Festivals - PIFFF 2025: A Fourteenth Edition Fueled by Bold Vision, Collective Energy, and a Generous Lineup

By Mulder, 19 november 2025

The Paris International Fantastic Film Festival returns from December 10 to 16 with a fourteenth edition that doubles down on everything that has made PIFFF a beloved winter ritual for genre devotees: a festival built by passionate people, for passionate people, guided by a clear identity since day one. By selecting only twenty feature films out of more than four hundred submissions, the programmers reaffirm their philosophy — quality over quantity, rarity over redundancy, and the primacy of the shared theatrical experience. Reading through the 2025 lineup, one can already feel the heartbeat of the Max Linder Panorama, that legendary temple of cinema where each screening turns into a collective rite, where audience members exchange glances of complicity while queueing and engage in fiery debates after the credits roll. This is the atmosphere that keeps the fantasy genre alive, a genre that PIFFF continues to elevate as a communal celebration in an era where cinema consumption increasingly isolates spectators instead of bringing them together.

This 2025 edition opens with the raw, relentless energy of Sisu: Road to Revenge from Jalmari Helander, a return to mythic, bruising heroism as its protagonist battles the forces responsible for destroying his family. It’s a statement of intent: brutal, visceral, and crafted for a massive screen. Audiences will then be transported into the world of Scarlet and Eternity by Mamoru Hosoda, a film poised to become a major work in the director’s career. Blending vengeance, emotion, and reflections on hatred and forgiveness, this new odyssey extends the filmmaker’s signature themes while pushing them into darker, more operatic territory.

The 2025 feature competition is particularly thrilling this year, marked by an impressive diversity of genres, tones, and narrative ambitions. Among the highlights is Mag Mag by Yuriyan Retriever, the first production from the newly founded K2 Pictures — created by Hirokazu Kore-eda, Takashi Miike, and Shunji Iwai — an irresistible mix of absurd comedy and J-Horror energy reminiscent of early Miike. In stark contrast, Redux Redux from Kevin McManus and Matthew McManus channels the muscular sci-fi spirit of early James Cameron, while Crazy Old Lady from Martín Mauregui, produced by J.A. Bayona, delivers a deeply unsettling tale of aging, memory, and guilt anchored by an electrifying performance from Carmen Maura.

The lineup grows even more alluring with Appofeniacs by Chris Marrs Piliero, a wild debut where deepfakes, colorful gore, and dark humor collide in an explosive style reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino and Joseph Kahn. The highly anticipated Junk World from Takahide Hori, a follow-up to his cult stop-motion film Junk Head, promises a handcrafted yet visually colossal descent into underground worlds. The Holy Boy by Paolo Strippoli offers a stirring fusion of Italian folklore and supernatural mystery, while Orfeo by Virgilio Villoresi enchants with dreamlike beauty and baroque stop-motion passages. Mārama by Taratoa Stappard, a gothic feminist tale touching on identity, culture, and colonization, is poised to be one of the festival’s most haunting discoveries. And fans of pure madness will rejoice at the long-awaited return of Deathgasm with Deathgasm 2: Goremageddon by Jason Howden, a sequel made possible entirely through fan support — louder, bloodier, and even more metal than the first.

Outside competition, the festival embraces the full spectrum of contemporary genre cinema. Dolly by Rod Blackhurst, featuring a radically transformed Seann William Scott, emerges as a gender-flipped cousin of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Silence by Eduardo Casanova — first conceived as a series before being reshaped for theatrical release — offers 57 hypnotic minutes of visual provocation saturated with overwhelming color. Dollhouse by Shinobu Yaguchi blends terror and comedy in equal measure, and Taroman Expo Explosion by Ryo Fujii pays imaginative homage to Tarō Okamoto and 1970s tokusatsu productions. The selection is crowned by The Last Viking from Anders Thomas Jensen, with Mads Mikkelsen in a tender yet absurd road-movie-meets-crime odyssey marked by the director’s signature blend of humor and melancholy.

The parallel, cult, and late-night screenings add further electricity to the program. The Forbidden City by Gabriele Mainetti bridges European cinematic classicism with the explosive kinetic energy of Hong Kong action cinema. Flush by Grégory Morin, carried by a standout performance from Jonathan Lambert, promises a delirious, high-octane ride. Meanwhile, Fuck My Son! from Todd Rohal, enhanced by practical effects crafted by Robert Kurtzman, stands as the ultimate “forbidden screening” — anarchic, grotesque, and proudly boundary-breaking. Cult aficionados will also be treated to rare or restored theatrical presentations of masterpieces including Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Kissed by Lynne Stopkewich, Mort de rire by Álex de la Iglesia, Save the Green Planet! by Jang Joon-hwan, The Beyond by Lucio Fulci (introduced by Nicolas Boukhrief), and the seldom-screened Apocalypto by Mel Gibson.

As is tradition at PIFFF, rising filmmakers will also take center stage through two short-film competitions — French and international — which continue to be vital incubators for new voices. In a matter of minutes, these works travel from stylized gore to tender wonder, from intimate horror to monstrous transformation. They are future feature directors in the making. Additionally, the Grand Prix Climax honors original French genre scripts, with a jury composed of Delphine Chanéac, Nathalie Jeung, Diane Doniol-Valcroze, Thomas Salvador, and Olivier Babinet, reaffirming the festival’s commitment to nurturing bold artistic visions in a cinematic landscape that often sidelines genre storytelling.

