When the Galician Freaky Film Festival (GFFF) launched its “#0 Edition” in 2017, few could imagine witnessing the birth of one of the most electrifying events in the Galician film landscape. Years later, the GFFF survived and grew into a colossal seven-headed monster that devours audience and exhibition records with each new edition.
The festival held annually between September and October in Vigo, transformed Galicia’s fantastic, horror, and sci-fi cinema scene. As varied as it is ambitious, its programming spans from the most recent independent productions to cult classics, offering a visual feast for the most demanding genre palates.
But the GFFF is not just a parade of films. It is an immersive experience that goes beyond the screen. Talks with visionary filmmakers, special effects workshops that unveil the secrets of cinematic magic, art exhibitions that challenge reality, and comic book contests that bring our most delirious fantasies to life make up the mutant DNA of this event.
And as if it were an organism in constant evolution, in 2021, the GFFF gave birth to a new creature: Pequefreak. This “first festival” for children is the gateway to the fantastic universe for new generations, ensuring that the genre’s flame will continue to burn.
The impact of the GFFF on the industry is undeniable. It has become a springboard for new talents and a showcase of the latest trends, attracting the attention of the Galician public and professionals and enthusiasts from around the world.
Year after year, the Galician Freaky Film Festival proves that fantastic cinema is alive in Galicia and grows, mutates, and evolves. It is an event that challenges expectations, breaks the barriers of the conventional, and rewrites the rules of what a film festival can be.
If you have not yet experienced the controlled madness of the GFFF, mark the dates in your calendar. Because at this festival, the only thing you can expect is the unexpected. The Galician Freaky Film Festival is not just an event; it is a gateway to another dimension of cinema, and it is calling you.
History of the Festival
We are the GFFF-Galician Freaky Film Festival, the freak and horror film festival born in 2017 in Vigo (Galicia, Spain).
Our festival aims to advocate for genre cinema and promote freak cultural creation, especially in audiovisual formats.
The Galician Freaky Film Festival is a peculiar event. We Galicians have a unique way of contemplating our contemporary world. At times, we blend in with mass culture, but it is not uncommon for global culture to be digested by our idiosyncrasy and expressed in a very particular way. We can filter globalized culture and adapt it to our traditions and way of seeing life. The truth is that any foreign cultural influence is subject to undergoing a Galician-style remix. This unique perspective is a source of cultural richness, and we seek to encourage it through the Galician Freaky Film Festival. That is why an event like this had to have a name in English and some very tacky initials: GFFF.
Freak is a word as attractive as it is controversial. This appeals to all those viewers who may identify with this concept because of their personality or taste for certain popular culture products. It is controversial because, while it quickly creates bonds with those who embrace the difference, it may generate some reluctance or no sympathy among those who might associate the term with its more pejorative connotations of the past.
We are all freaks about something, so at the GFFF-Galician Freaky Film Festival, we aim to break down barriers and prejudices surrounding such a dreamlike cinema genre. Within the concept of freak, which we proudly include in our name, we encompass all those genres, such as horror, science fiction, or fantasy, which have historically been regarded as minor genres. Yet, reality shows them to be audiences’ most loved and cherished.
Fans of this type of cinema can elevate films of questionable reputation, like Plan 9 from Outer Space, to cult status, alongside the finest gems made in these genres, such as Blade Runner. How does this happen? The nature of these films is communal—they are meant to be shared, enjoyed, and used as an escape to other realities with people and fans who embrace breaking the rules of normalcy, conventionality, and social norms.
In this vein, what we aim to do with the Galician Freaky Film Festival is to bring this type of content to its natural audience and open it up to all kinds of audiences to enjoy these unique works. If something sets the GFFF apart from other genre festivals in Galicia, you will need more than the works you see during the festival to leave you indifferent. Indifference is a word that does not apply to us.
In this eighth and latest edition of the GFFF, held in September 2024, we can confidently say that the festival has become one of the year’s standout events in the city. The audience, guests, and critics recognize us as the most fun film festival in Galicia and one of the must-attend genre festivals in Spain.
Over these years, we have focused on internationalizing short films, bringing the best of the global landscape to Vigo in horror, comedy, science fiction, and other unclassifiable works that we can only consider freaky or surprising.
This openness, which has been part of the festival for seven years, to international cinematography in these genres, combined with meticulous programming and selection, allowed the eighth and most recent edition of the GFFF to bring audiences once again a selection of the year’s best short films. This Official Selection included works previously featured in prestigious festivals such as Sitges, Annecy, Clermont-Ferrand, Vila do Conde, or Fantasia or nominated for awards such as the BAFTAs or the Hollywood Oscars.
The term “freak” is in our name, but so is “Galician.” Therefore, the festival’s internationalization and the variety of content are consistent with our continued support for works made in Galicia and adapting all external communication of the festival to our quirks, with which we aim to export Galician particularities beyond our borders.
In the festival’s latest edition, we screened 81 works as part of the Official Selection. Many of these works were previously unseen in Galicia and Spain, coming from all over the world—from Galicia to Russia, passing through France, Australia, or Taiwan.
The screenings took place, for the third consecutive year, at the New Videodrome Cinema, located in the Tamberlick cinemas at Plaza Elíptica, making us one of the few festivals in Galicia held in its natural habitat: a cinema theater. The parallel activities, which included talks, presentations, meetings, and two exhibitions, were held at the New Videodrome room in the Apo’strophe.arte space in the C.C. Plaza Elíptica.
The festival’s dissemination on social media, in the press, and on television was remarkable, solidifying the exponential growth the event has experienced since its inception. The extensive reach on social media was complemented by reports on Telediario and TVE news programs, interviews on TVG and various radio stations, and coverage in digital media, some of which specialize in genre festivals.
This dissemination, combined with the special care and attention given to the programming and the spaces where the event took place, resulted in success among the audience, guests, and critics, who filled the festival’s various sessions. It is a festival that attracts more fans from all over Galicia and beyond each year, managing to imbue the city of Vigo with freak culture.
The eight editions that back the GFFF demonstrate the festival’s maturity, translating into a unique and powerful personality with a strong and appealing image that sparks viewers’ curiosity whether they like it or not. Vigo is a rebellious and punk city, and this is reflected in the support for this type of event.
We have more than enough elements to continue strengthening the vision and structure of future editions of this unique event in our region. The burgeoning national and international projection of the GFFF, its carefully curated Official Selection, and its incomparable atmosphere make it an experience that goes beyond cinema and becomes an authentic community freak experience.