The blood will flow again. And at dojo The Sitges film festival, which will be held between October 5 and 15, will feature the latest works by some of the important figures in Spanish cinema, such as Pablo Berger, Álex de la Iglesia or Paco Plaza. It will also have a large international representation, pay homage to Stanley Kubrick and bring back a few essential classics of the horror genre.
Hermana muerte, by Paco Plaza, will open the contest. The film takes place in a post-war convent where one of the nuns, played by Aria Bedmar, has supernatural powers. Hermana muerte is a sequel to Verónica, the celebrated film that Plaza shot in 2017, as explained yesterday by the director of the Sitges festival, Ángel Sala, during the presentation of the program for the 2023 edition at Fàbrica Moritz in Barcelona.
Although he doesn’t spend much – he’s only made four films in 20 years – Pablo Berger is one of the most prestigious Spanish filmmakers. His latest work, Robot dreams, which went through Cannes and excited the critics, will also be in Sitges. It is an animated film based on a graphic novel by Sara Varon, which tells the story of a lonely dog ??who builds a robot to have a friend.
Carlota Pereda became known last year with her Cerdita, a slasher that won countless awards. The director is now back in Sitges with La ermita, where Belén Rueda plays a false medium.
And Álex de la Iglesia is an essential part of this festival that he adores. It will not be missed this year either, but instead of a film it will present a series, the second season of 30 monedas, which features Eduard Fernández, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Megan Montaner and Macarena Gómez as protagonists.
Elena Matic, Sasha Cócola, Jordà, Ricardo Gómez, Guillermo Toledo and Belén Cuesta make up the cast of Romancero, a series created by Fernando Navarro and aimed at a young audience that delve into vampirism in the south of Spain. Romancero will also be in Sitges, as will El otro lado, a series by Berto Romero about a journalist specializing in paranormal phenomena.
Sala also revealed some of the international titles that will participate in the contest and recommended going to see Jessica Hausner’s Club Zero on an empty stomach. The French film Acide, by Just Philippot, who comes from Cannes, and Vincent debe morir, by Stéphan Castang, “a pandemic film that tells the story of a man who wakes up one morning and everyone wants to kill him”, will also make an impact.
As usual, there will be guest stars at the Sitges festival. It may be that the strike of Hollywood actors and screenwriters prevents important performers from being present, but the organization has already confirmed the attendance of Lee Unkrich, who won two Oscars when he worked at Pixar, but who will go to Sitges for a very different reason: Unkrich is a fan of The Shining, by Stanley Kubrick, and will present a complete book about the film. Mary Lambert, the first woman to direct a zombie film, will also be honoured, added Mònica Garcia Massagué, director of the Sitges festival foundation.
