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56th Sitges Film Festival

The 56th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia took place from 5 October to 15, 2023, in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain. The supernatural horror film Sister Death, directed by Paco Plaza, opened the festival. Argentine horror film When Evil Lurks by Demián Rugna won the Best Feature Film Award.

Background

The official artwork for the festival was unveiled on 24 May 2023. Photographed by Nacho Alegre, it was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film The Birds, conmemorating the 60th anniversary of the film. On 12 September, the festival announced both the recipients for the special awards and the complete lineup. German-American producer Jan Harlan and American director and visual effects supervisor Phil Tippett wil received the Honorary Grand Prize while Spanish director J. A. Bayona, Japanese director Hideo Nakata and American director Lee Unkrich, all will be honored with the Time Machine Award (Premi Màquina del Temps).

Juries

The juries consists of the following members:

Main competition

Jérôme Paillard, French producer
Ana Torrent, Spanish actress
David C. Fein, American producer
Kim Newman, British critic and writer
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Australian critic and researcher

Noves Visions / Anima't

Katharina Kubrick, American art director
Sergi Caballero, Spanish filmmaker
Fred Tsui, Chinese consultant

Blood Window / Òrbita

Max Karli, French film producer
Agnela Domínguez, Spanish cultural manager
Júlia Olmo, Spanish journalist and critic

Méliès d'Argent

Matthew Turner, British journalist and film critic
Alexandra West, Canadian film critic
Maura McHugh, Irish writer

Brigadoon

Raúl Cerezo, Spanish director
Daniel Rodríguez Sánchez, Spanish writer and critic
Aida Solé, Spanish blogger

Crítica / Méliès d'Or

Ylenia Cañadas, Spanish film critic
Francesc Miró, Spanish film critic
Antoni Peris, Spanish film critic

SGAE Nova Autoria

Jaume Balagueró, Spanish director and screenwriter
Marta Grau, Spanish screenwriter, writer and script editor
Alfonso De Vilallonga, Spanish film composer, vocalist and singer-songwriter

Sections

The films selected for each section are as follows:

Official selection

In competition

Highlighted title indicates Best Feature Film winner.

Out of competition

Shorts

Órbita

Highlighted title indicates Òrbita winner.

Panorama

Anima't

Highlighted title indicates Best Animated Feature Film winner.

Noves Visions

Highlighted title indicates Noves Visions winner.

Series

Nova Autoria

Sitges Documenta

Midnight X-Treme

Brigadoon

Sitges Classics

Notes

Awards

The following awards were presented at the 56th Edition:

Official competition

Best Feature Film: When Evil Lurks by Damián Rugna
Special Jury Award: Stopmotion by Robert Morgan & Vermin by Sébastien Vaniček
Best Direction: Baloji Tshiani for Omen
Best Actress: Kate Lyn Sheil for The Seeding
- Special Mention for Best Actress: Zafreen Zairizal for Tiger Stripes
Best Actor: Karim Leklou for Vincent Must Die
Best Screenplay: Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes for Late Night with the Devil
Best Special, Visual or Makeup Effects: Frédéric Lainé, Jean-Christophe Spadaccini, Pascal Molina, Cyrille Bonjean-Jean, Bruno Sommier and Jean-Louis Autret for The Animal Kingdom
Best Music: Markus Binder for Club Zero
Best Cinematography: Martin Roux for Bitten
Special Mentions: Moscas by Aritz Moreno & Riddle of Fire by Weston Razooli

Noves Visions

Best Film: Moon Garden by Ryan Stevens Harris
Best Direction: David Kapac and Andrija Mardesic for The Uncle
Best Short Film: The Old Young Crow by Liam Lopinto
Special Mentions
- Special Mention: Halfway Home by Madarász Isti
- Special Mention for Screenplay: Christine Doyon and Ariane Louis-Seize for Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
- Special Mention for Cinematigraphy: Andrea Arnone for Mimì: Prince of Darkness

Méliès d'Argent

Méliès d'Argent Award for the Best Fantastic Genre Feature Film: Bitten by Romain de Saint-Blanquat
Méliès d'Argent Award for the Best European Fantastic Genre Short Film: Cultes by David Padilla

Anima't

Best Animated Feature Film: Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light by Filip Pošivač
Best Animated Short Film: Ghost of the Dark Path by Fish Wang

Òrbita

Best Feature Film: The Last Stop in Yuma County by Francis Galluppi

Critic's Jury

José Luis Guarner Critics' Award for Best Film in the SOFC: The Universal Theory by Timm Kröger
Citizen Kane Award for Best New Director: Stéphan Castaing for Vincent Must Die
Best Short Film in the SOFC: I'm Not a Robot by Victoria Warmerdam

Brigadoon

Brigadoon Paul Naschy Award for the Best Short Film: Ellos by Néstor López, Óscar Romero

SGAE Nova Autoria

Best Direction-Production: Mikel Garrido for Tenemos patria
Best Screenplay: Karen Joaquín for O que me parta un rayo
Best Original Music: Márcio Echeverria for The Sun Thief

Carnet Jove Jury

Best Feature Film in the SOFC: Bitten by Romain de Saint-Blanquat
Best Sitges Documenta Film: Kim's Video by David Redmon, Ashley Sabin

People' Choice Award

Grand People's Choice Award for Best Feature Film in the SOFC: Robot Dreams by Pablo Berger
Panorama Fantàstic People's Choice Award: Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism by Nick Kozakis
Focus Asia People's Choice Award: The Roundup: No Way Out by Lee Sang-yong
Midnight X-Treme People's Choice Award: I'll Crush Y'all by Kike Narcea