Black Sunday Confessions – Baptist Agostini-Croce of ‘Heritage’

Black Sunday Film Festival returns tomorrow, Saturday 24th October, for a special one-day Halloween celebration of horror cinema, and so does our Five Black Sunday Confessions interview series! First into the spotlight is French filmmaker Baptist Agostini-Croce, whose unsettling found-footage feature Heritage will be making its UK premiere at the festival.

Set against the rugged landscape of Corsica, Heritage follows siblings Marie and Daniel as they return to their childhood island home after 15 years away. What begins as an ordinary family visit to their grandfather soon takes an unexpected turn when the pair begin documenting their holiday using an old camcorder. As they uncover disturbing secrets, their seemingly innocent home movies become something altogether more sinister.

Shot entirely on a 2008 camcorder over just five days, with a budget of less than €5,000, Heritage embraces the raw, unpredictable nature of found-footage horror. For Agostini-Croce, a self-taught filmmaker who also works as a criminal lawyer in Paris, the format offers more than simply a means of frightening audiences. It provides an opportunity to explore memory, family relationships and the complicated ties that bind people to the places they once called home.

Having already screened internationally following its world premiere in San Francisco, Heritage now arrives in the UK as part of Black Sunday’s Halloween programme.

Ahead of the screening, we caught up with Baptist Agostini-Croce for Five Black Sunday Confessions, discussing the horror film that inspired him to pick up a camera, the childhood scares that left a lasting impression, and why his greatest personal fear might soon become his next feature.

Baptist Agostini-Croce, Director of ‘Heritage’

1. Tell us about your film and what brings you to the Black Sunday Film Festival.

Heritage is my first feature film. It’s a found-footage movie shot on my island of Corsica. It tells the story of two siblings who left Corsica 15 years ago and return to visit their grandfather. During their trip, they decide to film each other with an old family camcorder, but what they discover during their vacation is far from what they expected.

The movie will have its UK premiere at Black Sunday, and I’m very happy to attend the festival. Scott and the whole Black Sunday team invited us to be part of this Halloween selection, and it’s an honour to have the opportunity to screen Heritage in the UK after a long festival run around the world.

2. What moment made you realise you wanted to create films, not just watch them?

I was 12 years old when I watched [REC] by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza. It made me realise that I didn’t need an expensive camera or a big crew to make a movie, because I already had a small camcorder at home. My journey started there. I began writing scripts and making small (horrible) movies with my friends.

Before that, I had already experienced many moments when I was fascinated by cinema. I remember being absolutely in love with Peter Jackson’s King Kong during my childhood. It was one of my first big cinema experiences.

But what really stayed with me for life was definitely [REC] and its found-footage style. Of course, The Blair Witch Project is the main inspiration for Heritage, but it wasn’t the found-footage film of my generation, and I only watched it years later.

3. What was the first film that truly unsettled you?

As far as I can remember, I was very young when I watched Signs and its famous birthday party scene. I think I was about eight years old. I was so terrified that I asked my dad to turn off the TV immediately. I wasn’t ready for it!

After that, I wasn’t really into horror movies until my teenage years, when I discovered [REC] and [REC] 2. I remember seeing the trailer for [REC] 2 on the old iTunes Store on my iPod, and I was so intrigued. I decided to watch both films one night, alone in the dark, in my kitchen.

I was terrified. Everything felt so real to me. But this experience helped me realise that I really loved horror and wanted to experience more of these feelings. That’s how I became a horror movie guy!

By the way, I also remember a jump scare from Snakes on a Plane when I was young. It made me shake for real.

4. Who would be your dream collaborator, living or dead?

There are so many! There are lots of directors I would love to work with, or even just stand next to during a shoot and learn from the way they work.

Outside horror, for example, I’m a huge fan of Paolo Sorrentino, who is definitely one of my favourite living writer-directors.

I also really love the work of Benoît Debie, an amazing cinematographer with a very distinctive style.  Films like Spring Breakers and Enter the Void really marked my teenage years, when I started watching movies almost every day. They made me realise the power of cinematography.

5. If your worst fear became a film, what would it look like?

I think my biggest fear is having a disease that causes me a lot of suffering. To be honest, I can’t really say what it would look like yet, because this is exactly the subject of my next feature film, which we will shoot soon. So you’ll have to wait a little longer!

Heritage receives its UK premiere at the Black Sunday Film Festival on Saturday 24th October 2026, offering audiences the chance to experience Agostini-Croce’s micro-budget nightmare on the big screen.

For more interviews, filmmaker insights and coverage from Black Sunday’s Halloween special, keep checking back with Love Horror as our Five Black Sunday Confessions series continues, uncovering the stories and inspirations behind some of the festival’s most intriguing films. Get your tickets for Black Sunday Film Festival here: firstsite.uk/event_categories/black-sunday-festival/

Heritage trailer