We’ve entered the second half of the 56th edition of the SITGES – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia. The main protagonist of the day was J.A. Bayona, who presented ‘SOCIETY OF THE SNOW’ and picked up this year’s second Time Machine Award. Other names that also participated today were Martino Zaidelis and Demián Rugna, who also presented their latest works, ‘THE EXTORTION’ and ‘WHEN EVIL LURKS’ respectively. Beyond some of the more familiar names, the Noves Visions and Anima’t sections also brought new features that will give audiences plenty to talk about.
The day kicked off at the Auditori with the screening of two films destined to be among the biggest surprises of this edition of the Festival. The first was ‘BEST WISHES TO ALL’ by Japanese director Yûta Shimotsu, proving that J-horror is still in excellent shape. Next up was ‘STOPMOTION’, the macabre story of a stop-motion animator who ends up being consumed by her own art, a screening which caused an enormous sensation.
One of the most eagerly awaited moments of this year’s Festival arrived this evening at the Auditori, when J. A. Bayona, prior to the screening of ‘SOCIETY OF THE SNOW’, received the Time Machine Award. The film adapts the book of the same name by Pablo Vierci about the plane crash of the Chilean rugby team that left them trapped in the Andes with no way of surviving other than resorting to cannibalism. In the morning, the director participated in a press conference to comment on the brand-new Spanish film selected to compete for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
J. A. Bayona explained that
“the Sitges Film Festival is very special because the space between the stage and the first row of seats is very small, meaning that it’s very easy to see the directors you admire sitting in the audience”. Regarding the book that inspired his film, the director said that what attracted him wasn’t the cannibalism: “what interested me the most and struck me from the very first moment was the philosophical and psychological component of the story”.
The Òrbita section had one of its most important screenings this afternoon at the Auditori: ‘THE EXTORTION‘ by Argentinian director Martino Zaidelis, a high-tension espionage thriller about a veteran commercial airplane pilot who is extorted by his own country’s intelligence service. Martino Zaidelis attended a press conference this morning along with Pablo Borghi, the film’s composer. The director discussed the long and difficult production process during which “the film underwent many changes since the initial idea that emerged in 2016”. ‘THE EXTORTION’ is exemplary in its construction of tension and in this sense the role of its composer, Pablo Borghi, is fundamental, who tells how “the escalating tension is of such a high magnitude that the soundtrack can’t escape it, seeking to contribute to the generation of that adrenaline rush during the final part”.
Also in the afternoon, one of this year’s most terrifying films was screened at the Auditori: ‘WHEN EVIL COMES‘, a story about demonic possessions that kept the audience glued to their seats from beginning to end. The crew, headed by director Demián Rugna, answered questions from journalists at an early afternoon press conference. The director, who had already been in Sitges previously presenting ‘Terrified’, commented that “I wanted to do something totally different and from the very first moment I knew I wanted to get out of the urban realm and explore rural Argentina.” Demián Rugna and his crew encountered great difficulties in getting the film off the ground, since “it has some scenes that, because of their harshness, had never been shot in Argentina,” even so, the director stressed that, for him, the most important thing is always that the film “is a good story, and that violence only serves as an instrument to tell it.”
This morning at the Prado theater one of the most anticipated films of the Anima’t section had its first and only screening of the Festival: ‘SAND LAND’, directed by Japanese director Toshihisa Yokishima. The film adapts a manga by Akira Toriyama (creator of “Dragon Ball” or “Dr. Slump”, among others), who also participates in the production as a screenwriter and character designer. The rest of the day at the Prado was dominated by the always interesting Noves Visions, which kicked off at midday with the Indonesian film ‘MOTEL MELATI’, featuring one of the biggest stars from this Southeast Asian country, Alexandra Gottardo, who visited Sitges, along with director Billy Christian, to present the movie. This afternoon the turn went to ‘THE UNCLE’, a debut feature film with a Christmas spirit, and ‘THE FUNERAL’, a terrifying film by Turkish director Orçun Behram.
Concerning films at the Retiro theater, we would especially highlight the two afternoon screenings in the Panorama section: ‘YOU’LL NEVER FIND ME’, a disturbing chamber thriller packed full of twists and surprises that kept the Retiro audience on edge during the entire screening, and ‘GODLESS: THE EASTFIELD EXORCISM’, a story based on a true case featuring a ruthless, alcoholic exorcist.
In the Garbí 2 Room, one of the most eagerly awaited Encounters took place as part of Sitges Industry: J.A. Bayona discussed his film career and the production of his latest film, ‘SOCIETY OF THE SNOW’. Meanwhile, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas was the protagonist of the talk “Fashion Victims. Fashion Horror”, where she has analyzed the close relationship between fashion and horror films, and Marina Borràs and Iris C. Permuy addressed the role of Artificial Intelligence in contemporary film in “AI in subtitles and scripts: Apocalypse Now?”
Today, in parallel activities, the children’s workshop “Create Your Own Flipbook” took place, where the younger ones were able to give free rein to their creativity. In addition, the exhibitions “Creators of Monsters: George A. Romero Among Creatures and Ghouls” at ESTUDI VIDAL and “Animation! From The Enchanted Sward to Robot Dreams” at the MIRAMAR CULTURAL CENTER are still open.