The Sitges Film Festival Reaches its Halfway Point Discovering Genre Gems

The first weekend of the 56th edition of the SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia is over. We are entering a second week during which fantastic genre films won't be abandoning Sitges' theaters. Today featured films that are not as well known, at least in terms of their fame, but that are going to leave their mark on the current fantastic film scene. Last night at the end of the day, a tribute was paid to Barbara Bouchet, who was presented with the Nosferatu Award. 

Last night, just before the screening of 'LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL', the Sitges Festival paid tribute to the figure of Barbara Bouchet, giving her the Nosferatu Award for her long and impressive career as an actress, in which she has participated in films like 'Casino Royale' (the original version), 'Don't Torture a Duckling' (screened at the Festival) or, more recently, 'Gangs of New York' or 'Darkside Witches'. 

Monday kicked off in with the screening of 'IN FLAMES', the debut feature film by Canadian director of Pakistani origin Zarrar Khan, first thing in the morning at the Auditori. In it, a mother and daughter must survive in a hostile world dominated by men, joining forces to avoid disappearing in the face of the threat of evil forces. It was one of the most outstanding films at the most recent Cannes Quinzaine des Cinéastes. In the afternoon, the turn went to 'TIGER STRIPES', a film that has many points in common with Zarrar Khan's: a debut feature, with a strong component of social denunciation and female protagonists who have to face a hostile world. Directed by Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu, it is a project that began to be hatched at the 2018 edition of the Sitges Fanpitch.  Both films are part of the Official In Competition Selection 

One of this edition's most eagerly awaited films was screened tonight in front of an Auditori filled to capacity. Just Philippot, who already knows what it's like to triumph at the Festival (he won two awards for his amazing 'The Swarm), presented 'ACID', which introduces us to an uncomfortably real dystopian world, where mysterious clouds begin to release acid rain with fatal consequences, generating a very serious global economic contraction and an unprecedented social and environmental crisis. Other participants in the SOFC Official In-Competition Selection screened at the Auditori today were: 'SALEM' by French director Jean-Bernard Marlin, a sort of Romeo and Juliet, with supernatural elements, set in the underworld of Marseille; Timm Kröger's 'THE UNIVERSAL THEORY', a sophisticated black and white thriller with Hitchcockian overtones set in the context of the nuclear arms race and 'SORCERY', by Chilean director Christopher Murray, a folk horror production set on the remote island of Chiloé where a young girl seeks revenge against a German foreman for torturing her father.  

In parallel sections, French director Quarxx sparked off madness tonight at the Prado theater with the presentation of his latest film, 'PANDEMONIUM', the katabasis into hell of a man who wakes up one fine day on an icy mountain, with no memory of how he got there. Also in Noves Visions, other films were screened, including 'THE LAST ASHES', a modern western directed by Luxembourg director Loïc Tanson, and 'ALL YOU NEED IS DEATH', a strange and disturbing folk horror movie directed by Irish filmmaker Paul M. Duane. 

Like every day, the Panorama section offered some of the most interesting horror films of the year at the Retiro. Among those that could be seen today were 'RESTORE POINT', a fascinating science fiction debut feature by Czech director Robert Hloz, '#MANHOLE', a suffocating and claustrophobic thriller directed by Japanese filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, or 'THE SACRIFICE GAME', a brutal home invasion film arriving from the hands of Jenn Wexler. 

Meanwhile, Sitges Industry has left behind a very successful weekend, but its activity never stops. For example, today was the "Sustainable filming: new professional profiles, subsidies, certifications" conference organized by the Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies (ICEC) and "Producers meet Producers", an incubator for newly created audiovisual production companies with an annual meeting between emerging and already consolidated production companies, organized by Productors Audiovisuals de Catalunya (PAC-Audiovisual Producers of Catalonia) with the support of the Festival's own industry department. On the other hand, Pablo Berger, Sara Varon and José Luis Ágreda participated in the panel discussion "Robot Dreams: un somni del paper a la pantalla" (Robot Dreams: a Dream from Paper to Screen). 

At MEETING, fans were able to attend the live recording of the podcasts 'Hora caníbal' (Cannibal Hour), hosted by Borja Crespo and 'Tarde de perros' (Dog Day Afternoon), presented by critic Alejandro G. Calvo. At the Santiago Rusiñol Library, Manuel Moreno Lupiáñez gave a talk entitled "Marcianos, solarianos y selenitas: aliens in cinema" ("Martians, Solarians and Selenites: Aliens in Film"). Also, like every day, several interesting presentations took place in the Fnac marquee, among which, today, the presentation by Sara Varon of her graphic novel 'Robot Dreams' was one of the highlights.