FilmQuest Announces Electric 2026 Lineup With Genre Films Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, David Dastmalchian, Rhea Seehorn and More!

I always have a great time going to FilmQuest every year. There’s something awesome about spending a few days watching a ton of genre movies and getting the chance to hang out with the filmmakers who actually made them.

It’s one of the things I enjoy most about the festival, and it’s always fun discovering some cool new films and talented filmmakers along the way.

The 2026 FilmQuest lineup has now been announced, and there are a lot of films here that I’m excited about seeing! This year’s festival is once again loaded with sci-fi, fantasy, horror, thrillers, and all kinds of wonderfully weird genre projects, along with some familiar faces in front of and behind the camera.

FilmQuest will return to Downtown Provo, Utah, from October 22nd through the 31st, and judging by what they’ve lined up this year, it should be another great time.

You can check out the details on the 2026 lineup in the press release below:

FilmQuest, one of the largest and fastest growing film festivals specializing in sci-fi, fantasy and horror, has announced its 2026 lineup. The festival’s 13th edition takes place from October 22nd - 31st in Downtown Provo, Utah.

FilmQuest, one of the largest and fastest growing film festivals specializing in sci-fi, fantasy and horror, has announced its 2026 lineup. The festival’s13th edition takes place from October 22nd - 31st in Downtown Provo, Utah.

This year’s lineup of thrills and chills includes features and short films from filmmakers and stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Britt Lower, Rhea Seehorn, David Dastmalchian, Kathleen Quinlan, Alex Essoe, Lou Taylor Pucci, Sylvia Hoeks, Luke Hemsworth, Kevin Durand, Michael Pitt, Adrienne Barbeau, Barbara Crampton, Dee Wallace, Bruce Davison, Jacob Bertrand, Connor Paolo, Caylee Cowan, Kate Dickie, and Brady Noon.

“FilmQuest has become one of the most beloved and talked about genre festivals in the world due to our unwavering commitment to ring the bell for the very best that genre cinema and its burgeoning filmmakers has to offer, which is of course the best kind of cinema there is,” said Festival Founder and Director Jonathan Martin.

“Genre is here to stay in our ridiculously gorgeous home of Provo, Utah, and the festival’s growth and success here in Provo proves that the power of genre cannot be denied.”

“This year’s lineup is our most electric ever, truly embodying the rock n’ roll spirit of the festival. It’s going to blow your hair back with the absurdly unfair amount of talent these filmmakers are showcasing in their films” Martin adds.

“For those who are still wandering through the desert in search of the next big thing in genre, we’re here to tell you that you’re going to find at the mountains of Downtown Provo and the open doors of FilmQuest.”

World premieres this year include Johnny Coffeen’s supernatural dark comedy The Avalanche starring Alex Essoe and Lou Taylor Pucci; Josh Logan’s dark fantasy cosmic horror The Relic: Dragon, based upon his award winning short film; Jacob Schwarz’s high-octane revenge thriller Whiskey Throttle; and Christian Everhard’s cosmic horror The Crawling starring Will Brittain and Katherine Hughes.

North American and U.S. premieres include Michele Fiascaris’s taut neo-noir thriller Rain Catcher starring Dudley O’Shaughnessy and Kate Dickie; Carson McKinnon’s deliriously twister thriller Mother & Me! starring Caylee Cowan and Brady Noon; Mark H. Rapaport’s horrific dark comedy Godhead starring Kimball Farley; and Nick Taylor’s nostalgia fueled documentary Rubberhead: The Life & Monsters of Steve Johnson about the iconic special makeup effects artist Steve Johnson.

Regional premieres include Russell Goldman’s anxiety-filled suspense thriller Sender starring Britt Lower, Rhea Seehorn, David Dastmalchian, and Jamie Lee Curtis; Raviv Ullman’s & Greg Yagolnitzer’s buzzy dark comedy thriller Drag starring Lizzy Caplan, Lucy DeVito, and John Stamos; Casey Walker’s frozen supernatural western Ithaqua starring Luke Hemsworth, Kevin Durand, and Michael Pitt; Paul Urkijo Alijo’s medieval dark fantasy spectacle Gaua; Brea Grant’s, Ed Dougherty’s, and Chelsea Stardust’s horror sci-fi comedy anthology Grind; Alex Hanno’s “Whiplash meets screenwriting” meta-thriller Bravado; John Veron’s deviously demented cult horror Godmother starring Dee Wallace and Bruce Davison; Noah Stratton-Twine’s and Jake Kuhn’s subversive and surreal The Peril at Pincer Point; Tyler Savage’s genre-bending Oddities starring Adrienne Barbeau; Brian L. Tan’s Indonesian crime thriller Bandit; and Jesse Gouldsbury’s instant cult classic comedy The VelociPastor 2.

“Thirteen years in, it still blows us away how many wildly creative filmmakers trust FilmQuest with their work. This year’s lineup is strange, fearless, surprising, and full of the genre spirit we built this festival to celebrate,” noted the festival’s Assistant Director Jonna Jackson.

Some of the announced guests who will host filmmaking labs and workshops at the festival’s “Camp Cthulhu” include director Michael Dougherty (“Trick ‘r Treat,” “Krampus,” “Godzilla: King of Monsters”), former Disney executive and producer Brigham Taylor (“Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, “Tron: Legacy”), Emmy winning casting directors Amber Horn & Danielle Aufiero (“Color Out of Space,” “The OA”), producers Jamie & Jason Neese (“Horizon,” “The Umbrella Academy”), and Slamdance co-founder and former AFI Film Festival director Jon Fitzgerald, with more set to be announced later this September.

FilmQuest is also planning to launch to launch its anticipated genre film market, which will include a lineup of between 20-40 additional feature films curated for distribution and sales in addition to the Official Selections. More details will also be announced in September.

The festival will end with an audiovisual awards show on Halloween night, where the festival promises a game changing” genre film production opportunity will be announced, along with the presentation of the coveted Cthulhu Trophy to winners in feature film, short film, student film, animation, and music video categories.

This includes the Golden Cthulhu for Best Feature Film and the Grand Prize Short Film winners. The past two Grand Prize Short Film winners, “I’m Not a Robot,” and “The Singers,” would win the Live Action Short Film Academy Award after their wins at FIlmQuest.

See the full lineup with every official selection here.