As it has every year for more than half a century, the film world turns its attention for a few days to the Catalan coast. More specifically, to Sitges, the setting for the 59th edition of the Sitges Film Festival ( or Catalonia International Fantastic Film Festival), the world’s most important festival dedicated to horror, science fiction, and fantasy films.
This year, the festival will take place from October 8 to 18 and is packed with premieres, major Hollywood stars, and tributes to genre classics. This event has sparked particular interest among the public, with record ticket sales (and presumably record attendance) at the ten different venues where the main events will take place.
A Flurry of Stars and Premieres
Attendees will be the first to discover some of the year’s most anticipated premieres , including *Family Movie*, directed by and starring Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick. The acting duo makes their directorial debut in this horror comedy in which a family of filmmakers discovers a real corpse in the middle of production.
Bacon and Sedgwick will visit Sitges not only to present their directorial debut but also to receive the Honorary Grand Prize, paying tribute to both actors’ careers in the world of cinema. They will be accompanied by their children, Sosie and Travis Bacon, who are also part of the film’s cast.
But it’s by no means the only major film being presented at this year’s festival: *Company*, starring, directed, and co-written by Oscar winner for Best Actor Casey Affleck, arrives in Sitges as the festival’s major art-house offering.
Zombies will also have their moment on the big screen with the premiere of *Apocalipsis Z: Nuevo mundo*, the sequel to the acclaimed *Apocalipsis Z: El principio del fin*, both directed by Barcelona native Carles Torrens. It’s not the only film with a Spanish flavor on the lineup: *5 Minutes More*, the horror comedy directed by Javier Ruiz Caldera and starring Belén Cuesta, Javier Cámara, and Berto Romero, is another major highlight.
Peter Jackson’s return 30 years later
Few directors command more authority in the fantasy genre than Peter Jackson, director of *The Lord of the Rings* trilogy and winner of Oscars for Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Adapted Screenplay. But this time, the New Zealander isn’t visiting Catalonia to discuss his most famous work, but rather to present the 4K restoration of *Braindead* and receive the Grand Honorary Award for his lifetime achievement.
Other major stars from both the national and international film scenes will be in attendance: Danny DeVito will participate in a special event open to all audiences; tributes will be paid to Meiko Kaji, Adrienne Barbeau, and Amy Irving; Spanish actress Bárbara Rey will receive the Nosferatu Award for her contribution to Spanish horror cinema; director Alejandro Amenábar will accept the Méliès Career Award; and filmmakers such as Robert Eggers and Mark L. Lester will be honored with the Màquina del Temps Award.
Not everything will be shown on the big screen
The episodic format and television series continue to gain prominence, and the festival will once again showcase them by featuring some of the most anticipated premieres worldwide. *Carrie* is probably the most anticipated of them all: a remake of the 1976 film by specialist Mike Flanagan. But trailers for other works will also be shown, such as the new season of *The Terror: Devil in Silver*, and episodes based on the terrifying manga by Japanese master Junji Ito will be screened.
Of course, there will also be plenty of other activities that go beyond just sitting in a theater seat: on Saturday, October 10, face-painting tents will be set up all day long, and in the afternoon, the streets will fill with the living dead during the Sitges Zombie Walk.
The King Kong Area will return as the festival’s social hub, featuring various entertainment zones where visitors can enjoy live podcasts and fanzines, an area with food trucks and merchandise stands, as well as a space for storytelling and children’s screenings.
At the Miramar Cultural Center, visitors can enjoy several free exhibitions, with *Només són nens* as the highlight and *The Dark Side of Cinema* and *Música per malsons* as complementary exhibits. Exhibitions will also be held in other iconic buildings in Sitges, such as *Journey into the Universe of David Lynch* at the Maricel Museum, along with other activities that round out the program—all of which can be found on the festival’s website.
