The 56th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia took place from 5 October to 15, 2023, in

Sitges Sitges (, , ) is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Spain, renowned worldwide for its Film Festival, Carnival, and LGBT Culture. Located between the Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea, it is known for its beaches, nightspot ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The supernatural horror film ''

Sister Death ''Sister Death'' ( es, Hermana Muerte, links=no) is a 2023 Spanish supernatural horror film directed by Paco Plaza and written by Jorge Guerricaechevarría and Plaza which stars Aria Bedmar. A prequel to the 2017 film '' Verónica'', the plot fo ...

'', directed by

Paco Plaza Francisco Plaza Trinidad (born 8 February 1973), simply known as Paco Plaza, is a Spanish filmmaker known for his works in the horror genre. He is the co-creator of the ''REC'' zombie film franchise. Career Francisco Plaza Trinidad was born on ...

, opened the festival. Argentine horror film '' When Evil Lurks'' by Demián Rugna won the Best Feature Film Award.

Background

The official artwork for the festival was unveiled on 24 May 2023. Photographed by Nacho Alegre, it was inspired by

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's 1963 film '' The Birds'', conmemorating the 60th anniversary of the film. On 12 September, the festival announced both the recipients for the special awards and the complete lineup. German-American producer

Jan Harlan Jan Harlan (born 5 May 1937) is a German-American executive producer and the brother of Christiane Kubrick, director Stanley Kubrick's widow. He is the nephew of the film director Veit Harlan. Life Jan Harlan was born in Karlsruhe in 1937, ...

and American director and visual effects supervisor

Phil Tippett Phil Tippett (born September 27, 1951) is an American movie director and Oscar and Emmy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and producer, who specializes in creature design, stop-motion and computerized character animation. Over his career, ...

wil received the Honorary Grand Prize while Spanish director J. A. Bayona, Japanese director

Hideo Nakata is a Japanese filmmaker. Life and career Nakata was born in Okayama, Japan. He is most familiar to Western audiences for his work on Japanese horror films such as ''Ring'' (1998), ''Ring 2'' (1999) and ''Dark Water'' (2002). Several of these we ...

and American director

Lee Unkrich Lee Edward Unkrich (born August 8, 1967) is an American film director, film editor, screenwriter, and animator. He was a longtime member of the creative team at Pixar, where he started in 1994 as a film editor. He later began directing, first as ...

, all will be honored with the Time Machine Award (Premi Màquina del Temps).

Juries

The juries consists of the following members:

Main competition

* Jérôme Paillard, French producer *

Ana Torrent Ana Torrent Bertrán de Lis (born 12 July 1966) is a Spanish film actress. Early life and career Her debut came in 1973 with the starring role as "Ana" in the film ''El espíritu de la colmena'' (''The Spirit of the Beehive''), directed by V ...

, Spanish actress * David C. Fein, American producer *

Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula (1931 ...

, British critic and writer * Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Australian critic and researcher

Noves Visions / Anima't

* Katharina Kubrick, American art director * Sergi Caballero, Spanish filmmaker * Fred Tsui, Chinese consultant

Blood Window / Òrbita

* Max Karli, French film producer * Agnela Domínguez, Spanish cultural manager * Júlia Olmo, Spanish journalist and critic

Méliès d'Argent

* Matthew Turner, British journalist and film critic * Alexandra West, Canadian film critic *

Maura McHugh Maura McHugh (born June 20, 1953) is a former basketball coach who has coached at the college level, in the WNBA and ABL. She was a four-year starter at Old Dominion University in the early 1970s. She was one of the first women's basketball pla ...

, Irish writer

Brigadoon

* Raúl Cerezo, Spanish director * Daniel Rodríguez Sánchez, Spanish writer and critic * Aida Solé, Spanish blogger

Crítica / Méliès d'Or

* Ylenia Cañadas, Spanish film critic * Francesc Miró, Spanish film critic * Antoni Peris, Spanish film critic

SGAE Nova Autoria

Jaume Balagueró Jaume Balagueró Bernat (; born 2 November 1968) is a Spanish film director widely known for his horror films, most notably the acclaimed ''REC'' series. Early life Balagueró was born in Lleida, Spain, and grew up in Barcelona. He studied ...

, Spanish director and screenwriter * Marta Grau, Spanish screenwriter, writer and script editor * Alfonso De Vilallonga, Spanish film composer, vocalist and singer-songwriter

Sections

The films selected for each section are as follows:

Official selection

In competition

:Highlighted title indicates Best Feature Film winner.

Out of competition

Shorts

Órbita

:Highlighted title indicates Òrbita winner.

Panorama

Anima't

:Highlighted title indicates Best Animated Feature Film winner.

Noves Visions

:Highlighted title indicates Noves Visions winner.

Series

Nova Autoria

Sitges Documenta

Midnight X-Treme

Brigadoon

Sitges Classics

Notes

Awards

The following awards were presented at the 56th Edition:

Official competition

* Best Feature Film: '' When Evil Lurks'' by Damián Rugna * Special Jury Award: ''

Stopmotion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

'' by Robert Morgan & '' Infested'' by Sébastien Vaniček * Best Direction: Baloji Tshiani for ''

Omen An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient times, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages fr ...

