Sitges International Film Festival

About

This festival is THE Catalan festival and therefore offers a good starting position from which to enter into dialogue with very important film distributors (Filmax, Manga) and broadcasters (TV 3, Media Park). The festival is really to be recommended for the fields of horror and fantasy films. In general the festival is covered intensely by the national media.

Program

• Official Fantàstic (In Competition, Out-Of-Competion, Special Screenings),
• Official Òrbita
• Noves visions
• Panorama
• Anima't
• Seven Chances,
• Midnight X-Treme
• Brigadoon
• Sitges Clàssics (retrospectives and tributes),
• Serial Sitges
• Phonetastic Sitges Mobile Film Festival

Awards

Official Fantàstic Category. In-Competition. The main awards of the festival and are chosen by an international jury. Currently, they are:

• Best Motion Picture
• Best Director
• Best Screenplay,
• Best Interpretation (male and female),
• Best Fantastic Genre Short Film (This short film will be eligible for the Oscars®).
• Best Special Effects
• Best Music
• Special Jury Prize

If considered convenient, the jury will reserve the possibility of awarding up to a maximum of three special mentions.

• Audience Award for best fantastic genre feature film.
• The José Luis Guarner Critics’Award by the Associació Catalana de Crítics i Escriptors Cinematogràfics(Catalan Association of Film Critics and Writers)
• Carnet Jove Award - by the Carnet Jove jury, made up of young men and women between the ages of 18 and 30.

Orbita, Noves Visions Categories awards for the Best Feature Film, Best Director and up to three special mentions.

Panorama Category — the audience will present an award to the best fiction feature film in this section.

Anima’t Category - awards by international jury for: best animated short film (this short will automatically be taken into consideration by the Hollywood Academy Awards® selection committee) and best animated feature film.

Midnight X-treme Category - Midnight X-treme Award, presented by the Carnet Jove Jury.

Brigadoon Category - the Paul Naschy Brigadoon Award for the best amateur fantastic genre short film.

CROSS-SECTIONAL AWARDS/LABELS

• Focus Àsia Award - for films produced by Asian production companies
• Méliès d’Argent Awards - to the best European fantastic genre feature film and short film
• Blood Window Award - for films produced by Latin American production companies
• Sitges Family Label - all films for children and young people, intended to be seen with family
• Catalan Focus Label - all Catalan productions
• Sitges Documenta Award - All non-fiction films included in any Festival section are eligible for this award.

Rules

• Only fantasy and horror films are accepted,
• No prior screening in Spain,
• Feature length films of all nationalities, previously unreleased in Spain and produced in 2023/2024. 
• Òrbita Category — genres closely related to fantasy like thrillers, action movies, adventure or black comedy.
• Noves Visions Category — fantasy-themed, with a commitment to experimentation, new languages and formats and generic hybridization.
• Panorama Category — Fantasy and horror themes with an independent inclination. 
• Anima’t Category - animated feature films with a runtime of less than 30 minutes.
• Midnight X-treme Category for independent horror movies.
• Serial Sitges includes the presentation of genre TV series, as well as TV movies, web series and other similar formats.
• Phonetastic Sitges Mobile Film Festival - a selection of fantastic genre short films made with mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.).
• Seven Chances Section - Seven feature films, related to the Festival’s thematic area, selected in collaboration with the Associació Catalana de Crítics i Escriptors Cinematogràfics (Catalan Association of Film Critics and Writers). 
• Brigadoon Section - A selection of independently produced horror and fantasy themed feature length films, documentaries and short films, made in 2023/2024. 

The only accepted procedure is: upload the short or feature film to the Festhome platform.

The Festival will cover shipping expenses for the prints to be screened, unless the print needs to be sent to another Festival.

Best animated short film will be eligible for the Oscars.

Premiere Requirements

National premiere required.

Jury and Organizers

Director and Program Director
Angel Sala