- Fantasy Film Grand Prix (Best Film): The Dollmaker (Encantador) (Argentina), by José Maria Cicala.Plot: In a prime example of Argentine horror, the disappearance of several women in a small town casts suspicion on a video store employee.
- Special Jury Award: The Skeleton Girls, A Kidnapped Society (Australia), by Richard Eames.Plot: A woman escapes domestic slavery into the city's underworld, where she must learn to navigate a group of female vigilantes.
- Best Direction: Emilio Portes, for Don’t Leave the Kids Alone (No Dejes los Niños Solos) (Mexico).Plot: Two children left alone in a new house do everything their mother forbade, only to discover they are not alone.
- Best Actor: Rodrigo Noya, in The Dollmaker.
- Best Actress: Maribel Verdú, in Under Your Feet (Bajo Tus Piés) (Spain).Plot: A woman and her children are disturbed by unsettling voices coming from the floor below in a luxury building.
- Best Screenplay: The Whisper (El Susurro) (Uruguay/Argentina), by Gustavo Hernández Ibáñez.Plot: A mother and son flee to an isolated house where they discover a dangerous ring kidnapping youths for "snuff" films.
- Best Cinematography: Journey to no End (China), by Chen Xian.Plot: In a future where men transition to a virtual world at age 40, a young man searches for the mother who abandoned him.
- Best Short Film: Señuelo (Spain), by Martha G. Ayerbe.Plot: Two men take a boy into the forest to teach him how to hunt, but they encounter something unexpected.
- Special Mention: The Curse (Japan), by Kenichi Ugana.Plot: A social media curse triggers violent deaths and visions of a terrifying long-haired woman.
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© André Rocha
II. DIRECTORS’ WEEK (Manoel de Oliveira Award)
- Best Film: Wild Nights, Tamed Beasts (China), by Wang Tong.Plot: A zookeeper lives in an unfinished apartment with an old lion and his paralyzed father, in a reflection on dignity in old age.
- Special Jury Award: The Trek (South Africa), by Meekaaeel Adam.Plot: In the 19th century, a family crosses the Kalahari Desert guided by a violent man and a native with ancestral wisdom.
- Best Director: Wang Tong, for Wild Nights, Tamed Beasts.
- Best Screenplay: Jun Robles Lana, for Sisa (Philippines).Plot: In a Philippine village of female war survivors, the arrival of an enigmatic figure awakens a dilemma between peace and revenge.
- Best Actor: Jirô Satô, in Suzuki=Bakudan (Japan).Plot: A man arrested for public intoxication challenges the police with riddles about bombs set to explode in Tokyo.
- Best Actress: Pia Tjelta, in Don’t Call me Mama (Norway).Plot: A teacher grows fond of a young immigrant and takes him home, triggering an affair filled with lies and compassion.
- Special Mention (Cinematography): Endless Land (Greece), by Vassilis Mazomenos.Plot: A poetic elegy on memory, exile, and generational cycles in a remote village in northern Greece.
JAPAN’S #I WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH WINS ORIENT EXPRESS
III. ORIENT EXPRESS SECTION (Asian Cinema)
- Best Film: #I Will Tell You The Truth (Japan), by Keisuke Toyoshima.Plot: In an interactive TV show, contestants confess secrets about famous murders to win money from the audience.
- Special Jury Award: Papa Buka (Papua New Guinea/India), by Dr. Biju Damodaran.Plot: Two Indian men discover stories in Papua of their country's soldiers who died in WWII.
AND... CATIVOS WINS THE FANTASPORTO PORTUGUESE CINEMA AWARD
IV. PORTUGUESE CINEMA AWARD
- Best Portuguese Film: Cativos, by Luís Alves.Plot: Love is captivity: a man imprisons a woman in a basement and quotes famous movie lines in a dangerous game of seduction.
- Best School Film: Os Terríveis, by João Antunes (Universidade Lusófona de Lisboa).
- Special Mention (School Film): Cama de Lavado, by Maria Lima (Universidade Católica do Porto).
V. NON-OFFICIAL AWARDS
- Audience Award (Ex-aequo): The Specials (Japan), by Eiji Uchida and Lenore (Australia), by David Ward.The Specials: A group of Yakuza must learn to dance to infiltrate a contest and assassinate a rival boss.Lenore: A digital influencer exposes her private life online until she disappears, leaving her followers obsessed.
- Critics' Award: Endless Land (Greece).
- Special Mention of the Critics: Gaua by Paul Urkijo Alijo (Spain)
VI. FANTASPORTO 2026 SPECIAL AWARDS
- Norwegian Film Institute and The Filmforbund: For their contribution to the Norway Focus Retrospective.
- Imaxinario de Galicia Short Film Festival (Spain): Special Award.
- Ana Megre: For her 43rd participation in Fantasporto.
FANTASPORTO 2026 SUMMIT – MOVIE TALKS
What are "Movie Talks"? A program of cultural training and debates parallel to the film screenings, with free entry at the Batalha Centro de Cinema Bar. The goal is to promote discussion among filmmakers, writers, academics, and the public.
Programming Highlights (Feb 27 to Mar 8):
Literature and Cinema: Book presentations by authors such as Artur Manso, Danyel Guerra, José Carlos Pereira and Ricardo Figueira, with debates on screen adaptations.
- Filmmaking: Practical panels on independent production, financing, and distribution with directors and producers.
- Thematic Conferences:Edgar Allan Poe: Reflections on Roger Corman’s adaptations.David Fincher: Analysis of the film "Fight Club."Norway Focus: Debate on the international success of Norwegian cinema and gender equality in the sector.
- Modernity: Discussion on Artificial Intelligence in cinema, linked to the competition film "Post Truth."
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