'' * Best Actress:

Kate Lyn Sheil Kate Lyn Sheil (born June 13, 1985) is an American actress. She is primarily known for her roles in independent films ''You're Next'', ''V/H/S'', '' The Color Wheel'', '' The Sacrament'', and the award-winning Netflix series ''House of Cards''. ...

for ''The Seeding'' ** Special Mention for Best Actress: Zafreen Zairizal for '' Tiger Stripes'' * Best Actor: Karim Leklou for '' Vincent Must Die'' * Best Screenplay: Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes for ''

Late Night with the Devil ''Late Night with the Devil'' is a 2023 supernatural horror film written, directed, and edited by Colin and Cameron Cairnes. It stars David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Fayssal Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli, Rhys Auteri, Georgina Haig, and Jo ...

'' * Best Special, Visual or Makeup Effects: Frédéric Lainé, Jean-Christophe Spadaccini, Pascal Molina, Cyrille Bonjean-Jean, Bruno Sommier and Jean-Louis Autret for ''

The Animal Kingdom ''The Animal Kingdom'' (also known as ''The Woman in His House'' in the UK) is a 1932 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by Edward H. Griffith based upon a comedy of manners play of the same name by Philip Barry. ...

'' * Best Music: Markus Binder for '' Club Zero'' * Best Cinematography: Martin Roux for ''Bitten'' * Special Mentions: ''Moscas'' by Aritz Moreno & ''Riddle of Fire'' by Weston Razooli

Noves Visions

* Best Film: ''Moon Garden'' by Ryan Stevens Harris * Best Direction: David Kapac and Andrija Mardesic for ''The Uncle'' * Best Short Film: ''The Old Young Crow'' by Liam Lopinto * Special Mentions ** Special Mention: ''Halfway Home'' by Madarász Isti ** Special Mention for Screenplay: Christine Doyon and

Ariane Louis-Seize Ariane Louis-Seize is a Canadian film director and screenwriter from Quebec. She has attracted critical acclaim and more than dozen awards for her filmmaking work. Career Short films She received critical acclaim in 2016 for her first short f ...

for ''

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person ''Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person'' (french: Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant) is a 2023 Canadian French-language vampire comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Ariane Louis-Seize. It stars Sara Montpetit ...

'' ** Special Mention for Cinematigraphy: Andrea Arnone for ''Mimì: Prince of Darkness''

Méliès d'Argent

* Méliès d'Argent Award for the Best Fantastic Genre Feature Film: ''Bitten'' by Romain de Saint-Blanquat * Méliès d'Argent Award for the Best European Fantastic Genre Short Film: ''Cultes'' by David Padilla

Anima't

* Best Animated Feature Film: '' Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light'' by Filip Pošivač * Best Animated Short Film: ''Ghost of the Dark Path'' by Fish Wang

Òrbita

* Best Feature Film: ''The Last Stop in Yuma County'' by Francis Galluppi

Critic's Jury

* José Luis Guarner Critics' Award for Best Film in the SOFC: '' The Universal Theory'' by Timm Kröger * Citizen Kane Award for Best New Director: Stéphan Castaing for '' Vincent Must Die'' * Best Short Film in the SOFC: ''I'm Not a Robot'' by Victoria Warmerdam

Brigadoon

* Brigadoon Paul Naschy Award for the Best Short Film: ''Ellos'' by Néstor López, Óscar Romero

SGAE Nova Autoria

* Best Direction-Production: Mikel Garrido for ''Tenemos patria'' * Best Screenplay: Karen Joaquín for ''O que me parta un rayo'' * Best Original Music: Márcio Echeverria for ''The Sun Thief''

Carnet Jove Jury

* Best Feature Film in the SOFC: ''Bitten'' by Romain de Saint-Blanquat * Best Sitges Documenta Film: ''Kim's Video'' by David Redmon, Ashley Sabin

People' Choice Award

* Grand People's Choice Award for Best Feature Film in the SOFC: ''

Robot Dreams ''Robot Dreams'' (1986) is a collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov, illustrated by Ralph McQuarrie. The title story is about Susan Calvin's discovery of a robot with rather disturbing dreams. It was written ...

'' by

Pablo Berger Pablo Berger Uranga (born 1963) is a Spanish film director born in Bilbao, Spain. Life and work Pablo Berger attended primary and secondary school in Artxanda Trueba, located on the outskirts of Bilbao, Spain. In 1988 he directed his first sho ...

* Panorama Fantàstic People's Choice Award: '' Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism'' by Nick Kozakis * Focus Asia People's Choice Award: '' The Roundup: No Way Out'' by Lee Sang-yong * Midnight X-Treme People's Choice Award: ''I'll Crush Y'all'' by Kike Narcea

Other awards

* Blood Window Award for Best Feature Film: '' When Evil Lurks'' by Damian Rugna

Special awards

* Honorary Grand Prize:

and

* Time Machine Award: J. A. Bayona,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:56th Sitges Film Festival

2023 in Spanish cinema October 2023 events in Spain