Àlex Gorina's first year as director of the film competition. The Festival celebrated Troma Entertainment’s 20th anniversary and dedicated a retrospective to Alejandro Jodorowsky, as well as a showcase and exhibition on the work of animation master Jan Švankmajer. The Critics’ Award was renamed the José Luis Guarner Award in honor of the legendary Catalan film critic who had passed away the previous year. Cameron Diaz presented The Mask. Other special guests included Sara Driver and Saul Bass. The lineup featured cult gems such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Crow. Spanish fantastic and horror filmmaking was beginning to show signs of good health, thanks to emerging talents like Jaume Balagueró, who screened his short film Alicia. Balagueró also presented, alongside Santiago Segura and Nacho Cerdá, the latter's controversial short film, Aftermath.
