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SITGES 2017

Sitges hits the ripe old age of 50

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- The Catalonia-based Sitges Fantastic Film Festival kicks off today, 5 October, celebrating half a century of thrilling audiences by offering a monstrous programme of 225 films

Sitges hits the ripe old age of 50
Marrowbone by Sergio G Sánchez

The great Guillermo del Toro will today open the 50th edition of the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival in the Catalan coastal city, with The Shape of Water (which was victorious at the most recent Venice Film Festival). Those attending the gathering, an unmissable pilgrimage for any genre-film buff, will be able to fill their boots until Sunday 15 October thanks to a gigantic programme made up of 225 titles scattered across 16 different sections.

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Standing out in the Spanish contingent is the European premiere of Most Beautiful Island [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ana Asensio
film profile
]
, the award-winning directorial debut by actress Ana Asensio; the world premiere of The Devil and the Blacksmith [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, the feature debut by Paul Urkijo, backed by Alex de la Iglesia; the co-production with Argentina You Only Live Once [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(which stars Gerard Depardieu – see the news); Marrowbone [+see also:
trailer
interview: Sergio G Sánchez
film profile
]
 by Sergio G Sánchez; the unveiling of Black Hollow Cage [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 by Sadrac González; The Maus [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, the feature debut by Yayo Herrero, produced by Enrique López Lavigne (Apache Films); Dhogs [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 by Galician filmmaker Andrés Goteira; the co-production with France Cold Skin [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 by Xavier Gens, starring an amphibious Aura Garrido; and the latest effort by Jaume BalagueróMuse [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, toplined by Franka Potente (see the news).

Sitges 2017 plans to pay tribute to maestro William Friedkin, much-admired actress Susan Sarandon, legendary actor Frank Langella, the multitalented Santiago Segura, the versatile Udo Kier, DoP Juan Mariné, helmer Sergio Martino, producer Denise O’Dell and Spanish thesp Toni Isbert.

The festival is cementing its ties with the film industry through Sitges Pitchbox 2017, an international pitching event set to unspool tomorrow, and which has selected seven of the 150 projects sent in following the call for submissions: Biopunk by Liam Garvo (UK), Conexo by Carlos García (Spain), Matilda Corksrew by Victor Jaquier (France), Pochinok by Daniel M Caneiro (Spain), Restore Point by Robert Hloz (Czech Republic), Teo by Víctor Manuel Checa (Peru) and The Monster Within by Rodrigo Susarte (Chile). The winner of the Sitges Pitchbox Award will receive €6,000, intended to go towards the development of their project.

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(Translated from Spanish)

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