The festival will close on December 16 with Scarlet and Eternity by Mamoru Hosoda, an emotionally charged exploration of the cycle of vengeance, the search for identity, and the possibility of rebirth. It’s a fitting finale that mirrors the spirit of PIFFF itself — a place where audiences gather to rediscover cinema as a visceral, communal experience; a moment in time where strangers become companions through the shared thrill of the fantastic.

If a festival can be a refuge, a celebration, and a declaration of love all at once, PIFFF 2025 seems determined to embody all three simultaneously. For one week, the Max Linder Panorama becomes a realm of shadows and imagination where every film is an encounter, every guest a portal into another world, and every spectator a member of the same unconventional tribe. As the festival team loves to quote: “We accept you, one of us.” And at PIFFF, that sentiment has never felt more sincere.

Full planning : 

Wednesday, December 10
19:30 – Sisu: Road to Revenge (89 min) (dir. Jalmari Helander) (Finland / UK / USA)
22:00 – Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (102 min) (dir. Yoshiaki Kawajiri) (Japan / Hong Kong / USA)

Thursday, December 11
12:00 – Sisu: Road to Revenge – Re-run (89 min) (dir. Jalmari Helander) (Finland / UK / USA)
14:30 – Mag Mag (113 min) (dir. Yuriyan Retriever) (Japan)
17:00 – Kissed (78 min) (dir. Lynne Stopkewich) (Canada)
19:15 – Redux Redux (109 min) (dir. Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus) (USA)
21:30 – Influenceurs (110 min) (dir. Kurtis David Harder) (USA)

Friday, December 12
09:00 – Grand Prix Climax (Industry Event)
12:00 – Influenceurs – Re-run (110 min) (dir. Kurtis David Harder) (USA)
14:30 – Crazy Old Lady (94 min) (dir. Martín Mauregui) (Argentina / Spain)
16:30 – Mort de rire (Muertos de risa) (111 min) (dir. Álex de la Iglesia) (Spain)
19:15 – Appofeniacs (89 min) (dir. Chris Marrs Piliero) (USA)
21:45 – The Last Viking (116 min) (dir. Anders Thomas Jensen) (Denmark)

Saturday, December 13
11:00 – French Short Film Competition (multiple films)
14:15 – Junk World (104 min) (dir. Takahide Hori) (Japan)
16:30 – Save the Green Planet! (117 min) (dir. Jang Joon-hwan) (South Korea)
19:15 – The Holy Boy (122 min) (dir. Paolo Strippoli) (Italy)
22:15 – Silence (Silencio) (57 min) (dir. Eduardo Casanova) (Spain)
23:45 – Fuck My Son! (94 min) (dir. Todd Rohal) (USA)

Sunday, December 14
11:00 – The Forbidden City (138 min) (dir. Gabriele Mainetti) (Italy)
14:15 – Orfeo (74 min) (dir. Virgilio Villoresi) (Italy)
16:30 – International Short Film Competition (multiple films)
19:15 – Mārama (89 min) (dir. Taratoa Stappard) (New Zealand)
21:45 – Dollhouse (110 min) (dir. Shinobu Yaguchi) (Japan)

Monday, December 15
12:00 – Fuck My Son! – Re-run (94 min) (dir. Todd Rohal) (USA)
14:30 – Deathgasm 2: Goremageddon (117 min) (dir. Jason Howden) (Canada / New Zealand)
16:45 – The Beyond (81 min) (dir. Lucio Fulci) (Italy)
19:15 – Dolly (83 min) (dir. Rod Blackhurst) (USA)
21:30 – Taroman Expo Explosion (105 min) (dir. Ryo Fujii) (Japan)

Tuesday, December 16
12:00 – Dolly – Re-run (83 min) (dir. Rod Blackhurst) (USA)
14:30 – Flush (70 min) (dir. Grégory Morin) (France)
16:30 – Apocalypto (138 min) (dir. Mel Gibson) (USA)
20:00 – Closing Film: Scarlet and Eternity (111 min) (dir. Mamoru Hosoda) (Japan)

The 2025 Paris International Fantastic Film Festival (PIFFF) takes place from December 10 to 16 at the legendary Max Linder Panorama, located at 24 boulevard Poissonnière, 75009 Paris, a landmark venue renowned for its giant screen and pristine projection quality. The cinema is easily accessible via the Paris Métro with lines 8 and 9 stopping at Grands Boulevards, and several bus routes also serve the area, including lines 45, 85, N15, and N16. Tickets can be purchased directly on the official cinema website www.maxlinder.com , with standard seats priced at €12.50, reduced tickets at €9.20, and loyalty cards available for frequent visitors, while UGC Illimité and Le Pass subscriptions are accepted one hour before each screening. For the most dedicated festivalgoers, a PIFFF 2025 Unlimited Pass is available for €109 on www.pifff.fr , granting access to all screenings with priority entry into the theater. Additional information about the festival, programming, guests, and special events can be found on the official website www.pifff.fr , while the organizing association Paris Ciné Fantastique—a non-profit dedicated to promoting fantastic cinema—continues to uphold the spirit of the genre through events, publications, and curated programs throughout the year.

(Source : press release)