Sitges Film Festival: The Unmissable Event
The first edition of the International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia took place in 1968, proclaiming itself as the first festival specifically dedicated to this category worldwide. Today, several decades later, its fame precedes it, and each event is eagerly awaited to discover the prepared screenings and the attending celebrities.
Looking back, it's worth remembering some of the celebrities who have attended the Sitges International Film Festival. Jodie Foster, David Lynch, Tarantino, Tilda Swinton, Viggo Mortensen, Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris, and a list of artists who are both performers and part of the directing and production teams.
But this look into the past has its purpose because the Sitges Film Festival 2023, like every edition, continues to combine the influence of the past in today's films while incorporating new advances that were never possible before, continually surprising both industry insiders and their faithful followers.
Perhaps it's this fusion of the past, present, and future that makes this event so special and, year after year, proves that it's an event no cinema lover can afford to miss.
For those not entirely familiar with this event, it's worth mentioning that this festival is qualified by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the Oscars, so winners in the fiction and animation sections are automatically preselected.
Program and Schedule for the Sitges Film Festival
If you're interested in attending the Sitges Film Festival, the first thing to keep in mind is its dates. The event will take place at the Meliá Auditorium in the city, located at Carrer de Joan Salvat Papasseit, 38.
To get a ticket, you need to visit the official website's Packs and Subscriptions section, where you can purchase various pass options. There, you'll find information regarding access to different sessions, which, although have some capacity limitations, allow participation in the festival. In the same link, you can check the points of sale for physical tickets.
Screens at the Festival
As in other editions, the Sitges Film Festival is organized in various venues, in addition to the auditorium. In these venues, screenings of some event sections take place, as well as other activities of interest to the public. These spaces include:
- Meliá Sitges Hotel. Auditorium and Tramuntana Room, which is the central headquarters. Journalists attend press screenings here every morning.
- Cinema El Retiro, with a capacity of 600 people, where PANORAMA and Midnight X-treme sections premiere.
- Casino Prado Cinema, where Noves Visions, Anima’t, and Seven Chances sections, along with marathons and night sessions, are organized.
- King Kong Area Fanshop and Fooftastic, the merchandising and food area.
- King Kong Area: Mercat Vell, for children's cinema.
- Brigadoon L’Escorxador, the festival's free section, where the Nosferatu award is presented.
- King Kong Area Meeting Point; the meeting point between the Meliá Hotel and the center of Sitges.
- King Kong Area Centre Cultural Mirama & Estudi Vidal, where free-entry exhibitions are held.
Titles and Protagonists of the Sitges Film Festival
In this edition of the Sitges Film Festival, as in each one, invited guests and titles are gradually revealed. This year, uncertainties were maintained until the last moment due to strikes by Hollywood actors, actresses, and writers for the payment of residual rights. Now that there seems to be an agreement, we also know what to expect in this new edition of the festival.
Before mentioning the presentation of this year's various versions of the poster, which, as in previous editions, was created by CHINA. The images used are in line with what is expected on the screens, with intense red blood as the chosen protagonist. A nod to impactful films like Hitchcock's "The Birds," but also to other releases we've seen over the years.
Talking about movies, the one that opened this year comes from Paco Plaza, who returns to the screens with "Verónica," which will be part of Netflix after its premiere. It's not the only Spanish proposal, as in the Official Section of the Festival, "La ermita," a supernatural drama by Carlota Pereda with Belén Rueda at the forefront, will also premiere; the animated film "Robot Dreams" by Pablo Berger, and "La espera" by F. Javier Gutiérrez, full of intrigue.
Within the series, highlights include "30 monedas," a series by Álex de la Iglesia premiered on HBO Max and returning with the second season; the paranormal events of "El otro lado," directed by comedian Berto Romero, or "Romancero," an Andalusian supernatural thriller by Tomás Peña.
On the international scene, French fantasy cinema comes dressed in style after its success at the Cannes Film Festival. As part of the Sitges Film Festival program, "Acide" by Just Philippot, who already swept in 2020 with "La nube," and "The animal kingdom" by Thomas Cailey, with humans transforming into animals and starring Romain Duris and Adèle Exarchopoulos, will be shown.
For strong emotions, Bertrand Mandico brings us "Conann"; Sébastien Vanicek, "Vermin" and its spiders, and Stéphan Castang, "Vincent must die," a man whom a group of unknown people wishes to kill.
In animation and documentary, there are notable proposals such as "Deep sea" by Tian Xiao Peng; "Four Souls of Coyote" by Áron Gauder, or "Divinity" by Eddie Alcazar. And in non-fiction, "Enter the clones of Bruce" by David Gregory, among many others.
To highlight the presence of women in fantastic cinema, the Sitges Film Festival will pay tribute to Mary Lambert. She was the first woman to direct a zombie movie,
If you want to experience it up close and not miss a single event, we suggest staying at the Hotel Calipolis. With a privileged location and the best and most complete services, it will help make your experience as fantastic as this film festival.
