Lisa Dreyer

Who Decides What Horror Gets Seen?

Women directors are making some of horror’s best films. So why do the franchises keep going to men?

In Part 3 of our “Unpacking Horror” series, Fantastic Fest director Lisa Dreyer gives us her answer and explains what it takes for a horror film to earn a spot at a festival that takes film and fun equally seriously.

A former special education teacher, Lisa joined the festival in 2018 as a volunteer on the pre-screening team, worked her way up to features programmer, and took over in 2022.

We talk about where she draws the line on what’s too far to show, why depiction doesn’t equal endorsement, why she’s seeing fewer submissions from women filmmakers this year (even with a majority-women team picking the films!), and the story behind Fantastic Pitches (the $100K competition whose first winner, Play House, was just acquired by Focus Features).

She also shares how teaching shaped the way she treats every film, what gets a submission passed on fast, why Smile’s uncompromising vision paid off, and why half the lineup comes from outside the U.S.

Tune in!

xx cg

“By limiting resources for different voices, we’re really doing a disservice to audiences.”

- Lisa Dreyer

Episode Transcript