The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF) was created in 1983 as a venue for horror, thriller, and science fiction films. Each year, the festival awards prizes in several competitions for feature-length and short films. The programme of 43th edition of the festival, taking place from 8 to 20 April, includes 4 films by Polish filmmakers.

“Wet Monday” (PL: „Lany poniedziałek”) by Justyna Mytnik
Belgian premiere
April 14, 18:30

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Klara (15) was assaulted by a masked boy on Wet Monday, a traditional Polish Easter festivity popular with teenagers. A year later, nine days before the trauma anniversary, the protagonist starts to suffer from an acute fear of water. Klara seeks support with her new esoteric friend Diana (17) and finally faces the repressed trauma. A magical story of teenage-hood, healing from trauma and the power of empathy.

“Dead by Dawn”  (PL: „Martwi przed świtem”) by Dawid Torrone
World premiere
Méliès Competition (European)
April 17, 21:30

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On a stormy Christmas Eve, a troupe of young actors and actresses is summoned by the renowned but reclusive playwright Heissenhoff to his family’s baroque theater to rehearse for his next play. Oh no, nothing related to gibberish about witchcraft that’s in the script he sent them. Once they’re all neatly locked up in his maze, he’s got a whole other play in mind for them. One that is played to the death, with his cute little lab rats pitted against a raged, eyeball-masked maniac. Place your bets! Who’d have thought the true heir to the Italian giallo maestri Argento, Bava, Martino and Lenzi would hail from… Poland? Dawid Torrone’s malicious creation – which he dubs “Giallo Pollo” – is a frenzied update of Soavi’s STAGE FRIGHT, resulting in a delirious and generously gory slasher for the whole family!

Short film: „LOVE_PROXY” by Marcin Niemkiewicz
as a part of They’re the Future panel
April 12, 12:30
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Gniewko, a sensitive, and shy software engineer works for a major IT company. His life takes a turn when he gets a chance to use an extraordinary invention – a robot doppelgänger. This robot not only looks better, but also behaves in a more confident manner. It’s calm, persistent, and comes with a built-in speech auto-correction feature.

The idea of using the robot for work is enticing, but Gniewko has something else in mind. He plans to use his mechanical alter ego to get closer to Lena – a co-worker he’s secretly in love with.

Short film: “Autorkar” by Sylwia Szkiłądź
Belgian Short Films Competition
April 13, 12:30
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In the 1990s, 8 years-old Agata leaves Poland for Belgium. Anxious about her journey, the little girl writes a letter to her father back home, but her pencil falls out and gets lost on the bus. Forced to overcome her shyness, she crawls between the seats in search of the pencil, plunging into a fantastic world populated by strange half-human, half-animal passengers. At the tender age of 8, her eyes transform the reality of migration into an initiatory experience.

BIFFF
Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival
April 8-20, 2025
Brussels Expo, Palais 10
1020 Brussels

Check out the full programme of the festival and buy tickets