We are happy to announce the following guests attending the 2025 festival.
More guests are added as they are confirmed, so check back soon!
Born in Gävle in March 1993, Emil Broo has been passionate about storytelling since childhood.
At the age of 10 he discovered Windows Movie Maker and began editing his own short films, later honing his craft at the Media program at Borgarskolan in Gävle.
He went on to study Film and TV Production at Dalarna University and trained as a Professional Video Editor at Medieinstitutet in Stockholm.
Over the years, Emil has created short films with friends, colleagues, and professional actors, screening them at both Swedish and international festivals. Se upp för Zombies! (Watch Out For Zombies!) is his debut feature, financed through a mix of local film funds, crowdfunding, and personal investment — a true passion project that brings his lifelong love of filmmaking to the big screen.
Emil Broo will be attending the screening of Watch Out For Zombies on September 26.
Sergio Pereda is a Spanish director and screenwriter whose work spans theatre and film. A graduate in Stage Direction and Playwriting from ESADCYL and holder of a diploma in Directing from ECAM, he combines his creative projects with teaching.
His stage work includes productions such as Lalibelá at the National Theatre of Budapest and Contra el progreso at the Accademia dei Filodrammatici in Milan. In film, he has directed shorts including Tarantos (2019) and Sombra do mar (2020), the latter earning him the Special Jury Prize for Best Direction at the Curtas Festival.
Pereda now brings his vision to feature filmmaking with Stream, a Spanish horror film that merges atmospheric storytelling with his distinctive eye for performance and staging.
Sergio Pereda will be attending the screening of Stream on September 27.
Cris Gallego is a Spanish actress and producer with a background in theatre and audiovisual arts.
She studied acting at the Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático de Castilla y León and graduated from RESAD in Madrid, later continuing her training with renowned professionals such as Kristin Linklater and Andrés Lima.
She has developed collective creation projects at the Laboratorio Rivas Cherif of the Centro Dramático Nacional and performed with the Joven Compañía in productions including PLAY OFF!, Punk Rock and Proyecto Homero. These productions toured across Spain and marked her debut at the Teatro Calderón in Valladolid.
Gallego now extends her creative practice into producing, most recently with the Spanish horror feature Stream.
Cris Gallego will be attending the screening of Stream on September 27.
Born outside Örebro, Sweden, Malin Dahl is a director, screenwriter, and producer whose work delves into the rawness and discomfort hidden beneath everyday life.
After graduating from art school, she established herself as a filmmaker and founded Backa Studios AB in 2009. Through the company, she has produced and directed feature films, short films, documentaries, and animated projects that have reached audiences worldwide.
Her latest feature, May You Live, premiered at Göteborg Film Festival and will be released in Swedish cinemas in October 2025. With a body of work that consistently travels across international festivals, Dahl has become a distinct voice in Swedish independent cinema.
Malin Dahl will be attending the screening of May You Live on September 26.
Latvian brothers Raitis and Lauris Ābele are directors, screenwriters, and producers whose work spans feature films, animation, and documentaries.
Both trained in the arts as well as medicine, which gives their storytelling a distinctive blend of visual experimentation, philosophical depth, and fascination with the human condition.
Their films often explore the borderlands between folklore, surrealism, and contemporary culture.
A to B Rollerski (2013) and the historical documentary Baltu Ciltis (Baltic Tribes) (2018) established them as unique voices in Baltic cinema, gaining international recognition on the festival circuit. Their debut feature, the dark comedy Troubled Minds (2021), premiered at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and won the FIPRESCI Prize.
With their latest film Dog of God (2024), the Ābele brothers once again challenge audiences with a visually daring and thematically provocative work that solidifies their reputation as two of the most original filmmakers in contemporary European genre cinema.
Lauris Ābele will be attending the screening of Dog of God on September 28.
Harijs Grundmanis is a Latvian designer, illustrator, and screenwriter based in Riga. His creative practice bridges graphic design, alternative film posters, and visual storytelling, often defined by what he calls a comic-realism style—a vivid blend of illustrative energy and cinematic detail.
From an early age he was dedicated to drawing and design, a passion that gradually grew into a professional career. Alongside commissioned design work and collaborations, he has built a reputation through Harry Movie Art, where he reimagines film culture through bold and distinctive visuals.
