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MOTELX in Dread Central's Top 20 of the Best Genre Film Festivals on Earth
MOTELX was honored with a place in the top 20 of Dread Central’s list of “The 90 Best Genre Film Festivals on Earth,” recognized for a combination of criteria such as a high-level premiere program, an abundance of workshops and a remarkable festive atmosphere, “where audiences often mingle with special guests.” The list was compiled based on the nominations of more than 30 industry experts — from renowned festival programmers to distributors and filmmakers — who particularly valued MOTELX's demanding curation of genre cinema and its ability to foster national horror production.
MOTELX was recently recognized with the inclusion in the TOP 20 of Dread Central’s prestigious list entitled “The 90 Best Genre Film Festivals on Earth”. The positioning was based on a vote of more than 30 international experts — including programmers from renowned festivals such as TIFF, Sitges and SXSW, as well as industry decision-makers, distributors, critics and filmmakers. Each panel member nominated between five and ten genre festivals and their respective sub-programmes, with half votes awarded for choices beyond the established limit. The total number of votes awarded defined inclusion in categories: more than 20 votes (top3), 10-19 (top8), 5-9 (top20), 3-4 (top40), and 1.5-2 (top90).
The methodology of this ranking was structured to guarantee impartiality and geographical scope: the nominations were made independently and anonymously, without cross-influence between participants, ensuring a selection based on recognized merit. After the listing, the article heard representatives from each festival, including MOTELX, to capture the atmosphere of the most recent editions — generally from 2024 or 2025. The grouping into tiers aims to balance recognition by number of votes and ensure diversity in exposure, allowing the distinction between the most popular and emerging in a transparent and fair way.
MOTELX's presence among the top 20 — that is, in the range of 5 to 9 votes — marks it as a highly recognized festival. The article refers to the festival as “one of the most relevant genre events internationally”, valuing its careful programming, diversity of formats (shorts, features, documentaries, retrospectives, children’s and youth programming), and unique sections such as “Room Service”, “Doc Horror” or “Cult of the Living Masters”.
Another decisive factor was the institutional credibility it had accumulated: its status as a member of the Méliès International Festivals Federation, its FIAPF accreditation since 2017 and its membership of the EFFE network consolidate the festival as a European platform for cinematographic excellence. These qualifications, combined with a dedicated audience — almost 20,000 spectators in 2024 — and the multiple and frequent visits of iconic guests (such as George Romero, Dario Argento, Hideo Nakata, Eli Roth, among others), contributed decisively to the choice of MOTELX by the experts at Dread Central.
MOTELX is grateful for this distinction from Dread Central and, to continue to deserve it, will continue its work of promoting and disseminating genre cinema in Portugal and abroad with the same passion and dedication.
The methodology of this ranking was structured to guarantee impartiality and geographical scope: the nominations were made independently and anonymously, without cross-influence between participants, ensuring a selection based on recognized merit. After the listing, the article heard representatives from each festival, including MOTELX, to capture the atmosphere of the most recent editions — generally from 2024 or 2025. The grouping into tiers aims to balance recognition by number of votes and ensure diversity in exposure, allowing the distinction between the most popular and emerging in a transparent and fair way.
MOTELX's presence among the top 20 — that is, in the range of 5 to 9 votes — marks it as a highly recognized festival. The article refers to the festival as “one of the most relevant genre events internationally”, valuing its careful programming, diversity of formats (shorts, features, documentaries, retrospectives, children’s and youth programming), and unique sections such as “Room Service”, “Doc Horror” or “Cult of the Living Masters”.
Another decisive factor was the institutional credibility it had accumulated: its status as a member of the Méliès International Festivals Federation, its FIAPF accreditation since 2017 and its membership of the EFFE network consolidate the festival as a European platform for cinematographic excellence. These qualifications, combined with a dedicated audience — almost 20,000 spectators in 2024 — and the multiple and frequent visits of iconic guests (such as George Romero, Dario Argento, Hideo Nakata, Eli Roth, among others), contributed decisively to the choice of MOTELX by the experts at Dread Central.
MOTELX is grateful for this distinction from Dread Central and, to continue to deserve it, will continue its work of promoting and disseminating genre cinema in Portugal and abroad with the same passion and dedication.