Blood will flow again. And in abundance. The Sitges film festival, which will be held between October 5 and 15, will feature the latest works by some of the greats of Spanish cinema such as Pablo Berger, Álex de la Iglesia and Paco Plaza. It will also have a large international representation, it will pay homage to Stanley Kubrick and it will recover a few essential classics of the horror genre.
Hermana muerte, by Paco Plaza, will open the contest. The film takes place in a convent in post-war times 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 programming for the 2023 edition at the Moritz Factory in Barcelona.
Although he does not lavish himself much - he has only shot four films in 20 years - Pablo Berger is one of the most prestigious Spanish filmmakers. His latest work, Robot Dreams, which went to Cannes and raved about the critics, will also be in Sitges. It is an animated film based on a graphic novel by Sara Varon that 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 now returns to 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. This year he is not going to miss it either, but instead of a movie he will present a series, the second season of 30 coins, which has Eduard Fernández, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Megan Montaner and Macarena Gómez as protagonists.
Elena Matic, Sasha Cócola, Jordán, 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, which delves into vampirism in southern Spain. Romancero will also be in Sitges along with 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 on an empty stomach to see Club Zero, by Jessica Hausner. The French Acide, by Just Philippot, which comes from Cannes, and Vincent Must Die, 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 have an impact.
As usual, the Sitges festival will have guest stars. The Hollywood actors' and screenwriters' strike may prevent great performers from being present, but the organization has already confirmed the attendance of Lee Unkrich, who won two Oscars while working at Pixar, but who will go to Sitges for a very different reason: Unkrich is a fan of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, and will present a complete book on the film. A tribute will also be paid to Mary Lambert, the first woman to direct a zombie film, added Mònica Garcia Massagué, director of the Sitges festival foundation.