His projects extend beyond poster art into animation and filmmaking. As a co-writer and visual artist, Grundmanis is currently working on a science fiction animation feature while also contributing to projects such as Dog of God (2024), which showcases his flair for surreal, genre-bending imagery.
What drives his work is not only the chance to shape striking images, but also the opportunity to connect with new people, new ideas, and new stories—and, as he says, “to make something permanent.”
Harijs Grundmanis will be attending the screening of Dog of God on September 28.
Andreas Granér (b. 1986) is an artist and animator from Stockholm. With a background in drawing and music, he developed a playful DIY approach to storytelling at Animationsakademien, blending hand-drawn animation with his own compositions.
His short Siri Wonder (2025) is in competition for the Finn Fantastic Films Award.
Henry Moore Selder (b. 1973) is a Swedish director known for his visually striking storytelling across music videos, commercials, and short films. With roots in Stockholm’s alternative scene, his work blends cinematic flair with bold visual impact for clients and audiences worldwide.
His short The Musical Spider (2024) won the Mélies d'Argent at Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and is now in competition for the Finn Fantastic Films Award.
Alejandro Alberola is a Spanish-born filmmaker and assistant director working in film and television. Making films since the age of 16, he develops his own projects alongside industry work, with a focus on little-known real characters and underrepresented stories.
His recent shorts include For Queen and Country (2023) and Black Hole Barry (2024), both screened at international festivals.
His film Black Hole Barry will screen as a part of the Unholy Glamour Short Film Package.
Ashley Butcher is an Australian-born, Belgium-based filmmaker, musician, and multidisciplinary artist whose work spans film, theatre, and radio.
Their latest short film Terminus (2025), a psychological thriller blending AI and human vulnerability, is nominated for the Méliès d’Argent, marking them as a bold new voice in European fantastic cinema.
Andreas Thörn (b. 1992) is a Swedish experimental filmmaker and video artist based in Malmö, whose work often weaves found imagery, voiceover, and collage aesthetic into poetic visual essays.
With a background in cultural studies and explorations in video and media theory, his films explore perception, memory, and the boundary between image and voice.
His latest film, Sebastian & the Voice (2024), is competing in this year’s Finn Fantastic Films competition, marking another step in his pursuit of formally inventive, emotionally resonant storytelling.
Jonas Eriksson is a short filmmaker from Skåne whose work combines sharp visual storytelling with playful genre elements.
His film Eyes On The Screen (Ett öga för film) won Best Fantastic Film at Pixel Skånes Kortfilmsfestival 2025, and now has the honor of closing this years' Lund Fantastic Film Festival.
Thomas Costa Freté is a filmmaker and screenwriter based in Sweden whose work blends the absurd with the poetic, exploring the strange logic of dreams and the hidden corners of everyday life.
His short film Thoughts During Meditation is nominated for the Finn Fantastic Films Award at Lund Fantastic 2025 — a surreal and darkly humorous glimpse into the restless mind of someone trying (and failing) to find inner peace.
Swedish director Mats Udd is known for his distinctive visual style and long career in music videos, having directed more than 120 productions.
His short horror film Don’t Be Afraid is nominated for the Finn Fantastic Films Award.
Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Lindton is a director and visual storyteller whose work spans short film, advertising, and visual effects. His latest short film Freya is competing in the Finn Fantastic Films Award category at Lund Fantastic 2025.
Lindton has previously directed the short films När jag dog and Ida’s Choice, both exploring emotional realism and psychological depth.
Swedish director, writer, and producer Lukas Sjögren (born 1995) runs the Stockholm-based company Förbannade Myror and is this year’s recipient of Filmstaden Kultur’s Grant for Best Upcoming Filmmaker.
His short This Goddamned Noise is nominated for the Finn Fantastic Films Award, and he is currently distributing that film along with his horror short The Ant.
Swedish director and writer Birgitta Liljedahl has directed the award-winning short Autonomous (2022) and co-directed Throughout Time (2023).
Her latest short film Potato is nominated for the Finn Fantastic Films Award at Lund Fantastic 2025.
Liljedahl also leads Aspö Writing Lab, a creative platform for over 100 writers, actors, and directors, and has two feature films in development in Los Angeles.
Scottish-Irish filmmaker Ciaran Lyons explores the darker sides of human behaviour through visually striking, psychological storytelling.
His debut feature Tummy Monster (2025) blends tension, power dynamics, and isolation into a chilling character study.
Lyons will attend the screening of Tummy Monster on October 25.
