Wrapping up Dundead 2026
A look back at our 2026 festival
The 14th edition of our Dundead Film Festival took place in May and it was a delicious treat of horror, cult and weird cinema.
We wanted to take a look back over what was an amazing four days in DCA Cinema and say a huge thank you to everyone who came along and made it our most successful festival yet!
We had a packed schedule, with two UK premieres, four Scottish premieres, seven short films and a selection six vintage titles curated by Invisible Women. There was our Dundead Film Quiz, which this year took place in Cinema 1 and saw McGonagall vs Predator take home the top prize, and badge-making in our festival Green Room. While Jute Café Bar served up some delicious drinks, including Dundead IPA in collaboration with Holy Goat. And we loved seeing everyone sporting their new festival t-shirt designed by Agnes Xantippa Boman, alongside spotting some vintage designs from Dundead festivals gone-by.
Here'a a look at what we got up to and what you had to say about this year's fest...
Published
She's a Maneater!
We did things a little differently this year, inviting archive feminist film collective Invisible Women to collaborate on part of our programme. They served up a selection of six vintage horrors under the title She's a Maneater!. It was a pleasure to have Rachel Pronger and Camilla Baier join us for the festival to introduce their picks - they went down a storm...
Amazing having ‘Invisible Women’ there. Their selection of films is fantastic and so diverse and different.
Invisible Women...curated a stellar selection of classics. I was at every single screening and not a single classic got less than 4 stars on my Letterboxd ratings – this is an incredible hit rate! What a weekend!
I loved the collaboration with Invisible Women - both in concept and what it added to the festival.
The collaboration with Invisible Women was particularly great, offering a fresh perspective to the festival.
The Velvet Vampire: Programme Notes
Premieres and more
This year's festival saw us screening two UK premieres and four Scottish premieres alongside seven short films. We received some great video intros for these, including a message from the director and stars of Theater is Dead and from the director of Buffet Infinity. We were also delighted to welcome filmmaker Alex Masciotra-Milstein for a Q&A about his short film Disease. You said:
Great variety in film selection, including some challenging films that were very much worth watching. Loved the introductions and programme notes for added context and food for thought.
The well curated film choices really brought something fresh to the screen. I would happily go in completely blind next year, based on the quality of the curation.
I loved the festival atmosphere and the selection of films was great.
It's always good to see the Scottish and UK premieres.
Roqia: Programme Notes
Feedback
We love reading all your Letterboxd reviews - over 180 reviews mentioned Dundead during the festival this year! It's great to see what you think of each of the films and provides some wonderful feedback to the filmmakers involved.
Your survey responses are also a pleasure to read and we've peppered a few across this page. They're really helpful as we begin planning for next year.
This year we were delighted to have the festival covered for Culture Film Publication. We love this piece by Nathan Brown, especially...
Everything at Dundead feels reciprocal, with the care from the programmers and event organisers matched by an audience who offer real attentiveness and engagement with what they are presented.
And then there's your amazing Dundead feedback cards. The Dundead audience are a talented and thoughtful bunch - here are a few of our favourites...
More from Dundead 2026
Upcoming Dundead screenings
Find out more about Dundead
Dundead: Angel's Egg (4K Restoration)
Dundead: Mortal Kombat (1995)
Dundead: Reflection in a Dead Diamond
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