Festivals - Gerardmer 2026 : The Mask of Fear and Fascination Takes Center Stage at the 33rd International Fantastic Film Festival

By Mulder, 31 october 2025

There is a particular magic to Gérardmer — that small town in the Vosges that, every January, transforms into a sanctuary for the strange, the haunted, and the sublime. Since 1994, the Festival International du Film Fantastique de Gérardmer has carried the torch of the fantastique genre with an unwavering passion, succeeding the legendary Avoriaz festival which thrilled audiences from 1973 to 1993. What once began as Fantastica, later evolved into Fantastic’Arts, and finally found its definitive identity under its current title — a name that now resonates among the most respected horror and science fiction festivals in Europe. For its 33rd edition, taking place from January 27th to February 1st, 2026, Gérardmer adds an extra day of dread to its calendar, promising six intense days of screenings, retrospectives, and encounters that blur the line between cinema and ritual.

The newly unveiled 2026 poster, with its darkly poetic imagery and haunting symmetry, captures that essence perfectly. Its design evokes a skull-like mask emerging from a fog-drenched forest, an image that both invites and unsettles. The mask — that ancient emblem of mystery — becomes the festival’s central motif this year. As the festival’s official statement poetically suggests, “By concealing the face, the mask unfolds an infinity of fantastic powers and invites us to tear the veil of reality.” The choice is far from accidental. The mask has always been at the core of horror and the fantastique, acting as a mediator between the visible and the invisible, the divine and the diabolical. It terrifies and fascinates in equal measure. The poster seems to whisper to the audience: behind every disguise lies a truth too overwhelming to face barefaced.

This year’s theme also carries a haunting resonance with our recent collective past. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the entire world to live behind surgical masks, transforming a protective tool into a symbol of distance and fear. At the same time, masks like that of the Joker found new life in global political movements, turning the iconography of cinema into instruments of protest and rebellion. Gérardmer 2026 seizes this cultural convergence, exploring how masks — once a staple of folklore and mythology — now echo through modern anxieties and identities. They are instruments of terror, subversion, and seduction; reflections of humanity’s deepest urges to both hide and reveal.

The festival’s retrospectives will honor the long cinematic lineage of masks — from Georges Franju’s haunting Les Yeux sans Visage to John Carpenter’s immortal Halloween, from Mario Bava’s Gothic masterpiece Le Masque du Démon to Wes Craven’s self-aware Scream, and Brian De Palma’s flamboyant Phantom of the Paradise. These films, and the artists behind them, understood that the mask is not merely a prop but a symbol of duality — both barrier and mirror, horror and revelation. Few objects in the fantastique carry such psychological weight, and Gérardmer’s decision to dedicate its 33rd edition to this theme feels not only timely but necessary.

Over the decades, Gérardmer has established itself as a unique meeting ground between cult legends, emerging voices, and devoted audiences. The festival’s blend of snow-covered intimacy and cinematic passion creates an atmosphere unlike any other. It’s not uncommon to see renowned guests — from Bernard Werber, a recurring figure presenting his literary and cinematic experiments in the heart of the town, to filmmakers showcasing their latest nightmares — mingling with fans over late-night screenings and quiet Vosgien dinners. This blend of closeness and grandeur is what makes Gérardmer endure where so many festivals fade. It is not merely a place to watch films, but a place to confront the unknown, to celebrate what lies beyond the edge of comprehension.

With ticket sales and press accreditations opening on Saturday, December 13th at 1 PM, anticipation already runs high. The 2026 edition promises a “retrospective shrouded in mystery,” hinting at surprises yet to be revealed. If Gérardmer has taught us anything, it’s that what is unseen is often what stirs us most. As the fog lifts over the Vosges next January, the masks will descend — not to conceal, but to reveal the strange, the beautiful, and the terrifying truths that lie beneath our faces. More than ever, the Gérardmer International Fantastic Film Festival stands as both a celebration and a challenge — an invitation to those who dare to look behind the mask and discover the reflection of their own humanity staring back.

(source : press release)