Sitges – Catalonia’s official International Cinema Festival is a primary film statement and an excelent showcase for diverce tendencies in cinema, with a special impact from the fantasy genre.
Sitges – Catalonia’s official festival is a primary film statement and an excelent showcase for diverce tendencies in cinema, with a special impact from the fantasy genre.
Sitges represents a journey through the most advanced and innovative fantasy productions, a meeting with horror stories that fathom the subconscious, a collection of the most recent animation pieces and a suggestive vision of new film noir. And also, at the same time, a reflection on new movie tendencies, a voyage through Asian cinema, a sampling of new Catalan audiovisual productions), Sitges promotes Catalan audiovisual creation and a distribution and exhibition medium for international productions), the recovery of front-page films and much more.
Jaume Balagueró, Manuela Velasco, Paco Manzanedo and Ismael Fritschi
SITGES – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia is the number one fantasy film festival in the world and represents, at the same time, the cultural expression with the most media impact in Catalonia. With a solid experience, the Sitges Festival is a stimulating universe of encounters, exhibitions, presentations and screenings of fantasy films from all over the world.
Born in 1968 as the 1st International Week of Fantasy and Horror Movies, today the Festival is an essential rendezvous for movie lovers and audiences eager to come into contact with new tendencies and technologies applied to film and the audiovisual world.
Sitges’ status as the number one fantasy film festival in the world allows it to receive visits from top-level movie stars, directors and producers like Quentin Tarantino, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Paul Verhoeven, Ralph Fiennes, George A. Romero, Cameron Diaz, Viggo Mortensen, Terry Gilliam, Rutger Hauer, Sarah Michelle Gellar, John Landis, Joe Dante, Zoë Bell, Dino de Laurentii, Takashi Miike, Wim Wenders, Tony Curtis, David Cronenberg, Vanessa Redgrave, Darren Aronofsky, Brad Dourif, John McNaughton, Peter Greenaway, John Woo, Park Chan-Wook, Johnnie To, Paul Naschy, Ray Liotta, Jon Voight, Sam Raimi, Robert Englund, Tarsem Singh, Roger Corman, Mira Sorvino, Santiago Segura, Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, Guillermo del Toro, Kim Ki Duk, Álex de la Iglesia, Aitana Sánchez Gijón, among others from the long list of people who, year after year, are a media attraction. The Festival is governed by a Foundation, made up of representatives from the Sitges Town Council, the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalonia’s autonomous government) and other institutions, associations and public and private companies.
Most of its resources come from the sponsors, companies and collaborating institutions that consider their alliance to the Festival to be an excellent platform for widening their scope and branding.
The present Sitges Festival is the evolutionary result of the Semana Internacional de Cine Fantástico y de Terror (International Fantasy & Horror Film Week) created in 1968.Sitges represents a journey through the most advanced and innovative fantasy productions, a meeting with horror stories that fathom the subconscious, a collection of the most recent animation pieces and a suggestive vision of new film noir. And also, at the same time, a reflection on new movie tendencies, a voyage through Asian cinema, a sampling of new Catalan audiovisual productions), Sitges promotes Catalan audiovisual creation and a distribution and exhibition medium for international productions), the recovery of front-page films and much more.
Sitges is one of the founding members of the Federation together with Brussels.
The Festival opens a door to genre TV with the new Serial Sitges category, which will be offering the presentation of fantasy and thriller TV series, plus TV movies, web series and similar formats. The new category has been added to the Festival’s schedule in order to include a growing, emerging sector, fantastic genre series, which TV stations are currently very strongly committed to. Serial Sitges is sponsored by Fnac and programmed in the Tramuntana Room at the Hotel Meliá Sitges, and admission is free.
Serial Sitges is the continuation of the initial experience the Festival germinated at last year’s edition in also in the Tramuntana Room with excellent results from fans. This year the section has programed ten titles, among which there are previews like Fargo, currently one of the big hits in the U.S.
The first episode of Fargo will be screened in Sitges the night of Friday 10, two days before Canal + broadcasts the premiere for their subscribers. It’s a thriller inspired by the peculiar atmosphere of the 1996 movie by the Coen Brothers. Another of the most eagerly awaited TV productions is Gotham, which deals with the enigmas in the city of the same name before Batman appeared, and that will also premiere on Canal+.
