In the Fantastic Pavilion of the Marché du Film at the Cannes Film Festival, was the official kick-off of the preview of the 57th edition of SITGES – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia.
Ángel Sala and Mònica Garcia i Massagué, the Festival’s Artistic Director and the Director of the Foundation, presented an event attended by journalists, film industry agents and institutional representatives, during which the new edition of the world’s leading celebration of fantastic genre filmmaking began to take shape.
Sitges Film Festival 2024 Poster
The 57th, no more and no less, will be held from October 3 to 13, and it will be under the gloriously deforming image of one of the great classics in film history. 92 years after its shocking premiere, the spirit of the “Freaks” from the movie Freaks will invade Sitges’ streets and movie theaters.
The film directed by Tod Browning is undoubtedly one of the milestones that can best explain the powerful sense of community surrounding fantastic films. To this must be added, organically, the contagious festive atmosphere that permeates our Festival every year… as if it were, in a certain way, a direct heir to those fairs where people used to come together to be equally astonished and horrified.
Once again this year, our film competition’s visual identity is the result of a joint collaboration with the creative minds at the agency CHINA – part of LLYC whose representatives have made the following statement for the occasion:
“It wouldn’t be unusual to say that the Sitges Film Festival is the place of that which is different, that which is strange, in other words, that which is unusual. And neither would it be unusual to think that it has been this different and daring filmmaking seen here that has given rise to a typology of fans that doesn’t resemble that of any other festival. This is precisely what we wanted to combine in this year’s poster: the transformative power of film and the fear of what is different. To do this, we have collaborated with photographer Mikel Bastida on a project where we have manipulated a portrait to which we applied some of the chemicals that have historically been used in cinema. The result, a distorted, deformed face. But also a visual metaphor that tells us how we fear what is different, what we can’t recognize, and how we exclude it. That doesn’t happen here, on the contrary: it is celebrated”.
Freaks that generate films and films that generate freaks. Images of beautiful faces disfigured by products and processes that speak to us of the passage of time… of how adopting monstrosity can generate a new kind of beauty: strange, mysterious; more magnetic if possible.
SITGES once again makes a commitment to a visual impact that invites us to become dissolved in all its layers and textures; in the whole that they constitute… and that calls audience members to embrace this new look: to become one of our own..
Mike Flanagan will receive the Honorary Màquina del Temps Award
Mike Flanagan (Salem, Massachusetts, 1978) has spent more than a decade established as one of the key figures in horror cinema. During this period, he has emerged as a tireless creative force, engaging in directing, writing, editing, and producing.
His movies and series form a rich ecosystem of chilling and equally thrilling offerings, from global audience phenomena to cult productions, further confirming his unique talent. From ‘Absentia’ (2011) to ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ (2023), including ‘Oculus’ (2013), ‘Before I Wake’ (2016) (both screened in the Official Competition Section of the Sitges Film Festival), ‘Ouija: Origin of Evil’ (2016), ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ (2018), ‘Doctor Sleep’ (2019), ‘Midnight Mass’ (2021), or ‘The Midnight Club’ (whose first episodes were also presented at Sitges)…
Amidst this spectacular production pace, what stands out is the ambition of a filmmaker who successfully tackles the monumental challenge of adapting works by giants such as Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, Henry James, or Edgar Allan Poe. His impressive ability to imbue each title with a unique personality is also noteworthy. Steering clear of jump scare noises, the most terrifying moments in his films are often slow-cooked and can even occur in broad daylight.
The close rapport he establishes with his actors defines him as much as his care for spoken words, clean-cut editing, and, of course, the awareness that the supernatural is the best gateway to stories loaded with overwhelming human substance. In his universe, ghosts carry the same weight as the good and bad decisions that can lead us down the tortuous paths of forgiveness and redemption.
For all these reasons, Mike Flanagan is the ideal filmmaker to start unveiling our guest list for the 57th edition of the SITGES – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia. In 2024, we will have his presence and will present him with the Honorary Time Machine Award.
The 57th edition will also feature the presence of Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who has discussed with Ángel Sala about the current state of fantasy cinema. This preview anticipates the start of the Fantastic 7 program, which will begin tomorrow, Sunday, May 19th.
Additionally, some of the films that will be part of the festival’s selection have been announced, with titles that promise to explore the boundaries of the fantasy genre and captivate the audience with their innovative proposals.
The Sitges Film Festival 2024 is thus preparing to offer a unique cinematic experience, where imagination and terror merge for the delight of lovers of the seventh art.
