Research News Last updated 18 November
Now in its 18th year, the annual Cine-Excess International Film Festival was hosted by Birmingham City University with a packed programme of premieres, academic discussions and mentoring.
2025’s theme was Re-Animated: Reviving Cult Film’s Dead Objects, and celebrated the fortieth anniversary of Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator (1985).
To celebrate the film’s milestone, Re-Animator’s producer, Brian Yuzu, delivered an exclusive streamed session to conference visitors and BCU film students.
The keynote presentation for the academic conference was delivered by Dr Xavier Aldana Reyes (Manchester Metropolitan University) and was titled 'Re-Animating Body Horror: The Return of a Cult Subgenre’.
Director of the Cine-Excess festival and Professor of Cult Cinema Studies, BCU’s Professor Xavier Mendik, said: “Body horror has given rise to affect our most primal fears and social conventions.
“It’s a sub-genre that remains as relevant in 2025, as it did decades ago with cult films such as Re-Animator (1985) and Shivers (1975).
“To see more than 40 academics from across the world attend our conference was exciting and shows how vibrant the international community is.”
Having received their own Cine-Excess award in 2019, Jen and Sylvia Soska hosted their annual Soska Sisters Tales of Terror competition at this year’s festival.
Students from BCU’s BA and MA Film courses submitted pitches to the legendary film makers, gaining access to acclaimed mentors and industry feedback.
The winning team comprised of MA Film Distribution and Marketing students Niamh Bradbury, Natalia Vacarisas Bofill and Aidan Rhys Jones.
“This competition is the highlight of our year!” said Jen and Sylvia Soska. “We are always blown away by BCU students’ talent.
“The presentations were wonderful and you truly cannot beat the subject matter with their contemporary vision on the theme of Re-Animated Visions.”
The finale of the conference was the worldwide theatrical premiere of The Demonatrix, co-directed by American filmmaker and musician Aurelio Voltaire (pictured).
Next year’s Cine-Excess will take place between 19-25 October 2026 under the theme of Legends Never Die.
Photo credit: Cine-Excess/Robert Sharl