Sitges Festival Closes with a Grand Finale

Sitges Festival Closes with a Grand Finale: A Celebration of Fantastic Cinema Recognizing New Voices and Masterpieces.

Giancarlo Esposito, who received the honorary "Time Machine Award," and director Destry Allyn Spielberg on the red carpet of Please Don't Feed The Children at the Sitges Festival. Photo by Gisela Serra Chico.

The 57th edition of the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival concluded with the announcement of its highly anticipated awards, once again showcasing its ability to gather the best in genre cinema. This year, the awards celebrated a rich diversity of styles, genres, and narratives that spanned feature films and short films in horror and fantasy, as well as animated pieces and innovative proposals. The closing day witnessed the triumph of the acclaimed film El baño del diablo The Devil’s Bath, directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, which made history by winning three awards, including Best Film.

In the Official Fantastic Competition (SOFC), the jury, composed of prominent figures like Lisa Dreyer, Stephen Thrower, and Christophe Gans, awarded Best Director to Soi Cheang for his extraordinary work on Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In. Regarding the standout performances, Kristine Froseth received the Best Actress award for her role in Desert Road, while John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush shared the Best Actor recognition for their powerful performances in TThe Rule of Jenny Penn. The award for Best Screenplay went to Aaron Schimberg for A Different Man, while the teams from Digital District & Machina Infinitum were honored for their innovative special effects in Else. The soundtrack for Fréwaka, created by Die Hexen, won Best Music, and Giovanni Ribisi was recognized for Best Cinematography in Strange Darling.

In the New Visions section, where experimental and alternative cinema finds its place, the jury, composed of Olivia Cooper-Hadjan, Rebecca de Pas, and José Enrique Monterde, named A Desert by Joshua Erkman as the best film, and awarded Grazia Tricarico for directing Body Odyssey. In the short film category, Say Wuff! by Fabian Podeszwa was recognized as the best short work.

The Méliès d'Argent category, dedicated to European fantastic cinema, awarded Best Fantastic Genre Film to Animale by Emma Benestan, while Meat Puppet by Eros V was chosen as the Best European Fantastic Short Film.

Animation also had its space at the festival under the Anima't category. The jury, composed of Bill Kopp, Verónica Buide, and Juanjo Sáez, decided that Memorias de un caracol by Adam Elliot would receive the award for Best Animated Feature, while Free the Chickens by Matúš Vizár was selected as the Best Animated Short Film.

Within the Òrbita section, dedicated to action and thriller cinema, Zero by Jean Luc Herbulot was crowned the best film, while in the Blood Window section, Mi bestia by Camila Beltrán emerged as the big winner.

The critics' jury, composed of Llorenç Esteve, Paola Franco, and Sergi Sánchez, awarded the prestigious José Luis Guarner Critics' Award for Best Film in the SOFC to The Devil’s Bath by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. Additionally, the Citizen Kane Award for Best New Director went to Thibault Emin for his film Else, and the short film Chew by Félix Dobaire received the award for Best Short Film in the SOFC, sponsored by Fotogramas.

In the Brigadoon section, dedicated to cult cinema, the jury, consisting of Nerea Torrijos, Iván Villamel, and Meritxell Civil, decided to award the Paul Naschy Award for Best Short Film to Céntrico by Luso Martínez.

The SGAE Nova Autoria category, which recognizes emerging talent in cinema, awarded Blava Terra by Marine Auclair and DARU/N by Benjamin Hindrichs for their outstanding direction and production. Hindrichs also received the award for Best Screenplay, while Yuliya Protasova was honored for her original music in De-sastre.

Meanwhile, the Carnet Jove Jury, composed of a group of young critics, selected The Devil’s Bath as the best film in the SOFC, and Grand Theft Hamlet by Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane was awarded as the best film in the Sitges Documenta section.

Finally, the audience awards, always one of the most anticipated decisions, crowned Strange Darling by JT Mollner as the best film in the SOFC, along with the Grand Audience Award sponsored by La Vanguardia. Other highlighted categories included the Audience Award for Panorama Fantàstic for Handsome Guys by Dong-Hyub Nam and the Audience Award for Sitges Collection for Dead Talents Society by John Hanchiang Hsu, who also won the award in the Focus Asia category. Die Alone by Lowell Dean was the audience's choice in the Midnight X-treme section.

The 57th edition of the Sitges Festival reaffirmed its position as an international benchmark in fantastic cinema, rewarding creativity and innovation across a wide range of genres and formats. The event continues to solidify its status as an essential showcase for emerging talent and established voices in fantastic genre cinema.

In addition to the awards for films, the 57th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival honored the master of horror cinema, Mike Flanagan, presenting him with the prestigious Honorary Time Machine Award. During the ceremony, Flanagan took the opportunity to present his latest project alongside actress Kate Siegel. Photo by Karen Viver..