By KEVIN HOOVER
Istanbul’s KORK INTERNATIONAL HORROR FILM FESTIVAL is ramping up for its third annual outing highlighting genre cinema from around the world. Taking place over Halloween weekend, this year’s event saw filmmakers in 51 countries submit an astounding 382 (!) feature and short films, of which 40 have been officially selected to screen.
Those chosen include:
Feature Films
Mother of Flies
- Mother of Flies
- Motherwitch
- Pig That Survived Foot and Mouth Disease
- The Virgin of the Quarry Lake
- When Evil Lurks
International Short Films
Grandma is Thirsty
- Even the Moon Will Bleed
- Night Feeds
- THE PEARL COMB
- The Veil
- VÄSEN
- The New Flesh
- Grandma is Thirsty
- Dogs Reign
- FLESH & BLOOD
- Happy
- Headphones
- Time Eater
- Berta
- The Lone Piper
- Me First
- A Brighter Summer Day
- Would You Rather
- Rebrand
- Levantamuertos: Cumbia of the Dead
- FEMME
- MORE PAIN MORE GAIN
Turkish Short Films
- Hitch
- The Cut Ear
- What is the Perfect Measure?
- Family Dinner
- I’m Full but I’ll Eat Anyway
Special Screenings
Living with Chucky
- A Sip of Hell
- Beauty Sleep
- Bocuk: An Ancient Ritual
- Capricorn
- The Demonatrix
- Faceless
- Kandie
- Shift
- Living with Chucky
Tasked with the seemingly insurmountable duty of selecting this year’s winners are a team of industry professionals, including critics, creators and cast members, including:
- Emily Bennett – Director, Writer & Actress
- Onur Doğan – Director
- Hasan Can Dağlı – Director
- Hazal Tanrıverdi – SFX Artist
- Ilgıt Uçum – Actress
- Juliette Gillies – Screenwriter
- Müesser Seda Sümer – SFX Artist
- Pilar Boyle – Director, Writer & Actress
- Shaurya Thapa – Film Critic
- Sofia Alvarez Salas – Film Critic
- Tim Luna – Producer & Director
As an added treat, Toby Poser and John Adams of Mother of Flies will be featured guests and are attending the festival, which recently won acclaim as one of Dread Central’s “90 Best Genre Film Festivals in the World” and was awarded the EFFE Label 2026–2027 by the European Festivals Association (EFA) in recognition of its artistic quality.
