As part of the build-up and immersive activities surrounding its upcoming 54th edition, Curtas Festival do Imaxinario, Vilagarcía de Arousa is preparing to host one of the most spectacular live entertainment events in the country. The city will become the epicentre of a live zombie apocalypse with the arrival of Survival Zombie, Spain’s best-known Real Game experience, with more than 600 editions under its belt.
On 17 October, for six intense hours, participants will fight to survive in a real urban environment where there are no screens. Everything happens around the players, turning every participant into an active part of a unique story. Armed with nothing but their wits, they will have to make their way through the city, overcome challenges, deal with complex situations and make crucial decisions while interacting with professional actors and hordes of zombies. The experience combines performance, strategy, exploration and teamwork, forcing survivors to forge alliances or face the harsh reality of human betrayal.
AN INFECTION WITH ECHOES FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION
Far from being an ordinary outbreak, the arrival of this phenomenon at Curtas Festival do Imaxinario brings with it a dark mystery with cosmic overtones. A mysterious signal has begun broadcasting through switched-off radios, disconnected phones and forgotten frequencies: a voice repeatedly calling out names.
While some survivors debate whether it could be a distress call from other humans, more perceptive minds have discovered that these words appear in ancient texts that predate the beginning of the zombie chaos by thousands of years. Is it a technical malfunction, or are we facing an ancient presence awakening from beyond our world? As one anonymous local resident remarked in passing: “Perhaps the infection isn’t the beginning. Perhaps it’s merely the consequence of something that has been waiting for thousands of years.”
Participants will have six hours to unravel this intriguing ancestral mystery, answer the call and evade both the living dead and other selfish survivors, all while keeping their nerves — and their adrenaline — under control.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Tickets to experience this immersive zombie invasion, with touches of the Cthulhu Mythos, are now available through the official platform: https://survivalzombie.es/survival/curtas-vilagarcia-de-arousa/
ABOUT CURTAS FESTIVAL DO IMAXINARIO
With a history dating back to 1973, Curtas Festival do Imaxinario in Vilagarcía de Arousa has established itself as the longest-running audiovisual festival in Galicia and a leading event for fantasy and horror cinema. More than a strictly cinematic event, the International Fantastic Film Festival of Galicia is a multidisciplinary experience that transforms the city into a capital of the extraordinary, bringing together film, literature, comics and visual arts in a unique cultural programme.
The festival’s standing and quality are recognised by leading institutions in the sector. Curtas Festival do Imaxinario is an official member of the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF), allowing it to award the prestigious Méliès d’Argent each year for the best European fantastic short film. It was recently awarded the EFFE Label 2026-2027, the quality label granted by the European Festivals Association (EFA) with the support of the European Commission, and is featured on Dread Central’s exclusive list of the 90 best genre festivals in the world. It is also a Goya Awards and Fugaz Awards qualifying festival in the short film category.
Recognised as an Event of Tourist Interest by the Concello de Vilagarcía de Arousa, the festival presents a carefully curated international selection of feature and short films every autumn, complemented by a programme of meetings with leading creators, exclusive exhibitions and workshops. At Curtas Festival do Imaxinario, imagination is not merely something found on screen — it is the driving force behind an unmissable celebration of the fantastic in all its forms.
Curtas Festival do Imaxinario will celebrate its 54th edition from 23 October to 1 November with the institutional support of the Concello de Vilagarcía de Arousa, the Deputación de Pontevedra and the Xunta de Galicia, and the sponsorship of De Angeles Films, Rei Zentolo, Acción Cultural Española, DCP Ready, Factoria do Lume, Gadis, Harald House and The Post Office.
