Terror Arreu de Catalunya (TAC) is a federation of horror and fantastic film festivals across Catalonia. Founded in June 2010, this network unites sixteen member festivals throughout the Catalan territory, from veteran marathons like TerrorMolins (running since 1973) to emerging events pushing the boundaries of queer horror and B-cinema.
Mission and Scope
The TAC Federation is committed to dignifying the horror genre while remaining open to other expressions (theatre, literature, etc.) with themes of terror, gore, and fantasy. Beyond promoting member festivals, TAC annually awards the Premi TAC to the best horror and fantastic short films of Catalan production, recognizing exceptional work from filmmakers like Andy Muschietti (Mamá, 2010) and Denis Rovira (El Grifó, 2012).
With festivals spanning outdoor screenings at Cerdanyola del Vallès to Europe’s longest horror film marathon at Sant Celoni, the TAC represents the full spectrum of Catalan fantastic cinema culture.
The GFFF and the TAC
The GFFF joined the TAC network in 2024 as Amic Adherit (Associated Friend), becoming the first film festival in Galicia to receive this distinction, which recognizes kindred events that share the federation’s values and quality standards.
This collaboration represents a natural evolution of longstanding ties between GFFF and Catalan fantastic cinema. The festival has maintained active exchanges with TAC members, including Cryptshow Festival (Badalona), TerrorMolins, Fantboi, B-Retina, and FangoFest. These relationships have materialized through content exchanges, shared programming strategies, and jury participations.
A Voice for Minority Languages in Genre Cinema
The GFFF brings a distinctive perspective to the TAC ecosystem. As the only film festival worldwide that subtitles all foreign films in Galician, GFFF offers valuable experience in promoting and normalizing co-official languages within genre cinema.
This expertise proved particularly relevant at Sitges Industry 2024, where GFFF director Juan de Castro García participated in the round table “Terror Arreu Catalunya (TAC): Opportunities and barriers for genre cinema in Catalan.” The session addressed the low production of horror and fantastic short films in the Catalan language and explored ways to promote their creation and distribution. The GFFF’s contribution highlighted parallels and solutions drawn from the Galician experience.
Shared Commitments
The alliance between GFFF and TAC reflects mutual priorities:
- Championing horror and genre cinema in all its forms, from elevated horror to uncompromising freak
- Promoting regional languages as vehicles for fantastic storytelling
- Developing new audiences through initiatives like Pequefreak (GFFF) and TerrorKids (TerrorMolins)
- Creating professional networks that strengthen the position of horror film festivals across the Iberian Peninsula
The Brotherhoods of the North Connection
This TAC relationship is embedded within GFFF’s broader Brotherhoods of the North initiative, a collaboration that brings together horror and genre film festivals from Euskadi, Navarra, Catalunya, and Galicia. Multiple TAC members participate in these cross-regional dialogues, analyzing the health of fantastic cinema in Spain and establishing joint quality standards.
The integration into the TAC network extends GFFF’s reach into one of Europe’s most vibrant ecosystems for horror and fantastic cinema, while offering Catalan festivals a gateway to Galician audiences and the distinctive programming philosophy that makes GFFF the freakest festival in northwestern Spain.