04/06/2026
Magic is never what it seems.
In this new Méliès Fantastic Hub program, magic takes many forms: fairy tales gone wrong, mysterious creatures, haunted nights, childhood fears, dark folklore, and strange encounters that transform reality. Eight Méliès d’argent-winning shorts reveal the fantastic hidden beneath everyday life.
• The Boy with a Camera for a Face (Spencer Brown, UK, 2013) — a boy born with a camera instead of a face discovers love, loneliness, and the price of being different.
• The Faeries of Blackheath Woods (Ciaran Foy, Ireland, 2006) — a child’s curiosity leads deep into a forest where beautiful fairy tales become something far darker.
• 8 (Ocho) (Raúl Cerezo, Spain, 2011) — childhood innocence collides with mysterious forces as good and evil begin to take shape.
• La Noria (Carlos Baena, Spain, 2018) — a young boy’s imagination awakens strange creatures in a haunting animated tale of loss and wonder.
• Noct (Vincent Toujas, France, 2014) — an insomniac encounters a mysterious presence that may be both his curse and his salvation.
• Out of a Forest (Tobias Gundorff Boesen, Denmark, 2010) — a charming stop-motion fable where danger quietly approaches a family celebration.
• Pearlies (Quenottes) (Pascal Thiebaux & Gil Pinheiro, France/Luxembourg, 2016) — the beloved tooth fairy is reimagined as a delightfully disturbing collector of dental trophies.
• Rare Exports Inc. (Jalmari Helander, Finland, 2003) — expert hunters track one of the most dangerous magical creatures of all: Santa Claus.
The films in this collection were awarded the Méliès d’argent at some of Europe’s leading fantastic film festivals, including Razor Reel Flanders Film Festival, Molins de Rei Horror Film Festival, Lund International Fantastic Film Festival, Grossmann Fantastic Film & Wine Festival, and San Sebastian Horror & Fantasy Film Festival.
Watch the full program here:
https://melies.org/melies-fantastic-hub/magic/