– This year’s selection showcases daring genre films in development from across the globe, ranging from body horror and folk terror to science-fiction, dark comedies and psychological thrillers
Director Oskar Lehemaa, who is taking part with Birth (© Oskar Lehemaa)
Returning to Montréal for its 15th edition, the Frontières Co-Production Market (22-25 July) has announced its full 2026 line-up, reaffirming its position as the leading industry platform for genre film co-production between Europe and North America. Organised by the Fantasia International Film Festival, which runs from 16 July-2 August, and the Cannes Marché du Film, Frontières once again gathers filmmakers and producers from around the world, offering a dynamic space for them to connect over bold, original and boundary-pushing stories that reflect the ever-evolving landscape of genre cinema.
This year’s selection spans 20 feature-length projects in the Official Selection, picked from among almost 200 submissions, alongside five works in development in the Shorts to Features strand, five projects in the Genre Film Lab, and four composers participating in the Music Pitches programme. Across these strands, creators from more than 20 countries will present their projects, seek financing and forge new creative partnerships ahead of production.
The diversity of voices remains one of the defining strengths of this year’s market. The selected projects draw inspiration from cultures, myths and contemporary realities from across the globe, encompassing Thai forest spirits, Nordic zombie outbreaks, African psychological thrillers, Central European romantic horror, Caribbean folklore and speculative visions of the future. The Official Selection embraces horror, science fiction, thriller, fantasy, documentary and dark comedy, highlighting stories that explore identity, memory, transformation and survival through distinctive genre lenses.
Among the European projects is Birth by Estonian filmmaker Oskar Lehemaa, a body-horror tale following a couple who venture deep into the woods in search of a fertility ritual. Nordic genre cinema is represented by The Mire, a Finnish folk horror from debuting director Marika Harjusaari, in which a milkmaid in a remote 19th-century village becomes caught between ancient rituals and a reformist priest, as something sinister stirs beneath the mire. Norwegian filmmaker Vegard Dahle brings Grandmonster, a zombie comedy about a young woman who returns home to care for her grandmother and inadvertently triggers an outbreak among the elderly through an experimental anti-ageing treatment.
The Netherlands contributes XX by debutante Nina Noël Raaijmakers, a body-horror feature in which an unauthorised uterus transplant on a B-horror set takes on a life of its own, while the South African-Dutch co-production Third Wheel by Zoe Ramushu follows a people pleaser forced to confront her traumatic past during a pre-wedding retreat. Austrian director Johannes Grenzfurthner presents the science-fiction feature You Were Never Here, set at a remote research facility where people from across human history mysteriously materialise at regular intervals. Also selected is Apoorva Satish’s Cold Feet, a romantic zombie comedy in which a Czech-Indian wedding is disrupted when guests begin turning into flesh-eating monsters. The UK is represented by Sophie King’s (Gro)ceries, a horror-comedy about a woman raised by vampires who discovers she is human, and Faye Jackson’s They, in which a sceptical gardener begins to fear her conspiracy-theorist tenant may be right as her home becomes host to a disturbing presence.
The Shorts to Features strand continues to support filmmakers transitioning from short-form storytelling to feature filmmaking, while the Genre Film Lab provides development support for emerging Canadian genre projects. The Music Pitches programme returns with four composers showcasing their work, and seeking collaborations with producers and directors attending the market.
Here is the complete selection of the 15th Frontières Co-Production Market:
Official Selection
Grandmonster – Vegard Dahle (Norway)
Producer: Jon Vatne
Injured Reserve – Tyler Mckenzie Evans (Canada)
Producers: Malachi Ellis, Claire Desmarais
Delivery – Isaac Ezban (Mexico)
Producers: Natalia Contreras, Alejandra Cardenas, Felicitas Arce, Isaac Ezban
You Were Never Here – Johannes Grenzfurthner (Austria/Canada)
Producers: David Hiatt, Taylor Nodrick, Jasmin Bauer, Guenther Friesinger
The Great Canada Day Massacre – Elza Kephart (Canada)
Producers: Marcel Giroux, Rebecca Rowley
The Mire – Marika Harjusaari (Finland/Norway/Sweden/Latvia)
Producers: Mika Ritalahti, Nima Yousefi, Einar Loftesnes, Gints Grübe
They – Faye Jackson (UK)
Producer: Carley Armstrong
Gro(ceries) – Sophie King (UK)
Producers: Rosanna Eden-Ellis, Catherine Joy White
Ring Leader – Jason Lapeyre (USA/Canada)
Producers: Vanessa Marano, Laura Marano, Ellen Marano, Jason Lapeyre
Birth – Oskar Lehemaa (Estonia)
Producer: Evelin Penttilä
Aurora Comes Home – Gloria Mercer (Canada)
Producers: Shawn Angelski, Martin Fisher
Any Means Necessary – George Mihalka (Canada)
Producers: Susan Curran, Dave Alexander, Matt MacLellan, Francine DiBacco
Cher – Songsak Mongkolthong (Thailand)
Producers: Rachvin Narula, Kulthep Narula, Hans Audric B Estialbo
Humpty: American Dream – Maxwell Nalevansky (Canada/USA)
Producer: Taylor Nodrick
The Fall – Alexandre O Philippe (USA/France)
Producers: Terri Piñon, Laurent Alary, Eric Jarno
XX – Nina Noël Raaijmakers (Netherlands)
Producers: Fauve de Ruiter, Monique van Kessel
Third Wheel – Zoe Ramushu (South Africa/The Netherlands)
Producers: Ellen Havenith, Reabetswe Moeti-Vogt
Cold Feet – Apoorva Satish (Czech Republic/France/Poland/India)
Producer: Michal Sikora
My Missing Half – Rodiell Veloso (Philippines/Japan)
Producers: Tomomi Furuyama, Rajiv Idnani
Violent Delights – Jack Warren (USA)
Producers: Ariel Adler, Brock Bodell, Jacob Brodsky, Andrew Duensing, Josh Duensing, Beatrix Herriott O’Gorman
Shorts to Features
Noodles, Our Love Was Instant and Forever – Whammy Alcazaren (Philippines)
Producers: Alemberg Ang, Mara Ravelo Bernaldo
Eternal Valley – Jasmine De Silva (UK)
Producer: Tuli Litvak
Sea Spirits – Edson Jean (USA/Jamaica)
Producers: Eugene Sun Park, Robert Maylor
Echoes – Gemma Lee (Australia)
Producer: Gemma Lee
Reset – Celine Tien, Jerry Hsu (USA)
Producer: Julien Soros
The Genre Film Lab
Stacy’s Mom – Marushka Jessica Almeida (Canada)
Producers: Rabiya Mansoor, Nisha Khan, Marushka Jessica Almeida
Wifey – Cassidy Civiero (Canada)
Producer: Mariel Sharp
Severed – Lauren Marsden (Canada)
Producer: Fabian Aspell Morales
To the North – Jean Parsons (Canada)
Producers: Sara Blake, Magali Gillon-Krizaj
Loup-Garou – Nathalie Therriault (Canada)
Producer: Nneka Croal
Music Pitches
Ethan Lawrence (Canada)
Michiel Marsman (Netherlands)
Raphaël Reed (Canada)
Erica Wong Ping Lun (Canada)
