FANT Selection 2025

FANT Bilbao 2025: Launching Its First-Ever Méliès d’Argent Competition

The 2025 edition of the Bilbao Fantasy Film Festival (FANT) marked an exciting milestone: for the very first time, the festival hosted a Méliès d’Argent competition for Best European Fantastic Short Film. As a new member of the Méliès International Festivals Federation, FANT brought the spotlight to emerging and established talent from across Europe, celebrating the imaginative, the eerie, and the boldly fantastic.

This inaugural Méliès competition featured 17 short films, with a strong presence of Spanish productions and two standout international entries from France and Denmark. The selection reflected the diversity and vitality of genre cinema in Europe—from disturbing visions of the future to surreal horrors, psychological thrillers, and experimental animations.

The 2025 Méliès d’Argent competition lineup at FANT:

• A-MANIKI – Elixabet Nuñez – Spain – 13’42”
• UNA CARROÑA – Daniel Alegrete – Spain – 19’55”
• DEJA DE HABLARME – Laura Guerricaechevarría – Spain – 13’
• ETORRIKO DA – Izibene Oñederra – Spain – 12’46”
• HOTZ – Lander Castro – Spain – 9’11”
• PLANETAGATIK – Eneko Muruzabal Elezcano – Spain – 9’39”
• PRESENCIA – Igor Salutregi Gabiola – Spain – 5’49”
• TRAGEDIUM – Gaston Haag – Spain – 13’47”
• GIZAKI – Xanti Rodriguez – Spain – 7’50”
• EHIZA – Aitzol Saratxaga – Spain – 29’54”
• ÁNGULO MUERTO – Cristian Beteta – Spain – 14’58”
• LA VALLA – Sam Orti – Spain – 14’58”
• DEPREDADORA – Javier Fesser – Spain – 7’37”
• GAME OVER – Adrian Cacciola – France – 9’03”
• (PRE)SENTIMENT – PÁLPITO – Marisa Crespo & Moisés Romera – Spain – 17’27”
• TREES PAINTED IN TAR – Casper Rudolf – Denmark – 14’57”
• BUFFET PARAÍSO – Santi Amézqueta & Héctor Zafra – Spain – 8’29”

FANT’s first Méliès d’Argent competition proved to be a dynamic showcase of the future of fantastic cinema. With bold visual storytelling, emotionally charged narratives, and a wide spectrum of styles, these films reaffirm the richness and relevance of European genre filmmaking.

Stay tuned—over the coming days, we’ll revisit the competition highlights and reveal the winner of FANT Bilbao’s first-ever Méliès d’Argent!

The winning film of the Méliès d’Argent competition at FANT 2025 will move on to compete for the Méliès d’Or, awarded annually to the best European fantastic short film.