIGHT OF DAY (Retrospective Screening)
Directed by Fhiona-Louise, UK, 1990
February, 1983. Detectives are called to a residential address in the London suburbs following reports that the drains have been clogged by human remains. This is a grim and gritty retelling of the story of “Des” Nilsen, often dubbed the “British Jeffery Dahmer”, 1989’s Cold Light of Day stars Bob Flag (Big Brother in Michael Radford’s 1984) as Nilsen-cipher Jorden March, delivering one of the most chilling and credible portrayals of a serial killer ever committed to screen.
Read the complete festival program on Final Girls Berlin’s website.
Tickets coming soon to https://www.finalgirlsberlin.com/.
