Announcing the Sitges Industry Lineup
The 56th SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia continues its commitment to initiatives geared towards film industry professionals, offering talks, meetings, round tables and workshops with top-tier names as part of "Sitges Industry", which continues to grow in notoriety and international recognition year after year.
The SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia continues to grow year after year in all its facets, from ticket sales to the number of screenings and activities. The Sitges Industry section, especially geared towards professionals from the audiovisual sector, is no exception and this year it arrives boasting a large number of initiatives featuring big-name guests. So, we'll break down some of the most outstanding activities that will be taking place here, and we encourage you to check out the complete program on our website, which is available as of today.
Fantastic Geogenre: Fantastic and Genre Films
Fantastic Geogenre I Meeting of European Female Filmmakers Specializing in the Fantastic Genre is an initiative that will be organized under the WomanInFan label and with activities taking place on October 6th and 7th. It will consist of a total of 6 round table discussions, including an encounter with Mary Lambert, pioneering fantastic filmmaker since the 80's, or a debate with Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (internationally acclaimed writer and film critic), Alexandra West (also a writer and critic) and Alan Jones (co-director of Frightfest) where they will discuss the history of fantastic genre films from a gender perspective. This initiative is a good example of how the SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia remains steadfast in its intention to visualize and vindicate fantastic films made by women and to open up new avenues of dialogue and reflection on cinema from a gender perspective.
We will also have the opportunity to hear María Luisa Pino, film editor and special effects technician, Montse Ribé, special effects makeup artist and Mónica Murguía, special effects technician and makeup artist, in Creating Amazing Worlds: The Role of Women in Fantastic Film Special Effects, a round table where they will discuss their careers, their sources of inspiration and the challenges they faced as women in the industry. In addition to the three previously mentioned round tables, there will be three other equally interesting ones that you can see and consult on our website.
Sitges Fanpitch: Discovering the Future of Fantastic Film
For the ninth year in a row, the Sitges Film Festival is organizing its pitching competition for feature film and series projects. Three series and thirteen feature films from all over the world have been selected; the people behind the selected projects will have the chance to make a sales pitch and meet with each of the participating companies. The event will be conducted by Mònica Garcia i Massagué, General Manager of the SITGES Foundation.
Still in the pitching arena, the Coming Soon event will also be taking place, reserved, in this case, for projects in more advanced stages. There will be a live pitching session among a selection of the best Catalan, Spanish and Latin American fantastic genre projects, which will include the screening of their first trailers.
Sitges Cocoon: Technology and Film
The relationship between technology and fantastic cinema is fundamental if we want to understand the evolution of genre films over the last decade. That's why the Sitges Film Festival continues its commitment to Sitges Cocoon Powered by Cupra, a program that unites technology and video games with the world of fantastic genre films. Some of the activities that will be offered as part of Sitges Cocoon are as follows: Building Futures: Cinema, Design Fiction, Future Scenarios, City and Mobility, a dialogue between Alessandro Manetti (international consultant on innovation and future thinking), Pablo Lara-Navarra (professor at the UOC Open University of Catalonia and member of the Group for Research in Learning, Media and Entertainment-GAME) and Jordi Sánchez-Navarro (professor at the UOC Open University of Catalonia and coordinator of the GAME Research Group) on how cinema has influenced our conception of the future and how film scenarios have shaped our expectations for urban life; La Ermita: Visual Effects at the Service of Storytelling, a presentation featuring Carlota Pereda (director of ‘LA ERMITA’), David Heras and Iñaki Gil (the film's special effects supervisors), who will delve into the process of developing the visual effects for ‘LA ERMITA’; or Match Cut: a Dialogue Between Directors and Editors where Paco Plaza, Guillermo de la Cal and Martí Roca, director and editors of 'SISTER DEATH', will speak to us about editing the film that will be opening Sitges2023. You can check out the rest of the Sitges Cocoon Powered by Cupra lineup on our website.
