Half a century after Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) walked soaked in blood through the popular imagination, Sitges has found in the teenager created by Stephen King an unexpected compass to orient herself in the present. The International Fantastic Cinema Festival of Catalonia will celebrate from October 8 to 18 a 59th edition that, beyond the names and premieres, seems structured by the same obsession: childhood and adolescence as a territory of conflict, trauma and transformation.
The artistic director of the Sitges Festival, Ángel Sala, and the director of the Foundation, Mònica Garcia i Massagué, presented this morning at the Fàbrica Moritz a first preview of the 59th edition of the world’s leading fantasy film festival.
It is no coincidence that this year’s poster recovers the most iconic image of Brian De Palma’s film nor that the contest screens a new 4K restoration of the 1976 classic. Carrie It does not appear solely as an object of nostalgic celebration. His figure functions as a symbol of an edition that turns its gaze towards the marginalized, the different and the monsters created by a society incapable of accepting what it does not understand.
Spanish cinema looks at its classics
That same thread connects with another of the great tributes announced: Who can kill a child?the disturbing work by Narciso Ibáñez Serrador that is also fifty years old. Yeah Carrie turned adolescent humiliation into an explosion of supernatural violence, the Spanish film transformed children into a deformed mirror of the sins of the adult world. Two classics separated by thousands of kilometers but united by the same question: what happens when those who should be protected stop trusting their elders?
The recovery of fantastic heritage will occupy a prominent place in this edition. Sitges will rescue fundamental titles such as Scannersby David Cronenberg; The Devilsthe controversial work of Ken Russell; cannibal holocaustby Ruggero Deodato; or the version of king kong produced by Dino De Laurentiis in 1976. It is not just an archaeological operation. They are films that dialogue in a surprising way with contemporary debates about power, manipulation, colonialism, religion or the exploitation of bodies.
Spanish cinema will also have a particularly significant presence thanks to the thirtieth anniversary of Thesis. Alejandro Amenábar’s debut feature will return in a restoration supervised by the filmmaker himself, who will be present in Sitges. Few films have had such an influence on the evolution of contemporary Spanish fantasy. His reflection on the fascination with violent images is as relevant today as in the nineties, in an era dominated by screens and constant exposure to real horror.
What’s coming, from Asia and beyond
Along with the classics, the programming preview confirms the excellent state of health of the genre. Australian Adrian Chiarella will explore guilt and religious fanaticism in Leviticuswhile Nicolas Winding Refn will return with Her Private Hella psychological thriller marked by obsession and desire. They also highlight proposals such as Nightbornby Hanna Bergholm, which turns motherhood into a folk horror nightmare, or Victorian Psychoadaptation of the novel by Virginia Feito starring Maika Monroe.
As usual, Asia will once again occupy a privileged position within the contest. South Korean Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan, Hellbound) will present colonya new foray into science fiction and biological horror, while Kiyoshi Kurosawa will surprise with his first samurai film: Kokurojo: The Samurai and the Prisoner. For his part, Joko Anwar (Impetigore, Satan’s Slaves) signature Ghost in the Cellnot to be confused with Ghost in the Shell– an explosive mix of horror, action and black humor set in a prison.
New voices and established authors will coexist alongside them, demonstrating that fantasy continues to be one of the most fertile genres to interpret the uncertainties of the present.
A festival that continues to grow
Film programming will not be the only focus of activity in Sitges. The festival will once again reinforce its industrial and professional dimension with the incorporation of a special edition of Weird Market, the main Spanish market dedicated to animation, video games and new audiovisual content, which will celebrate its coming of age within the event. The initiative will bring together producers, creators and companies in the sector through professional meetings and networking activities. There will also be the traditional Zombie Walk, one of the most popular events of the festival, which has more participants every year.
The figures accompany this feeling of vitality. The festival has received nearly 3,800 films, including feature films and short films, sent by platforms, distributors and production companies from all over the world. In addition, its collection has increased by 20% compared to the previous edition. Data that confirm Sitges’ position as the main international showcase of fantasy and as a privileged observatory from which to observe where our fears are heading.
Postponement
One more edition without El Retiro
The Sitges Festival will have to face one more edition without El Retiro, one of its historic venues and one of the buildings most loved by festival regulars. The theater, inaugurated in 1916, continues to be immersed in an ambitious rehabilitation process aimed at adapting the equipment to current accessibility and safety regulations, in addition to recovering elements of its original aesthetics.
The organization has confirmed that the works will not be completed in time to host screenings during this year’s edition, so the activities will once again concentrate on the rest of the festival’s usual spaces, led by the Auditori del Meliá, the Prado, the Escorxador and the Miramar.
The absence of El Retiro represents the prolongation of a wait that has become one of the main concerns of fans, who long to recover a venue that is part of the sentimental landscape that has accompanied the event for decades.
Source: Lavanguardia