Also featured in the premiere section of Serial Sitges is The Knick, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Clive Owen as a surgeon, and of which the first episode has been programmed. The other two Serial Sitges presentations are animated productions: Robot Chicken –with an episode dedicated to Star Wars– and Rick and Morty, aimed at an adult audience and about the adventures of an alcoholic scientist and his grandson.
In addition to these productions are screenings of series well-known by audiences. Game of Thrones won’t be missing at this TV event with the screening of the last episode from the fourth season. Canal + also presents the first episode of the second season of the British series Utopía. On the other hand, TNT offers the first episode of the eighth season of The Big Bang Theory, while Warner Bros brings an episode of the acclaimed intrigue series True Detective, nominated for the Emmys, among other awards.
The Darkside is yet another one of Serial Sitges’ interesting proposals, presenting six episodes of this series that brings together a collection of tales from beyond from different parts of Australia. This screening will be in parallel with the film by the same name that the Festival is programming in the Noves Visions – No Ficció category.
Serial Sitges will be screened in the Tramuntana Room, one of the two venues –along with the Espai Fnac Zone– where the Festival programs its side events. The lineup for these rooms includes an intensive schedule with debates, presentations, master classes and professional sessions, allowing us to offer other endeavors to complement the movie theater schedules.
Serial Sitges Program
The Big Bang Theory
The night for the Festival’s freakist fans. Screening of the first episode of season 8 of The Big Bang Theory, with lots of surprises.
Friday, 3 October, 22:30.
Robot Chicken. Star Wars Special
Special episode dedicated to Star Wars from the series Robot Chicken. An animated series using the Stop-motion technique, created by Seth Green and Mathew Senreich. The show parodies a series of situations including TV series, movie actors, musicians, and video games
Saturday, 4 October, 15:00.
Rick and Morty
Rick and Morty, an American animated series aimed at a more grownup audience. The series presents Rick, an alcoholic scientist, and his grandson Morty, in their adventures in alternate dimensions, which usually cause problems for Morty’s family, constantly trapped in chaos.
Saturday, 4 October, 15:45.
Game of Thrones
Screening of the last episode of the 4th season of Game of Thrones, an international hit series based on the saga of fantasy novels written by American author George R. R. Martin.
Sunday, 5 October, 20:00.
Utopía
Launch of the second season of the British mini-series Utopia, created and written by Dennis Kelly and that was a huge surprise last season. Jessica Hyde is still captured by The Network, which continues to observe everything, while Becky, Ian, Grant and Wilson have scattered. But the conspiracy revolving around the Jano experiment is something they can’t easily escape, and they know it…
Monday, 6 October, 20:00.
Gotham / True Detective / The Knick
Presentation of the first episode of Gotham, one of this season’s most eagerly awaited new series based on the characters created by Bob Kane for DC Comics. A series that delves into the Gotham City’s hidden mysteries before the appearance of The Penguin, Catwoman and Batman. Immediately afterwards will be the presentation of the first episode of The Knick, a series created by the great filmmaker and producer Steven Soderbergh and which stars Clive Owen and moves through the halls of Knickerbocker Hospital in New York, where a prestigious surgeon won’t hesitate to go beyond the limits of ethics and morals to favor scientific research. Both Gotham, True Detective and The Knick are from Canal +.
Tuesday, 7 October, 20:00.
The Darkside
Screening of 6 episodes of the miniseries The Darkside, that brings together a collection of tales of the beyond from different parts of Australia. A series that also has a feature length version that can also be seen at Sitges 2014. The screening will be in original version with English subtitles.
Thursday, 9 October, 21:30.
Fargo
Preview of the second season of the series Fargo, inspired by the peculiar universe created by the Coen Brothers seen in the movie Fargo (1996). A hypnotic thriller full of suspense and black humor, that has become one of the best series of the year. A huge hit backed by three Emmy awards for outstanding miniseries, outstanding directing for a miniseries and outstanding casting for a miniseries. Fargo also picked up the Critics’ Choice Award for best miniseries. The Sitges preview will be coinciding with its premiere on Canal +.
Friday, 10 October, 22:00
Program : http://sitgesfilmfestival.com/eng/programa/pel_licules
Sitges : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sMblfLZHlc
Sitges – Festival Internacional de Cinema de Catalunya
Edifici de l’Escorxador c/ Joan Maragall No 36, 08870 Sitges, Spain
Festival Director: Ángel Sala
Federation Contact: Mike Hostench
Tel: +34 93 811 2232
E-mail: festival (at) sitgesfilmfestival.com