The Sitges Film Festival was born in 1968 under the name of the 1st International Horror and Fantasy Film Week, and is considered the first fantasy film festival in the world. It is an essential ten-day visit, not only for film lovers, but also for audiences who want to learn about new trends and technologies applied to cinema and the audiovisual world in general. The Festival has been visited by top level actors, directors and producers like Quentin Tarantino, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Paul Verhoeven, George A. Romero, John Landis, Dino de Laurentiis, Takashi Miike, Wim Wenders, Tony Curtis, David Cronenberg, Vanessa Redgrave, Sam Raimi, Roger Corman, Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, Guillermo del Toro, Kim Ki Duk, Álex de la Iglesia, Guillermo del Toro and Susan Sarandon.
About the 2024 Sitges Film Festival, the 57th edition
The latest works by renowned filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh, Coralie Fargeat, Alexandre Aja and Asif Kapadia, among others, can be enjoyed at the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia. Genre fans will be able to delight in an impressive selection of horror, science fiction and fantastic films. This year promises to be unforgettable for fans.
Opening and closing films
This year's Sitges Festival will kick off with a luxury guest: Steven Soderbergh, Oscar and Palme d'Or winner. His new film, "Presence", a disturbing tale about a family who suspects they are not alone in their new home, will be the opening film, after triumphing at Sundance and Toronto. The director will personally present the film at the festival. As the closing film, Alexandre Aja's "Never let go", starring Halle Berry, will close the event with a chilling supernatural tale set in a cabin in the woods.
The official section
The 2024 edition of the Sitges Film Festival presents a fascinating selection of fantastic cinema in the Official Selection. Among the most outstanding films are "2073" by Asif Kapadia, a mix of science fiction and documentary; "Meanwhile on Earth" by Jérémy Clapin, a story of extraterrestrials; and "Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass" by the Quay brothers, a stop-motion work. Other important titles include "Planet B" by Aude-Lea Rapin, "Fréwaka" by Aislinn Clarke and "Strange Darling" by J.T. Mollner.
Sitges collection, the Festival's new section
The Festival's new Official Selection, Sitges Collection, kicks off with Coralie Fargeat's"The Substance", starring Demi Moore. Another outstanding work is"Apartment 7A" by Natalie Erika James, a prequel to "The Devil's Seed". Pupi Avati arrives with"L'orto Americano", and Nicolas Cage returns with Benjamin Brewer's"Arcadian". In addition, Asian cinema is present with Dead Talents Society by John Hsu and Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning by Kim Dong-Chul.
What's going on in the Òrbita section
Once again this year, Asian filmmakers dominate the festival's Òrbita section. From Hong Kong comes "The Goldfinger" by Felix Chong, and Xu Haofeng presents "100 Yards". South Korea brings "Brute Force: Punishment" by Heo Myeong Haeng and "I, The Executioner" by Ryoo Seung-wan. In addition, Jean Luc Herbulot will screen "Zero", while Fabrice Du Welz presents "Maldoror". Finally, Gilles Lellouche 's "Beating Hearts" will close the section.
Horror films in the Panorama section
The Panorama section of the festival brings outstanding premieres such as "A Mother's Embrace" by Cristian Ponce, and "Párvulos: Hijos del apocalipsis" by Isaac Ezbán. Ole Bornedal's "Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever, " Pavlo Ostrikov's "U Are the Universe," and Brandon Espy's "Mr. Crocket" will also be screened. Other titles include Mercedes Bryce Morgan's "Bone Lake, " Francesco Carnesecchi 's "Resvrgis" and Kim-Wai Yuen's "Inexternal."
Noves Visions
The Noves Visions section will offer the remastering of "The Fall" by Tarsem Singh, along with the closing film "Dragon Dilatation" by Bertrand Mandico. Don Hertzfeldt's "ME" will be enjoyed, and competing titles will include Freddy Macdonald's "Sew Torn, " Sam and Andy Zuchero's "Love Me," and Didier Koning's "Witte Wieven." Other highlights include Caroline Lindy 's "Your Monster" and Simon Jaquemet's "Electric Child."
