MONSTRO – Jacareí Fantastic Film Festival (2026)

Festival start: 13 August 2026      Festival end: 23 August 2026

Monstro – 6th Jacareí Fantastic Film Festival is an event dedicated to celebrating fantastic cinema in all its forms — horror, fantasy, science fiction, surreal, experimental, and beyond. Held in Jacareí, in the Vale do Paraíba region (São Paulo State, Brazil), the festival has established itself as a platform for exhibition, discovery, and appreciation of films that explore imagination, the uncanny, and the extraordinary.

In its 6th edition, MONSTRO reaffirms its commitment to aesthetic, cultural, and narrative diversity, welcoming local, regional, national, and Latin American productions, while encouraging emerging talents and promoting representation within the genre.

More than a festival, MONSTRO is a meeting point for filmmakers and audiences passionate about cinema that provokes, disturbs, and expands boundaries.

MONSTRO TROPHY 2026 - Main Awards:
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place

Technical Awards:
Best Director
Best Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Production Design
Best Editing
Best Sound
Best Original Score
Best Visual Effects
Best Makeup / Practical Effects
Best Costume Design
Best Performance

Special Awards:
Best Animation
Best Documentary
Best Student Short Film
Best Children & Youth Short Film
Best Music Video
Best One-Minute Short Film
Best Regional Short Film
Best Representation Short Film
Best Brazilian Folklore Short Film
Best Latin American Short Film
Best International Short Film
Fantastic Creatures Award
Total Nausea Award
Honorable Mentions

RULES & REGULATIONS

MONSTRO – Jacareí Fantastic Film Festival (6th Edition, 2026)


1. OBJECTIVE

The MONSTRO – Jacareí Fantastic Film Festival aims to promote, showcase, and award audiovisual works within the fantastic genre, including horror, fantasy, science fiction, surrealism, experimental cinema, and hybrid narrative forms, encouraging national, Latin American, and international production.

2. ACCEPTED FILMS AND duration CLASSIFICATION
2.1 SHORT FILMS (GENERAL RULE)

Short films are defined as works with a duration between 5 (five) and 25 (twenty-five) minutes, unless otherwise specified in a specific category.

2.2 OTHER CATEGORIES (5 to 25 minutes)

• Brazilian Folklore (Brazil only)
• Regional – Vale do Paraíba (São Paulo State, Brazil only)
• Representation
• National and International (general competitive selection)

2.3 CATEGORIES WITH duration EXCEPTIONS

• Total Nausea: 5 to 20 minutes
• Documentary: 10 to 20 minutes
• Student Films: 5 to 15 minutes
• Youth / Family Films: 5 to 15 minutes
• Animation: 3 to 10 minutes
• Music Video: 2 to 5 minutes
• One-Minute Film: up to 60 seconds

2.4 FEATURE FILMS (INVITED)

Feature films are defined as works with a duration of more than 70 (seventy) minutes.
Features may be included in non-competitive showcases or special screenings, at the discretion of the curatorial team.

3. ORIGIN OF SUBMISSIONS

Submissions are accepted from:
• Brazil
• Latin America
• International productions

Exceptions:
• Brazilian Folklore (Brazil only)
• Regional – Vale do Paraíba (Brazil only)

The curatorial team may reassign films to different categories whenever deemed necessary for artistic or technical suitability.

4. PRODUCTION PERIOD

Only films produced from January 1st, 2025 onwards will be accepted.

5. SUBMISSION LIMITS

Each director may submit up to three (3) works.
Only one (1) work per director may be selected for the official competitive program.

6. language AND SUBTITLING

Foreign-language films must include subtitles in:
• Brazilian Portuguese

The filmmaker is fully responsible for providing accurate subtitles.

7. ACCESSIBILITY

The festival encourages accessibility resources, including:
• closed captions / descriptive subtitles
• audio description
• sign language interpretation (LIBRAS)

8. SUBMISSION PLATFORM

Submissions must be made exclusively via Festhome.

9. THEME

Only works within the fantastic cinema genre will be accepted, including horror, fantasy, science fiction, surrealism, experimental cinema, and related aesthetic and narrative forms.

Films outside the thematic scope will be automatically disqualified.