Seriality and Sitges Industry
Over the last few years, genre series have been gaining more and more relevance within the context of the Festival. Sitges Industry is no exception and this year's edition also reflects this growing interest in seriality. One of the genres that is currently enjoying the most success is true crime, which is why we will be presenting Light in the Dark: Analyzing True Crime with Carles Porta, an encounter with the director and narrator of ‘Crims’ and ‘LUZ EN LA OSCURIDAD’ (which will be premiering at Sitges2023), moderated by Mònica Garcia during which they will be unraveling the secrets behind the success of true crime and mystery stories. In addition, some of the people in charge of the new Movistar Plus+ series (besides Carles Porta) will also be participating in this encounter.
Continuing in the realm of seriality, the Showrunners Lab: A Round Table will be taking place, a dialogue between showrunners Carlos G. Miranda and Jorge Gerrikaetxebarria that will be moderated by Mònica Garcia i Massagué. At the same time, the showrunners will have individualized mentoring sessions with each of the three series projects selected at the Sitges Fanpitch. And finally, we would like to mention that on Podcasts para no dormir (Podcasts to Stay Awake), the winning script from this call will be announced and an immersive experience will be created with the actors who will voice some of the scenes of the audio series (a remake of the legendary 'HISTORIAS PARA NO DORMIR' (‘TALES TO STAY AWAKE’) in a totally different format) that promises to leave you sleepless for a good while.
Encounters
A fundamental part of Sitges Industry are the Encounters, talks where some of the most important names in fantastic genre filmmaking take an in-depth look at their careers. We have already mentioned the encounter with Mary Lambert, director of ‘PET SEMATARY’ (1989), but in addition to her, there will be encounters with Hideo Nakata, director of ‘THE RING, Lee Unkrich, director and ‘TOY STORY 3’ y ‘COCO’, Lamberto Bava, master of Italian horror from of the 80's and 90's, J.A. Bayona, director of ‘THE ORPHANAGE’ and ‘SOCIETY OF THE SNOW’ (Spanish representative at the 2024 Academy Awards), David C. Fein, producer of 'STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE’ (1979) and Phil Tippett, animator behind the monumental ‘MAD GOD’ (2021). And furthermore, these will not be the only ones, as this week we will be announcing the ones yet to be confirmed...
First Edition of the Film Financing Market
The first edition of the Film Financing Market will be taking place on October 10th and 11th in the Noray Marquee at the Meliá Hotel in Sitges. The first day will be reserved for a debate on new technologies applied to audiovisual production and how to make the transition from a traditional production company to a company that inspires confidence among private investors. On the 11th, one-to-one meetings will be held between the producers of the projects selected for this year's edition and the investors and financial institutions collaborating with the market.
Other Activities
Another event that will also be taking place is the conference Sustainable Film Shoots: New Professional Profiles, Grants, Certifications, organized by the Instituto Catalán de Empresas Culturales (ICEC-Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies). The conference is aimed at audiovisual sector professionals and will discuss how to improve the sustainability of film projects.
Also in an area aimed at industry professionals, once again this year Sitges Industry will be hosting Producers meet Producers, an incubator for newly created audiovisual production companies with an annual encounter between emerging and already well-established production companies, organized by Productors Audiovisuals de Catalunya (PAC-Audiovisual Producers of Catalonia) with the support of the Festival's own industry department.
Meanwhile, XYZ Films will offer us a fascinating talk during which they will share their unique vision of fantastic and genre filmmaking today. During this talk, they will offer an in-depth exploration of how they perceive this constantly evolving genre, discussing the challenges and opportunities it presents in today's film industry. In addition, they will reveal the criteria that guide their selection of new projects, providing an insider's view of their approach and goals.
And finally, we would like to mention other round table discussions with stellar guests: Pablo Berger will elaborate on his latest film in ROBOT DREAMS: Dream from Paper to Screen and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas will introduce us to some of her research as a film critic in Fashion Victims. Fashion Horror.
You can find the entire Sitges Industry lineup on our website. Ticket bookings for these activities will be available starting Wednesday, September 27th at 12:00 noon, via the Festival's website or the Sitges Industry Catalan Films platform.