The 56th edition of the Sitges International Film Festival specialising in horror, sci-fi and fantasy films will take place from 5-15 October – and this year’s full line-up of films has been announced.
Firstly, there are five award winners at this year’s festival, in diverse genres and fields of film production. Hideo Nakata, the Japanese director and one of the most influential horror directors of the last two decades, will be receiving the Time Machine Award.
Phil Tippet, creator of the colossal ‘Mad God’ and winner of two Academy Awards for his work as visual effects supervisor on ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Jurassic Park’, will receive the Honorary Grand Prize. The third award winner is Jan Harlan, producer known for being the man behind Stanley Kubrick’s work from ‘A Clockwork Orange’ to ‘Eyes Wide Shut’. In addition, ‘The Shining’, one of his most famous productions, will be screened during the festival.
It has also been confirmed that J.A.Bayona, one of the festival’s favourite sons, and on the occasion of the presentation in Sitges of his latest work, ‘Society of the Snow’, will receive the Time Machine Award.
Finally, the fifth award winner will be Lee Unkrich, director and animator responsible for some of Pixar’s greatest hits such as ‘Toy Story 3’, who will receive the Time Machine Award. In addition, Unkrich will be giving a masterclass in which he will talk about his career.
This year there are a number of special films that will be part of the festival’s Official Fantàstic Selection but not competing for awards. Some of them are among this year’s most eagerly awaited productions, as is the case of ‘Poor Things’, the latest film from Yorgos Lanthimos, brand new winner of the Golden Lion at Venice. There will also be a screening of ‘The boy and the heron’, the latest film by animation legend Hayao Miyazaki; a movie that has been a smash hit in Japan despite having been released without any kind of promotion: no trailers, no images, not even a synopsis.
Other names featured in these special screenings include one of Spain’s most international directors, Daniel Benmayor, who will be presenting, for the first time, the sci-fi thriller ‘Awareness’. Portuguese director Gabriel Abrantes will also be arriving with a thriller, ‘Amelia’s Children’. There is also a more classic film that will delight all horror fans: ‘Blood’ by Brad Anderson, a shocking film that, despite its supernatural elements, stands out for the realism that envelops the story.
The pre-sale of tickets will begin on 20 September at 1pm, while the official sale will open on the 21 September at 1pm. Click here for the full line-up of films at the festival. Click here for the link for tickets.
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