This edition marked the beginning of a strong connection between the Festival and genre films directed by women, as demonstrated by titles such as The Babadook, Goodnight Mommy, Honeymoon, and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. Antonio Banderas’s visit, during which he received the Grand Honorary Award, created a stir at the Festival, which also welcomed notable figures like Roland Emmerich, Dick Miller, Franco Nero, María Kosty, and Annabelle Wallis. At a pre-Festival event held at Barcelona’s Aribau cinema, Rob Zombie received the Grand Honorary Award, while his wife and muse, actress Sheri Moon Zombie, was presented with an Honorary Maria. The collaboration with Blood Window began through a dedicated section aimed at promoting Latin American genre cinema.
