It’s been several months since we shared the news that we’d be doing things a bit differently in 2026. We shared that we were taking it down a notch, that there won’t be a big, 5-day festival this year. But we did also tease that we’d be running a series of one-off events instead to keep things ticking over ‘til we return with a full event in 2027.
We’ve left you hanging long enough since our collaborations with WOW Film Festival and Cardiff Animation Festival in the spring, so while we’re still ironing out the final details we thought we’d share what we’ve got coming up in Aberystwyth over the autumn!
We’ll be starting in October with a celebration of a (Welsh!) hero of British horror, that stalwart of Hammer, Jimmy Sangster. We’ll be screening two of his films (you’ll have to wait and see which two!) as well as Marcus Hearn’s documentary, Hammer and Beyond: The Jimmy Sangster Legacy.
Then, in November, we’ll be handing over the big screen to the young people of Aberystwyth University’s Horror Society, introducing them to the ins and outs of programming and facilitating the group to programme a film (or two!) to present at the Arts Centre cinema.
In December we’ll be celebrating the 100th birthday of cinema icon Roger Corman by drawing out another Welsh connection: his two collaborations with movie star Ray Milland, The Premature Burial and X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes.
Then onwards in 2027 we’ll have some favourites from the festival taking us through winter and into spring – keep your eyes peeled for more on those! We’re also still working on some online content for those of you who might not be able to make it to Aberystwyth, and there might be more one-off film screenings as and when new titles are released (we’re looking at you, The Devils…).
Naturally, some of these plans are a while away and are subject to change, so do keep an eye out for full details of each individual event in due course – but we hope you’ve enjoyed the tease!