Animated films at Anima't
The Anima't section is once again the festival's haven for animation. Adam Elliot, director of "Mary and Max", presents "Memoirs of a Snail", while Naoko Yamada brings "The Colors Within", a brilliant story about synaesthesia. From China, Jie Shen debuts with "The Umbrella Fairy," and Hur Bum-wook offers "Pig that survived foot-and-mouth disease." Ricardo Curtis and Rodrigo Perez-Castro's "Night of the Zoopocalypse" and Usman Riaz's "The Glassworker" complete the section.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the Clàssics section
This year's Sitges Clàssics section includes gems like Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", screened in 35mm, and the 4K remastered version of Ishirō Honda's "Godzilla". There will also be tributes to award winners such as Heather Lagenkamp with Wes Craven's "Nightmare on Elm Street", and Fabio Testi with Sergio Sollima's "Revolver". We close with a retrospective on the universe of freaks, with titles such as "Freaks" and "Santa Sangre" by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
This year's documentaries
This year Sitges Documenta is back with a vengeance. Sitges cannot be understood without Dario Argento, so we will be able to see "Deep Argento" by Giancarlo Rolandi and Steve Della Casa, a personal journey through the life of the giallo master, until now always relatively unknown. Rupert Russell presents "The Last Sacrifice", a terrifying document of the murder of Charles Walton, the event that inspired "The Wicker Man" and gave birth to folk horror. As if paganism were not enough, Scott Cummings brings us "Realm of Satan", an experimental portrait of the Church of Satan.
Spanish series
The Sitges Festival continues to be committed to series, both national and international. On this occasion, the presence of "Invisible", from Disney+, inspired by the best seller of the same name by Eloy Moreno and directed by Paco Caballero, has been announced. The series follows a case of bullying through the eyes of a 12-year-old boy who suffers a very serious accident. While recovering, he reveals to his psychologist that he has a very special power: the power of invisibility.
Midnight X-Treme
Midnight X-Treme returns with exciting offerings. Joe Begos presents "Jimmy & Stiggs", a hallucinogenic nightmare. Steven Kostanski brings "Frankie Freako", a party with a strange creature. Lowell Dean offers us "Die Alone" and "Dark Match", with zombies and wrestling wrestlers. Finally, Sander Maran presents "Chainsaws Sing", an action-horror comedy from Estonia.
Brigadoon or high doses of fantasy and horror films
The Brigadoon section offers a careful selection of short films, documentaries and feature films of genre cinema, highlighting titles such as "Traumatika" by Pierre Tsigaridis, "Tripping the Dark Fantastic" by Lg White, "Monster on a Plane" by Ezra Tsegaye and "Year 10" by Ben Goodger. The section culminates with the complete rerun of the miniseries "The Stand" (Apocalypse), with presentation and discussion by Mick Garris and Mike Flanagan.
Family Cinema
The Festival presents Sitges Family, highlighting family proposals like "John Vardar vs the Galaxy" by Goce Cvetanovski, "Pigsy" by Li Wei Chiu, and "The Worlds Divide" by Denver Jackson, among others.
And finally, Horror Girls
After the success of its first edition, Horror Girls returns to Sitges, highlighting female talent in European fantastic genre cinema. This year, it includes an encounter with Heather Langenkamp, who will receive the Time Machine Award, and a conversation between Coralie Fargeat and Carlota Pereda. In addition, there will be round tables on production and distribution, and sessions on the treatment of female protagonists in genre cinema, along with conversations between pairs of filmmakers.
The Awards
The Sitges Festival's Grand Honorary Award
Actor Geoffrey Rush, known for his iconic role as Captain Barbossa in the Pirates of the Caribbean saga, will be honored with the Grand Honorary Award at this year's Festival. Winner of a Best Actor Oscar for Shine and two Best Supporting Actor BAFTAs for The King's Speech and Elizabeth: The Golden Age, the Australian has also appeared in genre films such as Gods of Egypt, Mystery Men and House on Haunted Hill (1999). Rush will attend the festival, where his most recent film, The Rule of Jenny Pen, will be screened as part of the Official Competition Section.
Time Machine Award
Filmmaker Alexandre Aja will be awarded this year's Time Machine Award. The French director has spent more than two decades exploring the horror genre, from the slasher with his acclaimed remake of The Hills Have Eyes, to films like Hell Under Water and Piranha 3D. Aja returns to Sitges (where his controversial film High Tension won three awards in 2004) to receive this recognition and present his latest work: Never Let Go, which will close the Festival.
How to get there
To get to Sitges from Barcelona by public transport we have two options in addition to the cab:
Train: The R2 south suburban train line. Stations in Barcelona: Estació de França, Passeig de Gràcia and Sants. Check the train schedule here, and note that every day of the festival there will be a special train leaving at 1:30 am from Sitges and going to Sants station.
Bus: The company Bus Garraf offers a bus service from Barcelona to Sitges. Check the bus schedule here.
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