10. TECHNICAL FORMAT

Submissions must comply with the following requirements:

• Format: MP4 (H.264 codec)
• Minimum resolution: Full HD (1920x1080)
• Maximum file size: 10GB

11. SELECTED FILMS DELIVERY

Selected films must be delivered via cloud storage links (Google Drive, Dropbox, or similar services).

The following will not be accepted:
• broken or expired links
• files without download access
• password-protected links with invalid or inaccessible credentials
• incompatible platforms (e.g., TeraBox or similar services without direct file access)

It is the filmmaker’s responsibility to ensure the link is fully functional before submission.

11.1 Required Materials:

• 3 film stills
• 1 poster (optional)
• 1 director’s photo
• short biography
• full technical sheet
• Portuguese subtitles (for international films)

Failure to submit required materials within the deadline may result in disqualification.

12. JURY AND EVALUATION CRITERIA

The jury will be composed of invited professionals from the audiovisual industry.

Evaluation criteria include:
• alignment with fantastic cinema
• originality
• narrative structure
• direction
• acting
• cinematography
• art direction
• editing
• sound design
• soundtrack
• visual effects
• overall technical quality

The jury’s decision is final, sovereign, and not subject to appeal.

13. awards
13.1 MAIN awards

• Best Brazilian Fantastic Short Film
• Best Latin American Fantastic Short Film
• Best International Fantastic Short Film

13.2 TECHNICAL awards

• Best Direction
• Best Screenplay
• Best Cinematography
• Best Production Design
• Best Editing
• Best Sound Design
• Best Original Score
• Best Visual Effects (VFX)
• Best Makeup / Practical Effects
• Best Costume Design
• Best Acting Performance

13.3 SPECIAL awards

• Best Animation
• Best Fantastic Documentary
• Best Student Film
• Best Music Video
• Best One-Minute Film
• Best Regional Film
• Total Nausea Award
• Honorable Mentions

14. AWARD DELIVERY

Winners must receive their physical trophy in person during the event, or may request later shipment if attendance is not possible.

Shipping and logistics costs are the sole responsibility of the awarded filmmaker/director.

15. ANNOUNCEMENT AND RESULTS

• The official selection list will be published on Instagram @festivalmonstro and via email.
• Nominees for the MONSTRO Trophy and other awards will be announced during the festival.
• The official list of winners will be published after the festival on Instagram and via email.

16. awards AND HONORABLE MENTIONS

Main awards will preferably be granted as physical trophies. In cases where delivery or shipment is not possible, digital certificates may be issued at the discretion of the organization.

Honorable mentions will be awarded exclusively in digital certificate format.

17. EXPENSES

The festival is not responsible for:
• transportation
• accommodation
• meals

18. COPYRIGHT

The filmmaker declares full ownership and legal rights over the submitted work, including copyright, sound rights, and image rights, releasing the festival from any legal responsibility.

19. IMAGE USE AND PROMOTION

The festival may use excerpts, stills, posters, and promotional materials for institutional, press, and marketing purposes.

Selected films become part of the festival’s non-commercial cultural archive for educational and promotional use.

20. FESTIVAL FORMAT

The festival may take place in-person, online, or in hybrid format.

The organization reserves the right to modify dates, structure, and programming due to technical, operational, or force majeure reasons.

21. SELECTION

The curatorial team holds full autonomy over film selection.

Technical issues, incorrect submissions, or failure to comply with these rules may result in disqualification.

22. CONDUCT AND CONTENT

Films containing the following will not be accepted:
• hate speech
• discrimination
• discriminatory violence

The organization may disqualify films or participants in cases of inappropriate conduct.

23. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

Partial use of AI tools is allowed, provided there is substantial human creative authorship.

Fully AI-generated works will not be accepted.

Permitted uses include:
• visual effects
• post-production
• animation
• sound
• set design

Human authorship must remain central in:
• direction
• screenplay
• artistic language

AI usage must be declared upon submission.

24. PARALLEL PROGRAMS

The festival may create, modify, or remove parallel competitive or non-competitive sections at the discretion of the curatorial team.

25. OMISSIONS

Any cases not covered by this regulation will be resolved exclusively by the festival organization.

festivalmonstrojacarei@gmail.com