Final Girls Berlin Film Festival

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Final Girls Berlin Film Festival

Final Girls Berlin is a film festival dedicated to horror that's written, directed, and/or produced by women and non-binary filmmakers. in ALIEN and HALLOWEEN).

Final Girls Berlin Film Festival showcases horror cinema that’s directed, written, or produced by women. We are committed to creating space for female voices and visions, whether monstrous, heroic or some messy combination of the two, in the horror genre. We've seen more than enough representations of women as beautified victims and constructions of male fantasies or anxieties, and are working tow

ards the primacy of women as subjects and storytellers in horror. The festival took place for the first time on February 23rd and 24th, 2017, in Berlin's Z-inema, and for the second time from June 9th-11th in Kino Moviemento. The next festival is scheduled to take place in February 2018 but keep an eye out for screenings throughout the year. The “final girl” horror trope refers to the last woman standing in a horror film, who manages to escape or defeat the film’s villain/monster (e.g. While “final girl” is an ambivalently feminist figure in film criticism, often desexualized and tainted with the male director’s moralization and punishment of other female characters’ behavior, the festival utilizes this figure as a starting point for carving out space for new and undiscovered positions of power for women in horror, not only in front of but also behind the camera.

**Our definition of women includes anyone with female experience--past or present-- and is trans-inclusive. Anyone who feels addressed by the term is welcome to submit their films to the festival. **

The festival organizers are Lara Mandelbrot, Sara Neidorf, and Elinor Lewy.

08/06/2026

.leipzig is screening our Friendship Horror shorts block on June 12 with fest co-director in attendance!

The program:

Would You Rather (11:20)
Written and directed by Sophie O'Donovan, Ireland, 2025
After recovering from a mental breakdown, a young woman shows up uninvited to a friend’s gathering, where a game of ‘Would You Rather’ threatens to push her over the edge.

Call Earl (4:59)
Directed by Jordan Pfeifer, USA, 2025
Eager to make new friends, Kate attends a slumber party, but the night takes a sinister turn when the girls play a strange party game.

Blood Sisters (12:00)
Directed by Muraya Moore, Australia, 2025
Summer is invited to a sleepover with a new group of friends, but when their makeover starts to take a dark turn, she is tested just how far she will go to fit in.

She Devil (14:50)
Written and directed by Allie Perison, USA, 2025
Gemma and Mae attend a break-up party for one of Mae’s new friends, a group of women who unironically refer to themselves as the “Femmes,” curated by it-girl Lake Evans. As Gemma witnesses the connection between her girlfriend and Lake firsthand, she begins to suspect the aspirationalism around Lake is meant to obscure something more sinister.

Le huard (The Loon) (19:55)
Directed by Paula Bourgie, Canada, 2025
When her childhood best friend falls in love, nostalgic teenager Dodo struggles to let go of the past and goes to increasingly dangerous lengths to secure her affections, threatening to spoil their idyllic lakeside holiday.

Internet Friend (14:36)
Directed by Erica Orofino, Canada, 2025
In the dial-up days of the '90s, lonely 12-year old Cleo finds solace in her only friend - an anonymous internet pal named Kitty. But as their bond deepens, strange occurrences make Cleo question if Kitty is who she says she is.

Rot Girl Summer (14:39)
Written and directed by Persephone Wood, UK, 2025
When the apocalypse hits London, best friends Maddie and Louisa decide to take control of how their world ends.

Content warning: su***de

03/06/2026

Our first Brain Binge talk is 's " “The Hills Are Alive”: Singing and Screaming in Horror Musicals” on June 20 at 18:00 CET!

Join her to discuss how musical numbers constitute a form of possession, from lovers harmonizing heartbreak to crowds abruptly chorusing. It’s near pathogenic, spreading lyrics across an environment, uncontrollable and exaggerated. While such behaviour may be charming in the confines of a traditional Golden Age musical like The Sound of Music (1965), horror movie musicals suggest the impulse to sing and scream are one in the same, both instinctive and loud. By challenging audiences to consider the consequences of a musical universe, these horror musicals are primed for political, social, and gender commentary. Though they require a strong stomach, such melodic murder routines thus offer fascinating insight into genre, expectation, and era.

Brenna’s talk highlights both the earliest and latest in horror musical tradition, from silent, to talkie, and new media, including a comparative study of Phantom of the Opera adaptations (notably the 1925, 1989, and Phantom of the Paradise from 1974). The program also highlights films like Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), and Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008).

Registration link in our bio!

01/06/2026

We've curated a special Dark Folk Tales program to start off Midsommar weekend in collaboration with !

