Red Snow and The Squirrel to premiere at Fantastic Fest
The 21st Fantastic Fest takes place September 17–24, 2026, in Austin, Texas.
Image: Red Snow, Kerttu Hakkarainen / Bufo
Christmas horror comedy Red Snow will have its world premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin. For the scifi drama The Squirrel, the festival will be the international premiere. Fantastic Fest is the biggest genre film festival in the US.
Red Snow, written and directed by Ilja Rautsi, is a story of a goth teenager and an eternally middle-aged vampire who meet on Christmas Eve with bloody consequences. Rautsi is known for his short films Helsinki Mansplaining Massacre (2018) and Night of the Living Dicks (2021) which toured the festivals extensively. He is also the co-writer of Hatching (2020) and Nightborn (2026) which premiered in Sundance and Berlinale respectively.
The Squirrel, written and directed by Markus Lehmusruusu, is set in the future where nature has become a mere memory. Pasi, who works as a synthetic animal designer, meets the last living squirrel and finds the animal within him.
Both films are produced by Misha Jaari and Mark Lwoff for production company Bufo. Red Snow is sold by Charades and The Squirrel by REinvent International Sales.