Over 10 years ago, we founded Final Girls Berlin Film Festival as a space to showcase horror films made by women, non-binary, and trans filmmakers—as a platform for marginalized voices to be heard. We’ve built such a great community since 2017, where our audiences can enjoy and discuss queer and feminist horror films while feeling safe, where marginalized artists have a place to share their boundary-pushing, genre-expanding work. We believe it is essential for the queer and feminist voices that we platform to have a space to be heard.

We found out a few months ago that our usual funding sources will not be available to us for the 2027 edition. What that means is that we don’t currently have enough money to put on a festival next year- and certainly not at the scope and quality of what you're used to.

We’ve been fortunate to have received funding over the years that has allowed us to grow the festival to the scale that you’ve come to know and love. This has meant that we’ve been able to provide you with a range of both independent and high profile films, from brilliant B-movies to subversive films that have infiltrated the mainstream, as well as free workshops, talks, performances, exhibitions, parties, and a home to a vibrant weirdo community that you all are a part of. We want to keep this alive.

If you've been to Final Girls Berlin, think about the power that seeing and discussing these films in a shared space has given you - the individual and communal lifeforce and potential that these films hold. We are all a part of a larger movement that is diversifying voices in horror and the larger narratives in the film landscape. Over the last 10 years, we've screened films from Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Brazil, Nigeria, Japan, South Korea, UAE, Serbia, Finland, Solomon Islands, Greenland, Indigenous filmmakers from Canada, Australia, Norway, New Zealand, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Morocco and many other countries around the world. In the dark times we live in, films such as these are increasingly urgent. We all need a coven that will support us and amplify our voices. Whether you've already found home in our community over the years or if you feel called to join us, Final Girls belongs to you just as much as it belongs to us!

We have been reaching out for sponsorship, applying for other grants, and trying to get creative with ways to make next year’s fest happen - but for now we have to acknowledge that those avenues are uncertain and time-intensive, and we need to start fundraising now – we need to start paying our bills for festival costs in December, in order for the festival to take place in March. This is our rallying cry!

We’re very grateful that we’ve not had to ask for this kind of help for 10 years, but we want to be transparent with you, our community, and ask for help when we need it.

Here is a range of things your money would go towards:

8000€ for film screening fees

7000€ for marketing (print & digital marketing and PR)

2000€ for audience accessibility, subtitling, and CC

4000€ for short film honorariums (40€ for 100 films)

4900€ for horror specialists (6 for March, 8 for Brain Binge in June x 350€ per specialist)

7000€ for travel and accommodation stipends for guest experts, filmmakers, and jury

2600€ for venue rental

2000€ for DCP conversions

28000€ for administrative, accounting, and staffing costs

Final Girls is not just a 5 day festival - it is a year-round endeavor. We are not only watching and researching films year-round, but we have the brain binge, events like the Underdogs Marathon & Halloween, and other short film screenings at other festivals and cinemas around the world. We’re doing a lot of work to increase the visibility and reach of these films and to help support the careers of the female, non-binary, and trans filmmakers whose work we screen. This requires work, travel, correspondence, bureaucracy, and year-round engagement.

We’ve been working hard to plan for next year’s festival, spending countless hours watching amazing films so that we can put together a program that we’re really excited to share with you. We want to make sure we’re able to bring to life the plans that we have. This festival belongs to you all, and you can help carry it along and make our next edition happen. We know you feel the same way and we hope you’re able to join us on this fundraising journey.

Help us keep Final Girls Berlin undead!