The program:

Drum Wave (10:25)
Directed by Nathalie Erika James, Australia, 2018
A young pianist is forced to confront her fear of motherhood when she marries into a remote island community with bizarre fertility rituals. Nian (6:27) Written and directed by Michelle Krusiec, US, 2023 A Chinese American girl stands up to her racist bully armed with a Chinese demon mask and the help of the Nian, a mythological creature said to eat rotten children.

Nian (6:27)
Written and directed by Michelle Krusiex, USA, 2023
A Chinese American girl stands up to her racist bully armed with a Chinese demon mask and the help of the Nian, a mythological creature said to eat rotten children.

Days of Spring (11:13)
Written and directed by Arianne Hinz, The Netherlands, 2023
11-year-old Roos invites best friend Ella to join her enigmatic group of friends in their mysterious games. But there is a catch. As the stakes get higher, Roos must ask herself whether she can accept the group’s increasingly disturbing demands. The chilling short film Days of Spring looks at the price of conforming and the sacrifices of treading our own path. Content warning: animal abuse

Hafermann (11:44)
Written and directed by Helena Haverkamp, Germany, 2025
After losing his sister to the Hafermann as a child, Arthur returns as an adult and faces his greatest fear. But an old acquaintance seems to have unfinished business with him…

Heirlooms (16:59)
Directed by Devina Sofyanti, Indonesia, 2023
A woman tries to escape from a wrapped ghost, Pocong, by hiding in a man’s house. Later, she realizes that man is scarier than the Pocong itself. Content warning: domestic abuse

Kill Tradition (21:28)
Directed by Juliana Reza, Malaysia, 2025
During an annual tradition where one candidate is chosen by the head of the village to ensure unity and prosperity, a mother and daughter witness pressuring ideals amongst their community and must navigate what could be an unwanted reality.

Program info cont'd in the comments

🎟 in our bio!

29/05/2026

Our Patreon Film of the Month is ' "Speak With The Dead."

In 1850, the Fox sisters hold a seance for a wealthy couple who want to call on their deceased son's spirit to give them closure. When the girls' parlor tricks backfire, the audience begins to catch on.

Link in our bio!

28/05/2026

🧠 Our Brain Binge 2026 schedule 🧠

Featuring talks and workshops by fabulous horror experts .weidlich

Register (for free!) in our bio!

26/05/2026

Early summer in FGB land means it's Brain Binge time! Two days of scintillating talks by some exceptional horror thinkers.

More info very soon!

22/05/2026

Here we are, at the last screening of our Underdogs Marathon, 's THE COVEN OF THE BLACK CUBE which plays at midnight!

A mysterious coven helps unhappy wives murder their husbands. A deadbeat stoner turns a pizzeria into a video rental headshop, and a lost soul falls in love with a serial killer, in this shot-on-video q***r romance cursed by black magic and the occult!

Before the feature, we’ll be showing two shorts from previous years to get you in the mood!

Pizzaman (10:26)

Directed by .oldsport & Katie McBrown, USA, 2020

An eccentric elderly couple are overcome with grief and vow to never eat pizza again after their young son was run down by a delivery driver decades prior. When a new establishment Pizza Heaven rolls into town, they take revenge!

My Brother, Jeffrey (2:00)

Directed by Liz Schack, USA, 2020

Duke fights ghosts, demons and depression in order to avenge his brother Jeffrey's death.

🎟 in our bio!

21/05/2026

On May 23 at 23:00 we'll be screening a surprise movie !

We can't reveal much...but you trust us, right??

🎟 in bio!

20/05/2026

We've got something real special planned for you on May 23 at 21:30 - exploitation legend Roberta Findlay's A WOMAN'S TORMENT from 1977!

This is an X rated film - so come prepared!

Introduction by programmer Peter AhIntroductionlers

Don and his wife Frances are struggling with their marriage—and Frances's mentally ill live-in sister, Karen, is the major reason why. When Tara overhears the unhappy couple talking about having her committed to an asylum one day, she runs away and takes refuge in an empty house on a remote beach. But she slowly begins to lose her grip on reality, giving way to increasingly violent delusions and an ever-growing bloodlust.

Content warning: sexual assault

🎟 in bio!

18/05/2026

We're screening Marina Sergenti's MIRROR MIRROR (1990) at 19:30 on May 23 !

The film follows high school goth Megan (Rainbow Harvest) as she deals with typical teenage stuff: crushes, bullies, and a haunted mirror that grants her supernatural powers. MIRROR MIRROR combines YA vibes straight out of a Christopher Pike novel with plenty of R-rated thrills. But the film’s most notable—and enjoyable—aspect is its nuanced portrayal of relationships between women, which was rare for the horror genre in 1990.

🎟 in our bio!

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Webseite

http://www.finalgirlsberlin.com/

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