GASP! is proud to present this short film showcase that highlights some of the best female filmmakers working in horror cinema today, filmmakers who you will be sure to want to keep an eye out for after this showcase. Amongst the many impressive films being shown, this showcase features eerie found footage horror with Mimics, brilliantly disgusting body horror with a message in Paty, the stylish yet harrowing and thought provoking The Fish Tank, and the heartbreaking and unforgettable take on grief, loss and depression in The Bezoar.

Mimics

Written and Directed by Shawna Edward – Starring Haley Garnett, Emily Ferrier – Canada, 2026, 14 minutes

Mimics is a short, found footage, horror film about two influencer sisters who move to the woods to get away from it all. But what finds them is a following like no other.

Paty

International Premiere

Written and Directed by Maria Luiza Staut – Brazil, 2026, 5 minutes

Content Warning: Sexual threat, flashing images, and body horror

During a night commute home, a woman finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation at a bus stop. The apparent dead end catches the attention of a mysterious clown, who decides to intervene in her own way.

Tastebuds

World Premiere

Written and Directed by Detroya Angelé – Starring Aimée Uwera, Judith Marie-Ange Edmorin, Elka Lee-Green – UK, 2025, 15 minutes

Content Warning: Self harm and cannibalism

Ana might not be the worlds version of a "perfect girl", but she still feels pressured to be as close to perfection as a woman in her position can be. To appease her overbearing mothers wishes, she competes in the Taste Talent beauty pageant, in hopes of joining an elite modelling agency, that promises to make the winner a star, but under one obscure condition.

Beseech Essence

European Premiere

Written and Directed by Ari Moretz – Starring Ari Moretz – Canada, 2025, 1 minute

The ritual begins by summoning unseen forces. The doll’s joints twitch eerily. The ritualistic world breathes forth otherworldly presences, and they stir, bringing dread to the dark night.

The Fish Tank

Exclusive Manchester Screening

Written and Directed by Victoria Garza – Starring Ari Cigarroa, Arturo Michel, Javs Barbound – Mexico, 2023, 12 minutes

Content Warning: Loud, detailed eating, vomit, suffocation, and themes surrounding sex trafficking and mental health

The story of a fish woman who escaped into a world that longs to consume her.

Eye Jam

Directed by Julia Jolliffe – UK, 2025, 3 minutes

Content Warning: Body horror and misophonia

On a distant planet, a lonely creature is stuck in a never-ending jam-making nightmare.

You’re Just Tired

European Premiere

Written and Directed by Hannah Saks – Starring Megan Joy Hillis, Mae Marshall, Blanche Anderson – Australia, 2026, 16 minutes

Content Warning: Postnatal depression, gaslighting, and child endangerment

Feeling isolated, lonely, and bored, new mother Lydia struggles to grasp what's real and what's her imagination.

Voyeur

Directed by Maryam Hashempour, Written by Mohammadreza Seif – Starring Vida Gharagozlou - Iran, Islamic Republic of, 2025, 6 minutes

Content Warning: Vomit

A girl enters a coffee shop while waiting for her friend. An unknown number sends her a photo of her, taken just before she enters the coffee shop. The unknown person sends the photo several times until...

The Bezoar

UK Premiere

Written and Directed by Laure-Elie Chenier-Moreau – Starring Mathilde Warnier – French, 2025, 17 minutes

Content Warning: Body horror, trichophobia, and themes surrounding grief, mental health and depression.

After losing her mother, Anna discovers a hairy monster in her home. She has to live with this strange creature, as tender as it is unhealthy, without losing her footing.