What lies beneath the surface of the stories and images that infuse humanity’s cultural subconscious with all its larger than life myths, monsters and heroes? Operating with a definition of ‘monstrosity’ understood as a visual and horrific revelation of the truth, Lucid Nightmares questions these fanciful fictions and delves deep into the ambiguities, amnesias and contradictions of our past and present in an attempt to make the invisible visible, bringing to the screen that which is hidden through a variety of cinematic materials, from found footage to digital animation and AI generated imagery. Much like the logic of dreams, the films included in this program are built from an amalgamation of heterogeneous images pushed into overdrive, purposely blurring the lines between history and fiction, between the real and the surreal, between the realm of mainstream collective consciousness, and the marginal and unknown pulsations of the subconscious. The result is a collection of nightmarish visions of a world haunted by dormant monsters whose long casting shadows threaten its future existence. (Oana Ghera)