DEAD DUCK CULT FILM FESTIVAL 2025
One day of razor-sharp French horror, twisted sci-fi and boundary-pushing cult cinema at The Savoy.
The inaugural Dead Duck Cult Film Festival takes over The Savoy Nottingham on the 1st November 2025 for a one-day celebration of boundary-pushing, blood-stained, and brilliant genre cinema. The festival showcases four landmark works from the New French Extremity movement, a visceral, transgressive wave of cinema that redefined horror in the early 2000s.
Festival Film & Event Timetable:
12:15 - 14:30 - Feature Film
Titane (2021)
Winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes, Titane is a genre-bending fever dream that defies classification. After a brutal string of events, a woman on the run assumes a false identity and finds an unlikely bond with a grieving father. Raw, emotional, and gloriously bizarre, Julia Ducournau’s body-horror epic is a visceral meditation on identity, grief, and transformation.
15:00 - 17:15 - Feature Film
High Life (2018)
Claire Denis’ hauntingly beautiful sci-fi odyssey stars Robert Pattinson as a convict sent on a doomed space mission with his infant daughter. Meditative, bleak, and hypnotic, High Life explores isolation, guilt, and the fragile connections that tether us to our humanity, even at the edge of space.
18:00 - 18:45 Live Event
Duck Talk Panel: The New French Extremity
Guests and topic to be announced soon.
19:15 - 21:00 - Feature Film
Revenge (2017)
In this blistering, survival thriller, a woman left for dead in the desert rises with brutal purpose, turning the tables on her attackers in a blaze of sun-drenched violence. The film announced the arrival of Coralie Fargeat as a fearless new voice in cinema, blending visceral horror with sharp feminist edge. Her bold vision would be further cemented with The Substance, a runaway critical success that earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Director and confirmed her place among the most exciting filmmakers working today.
21:30-23:30 - Feature Film
Martyrs (2008) - Exclusive screening of the brand-new remastered version from Eureka, releasing on Blu-ray 27th October.
A harrowing tale of trauma and transcendence, Martyrs follows a young woman’s quest for revenge against the people who tormented her as a child, only to uncover a disturbing secret... Unflinching and emotionally devastating, it's widely considered the definitive film of New French Extremity.
The day will also feature vendor stalls, exclusive post-screening Q&As, and a special panel discussion on New French Extremity.
A single ticket provides entry to all scheduled screenings and events on the day of the festival for one person. Re-entry is permitted throughout the event duration.