FANTASTIC
7
SITGES FILM FESTIVAL
Descripció de l'activitat
Programa que ofereix una vista prèvia de les pròximes produccions en la indústria del cinema de gènere fantàstic global, i que promou la connexió d’aquests projectes amb representants de la producció i distribució internacional.
Descobreix el millor del gènere fantàstic que s’aproxima!
Diumenge 21 Maig
12h-13h50
LLOC: PALAIS K
L’esdeveniment es celebrarà de forma física y online a través de la plataforma marchedufilm.online platform.
El Sitges – Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, amb la col·laboració del Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes i el director d’Afers Internacionals de l’INCAA, Bernardo Bergeret, presenten la cinquena edició del Fantastic 7, un programa que ofereix una vista prèvia de les pròximes produccions en la indústria del cinema de gènere fantàstic global, i que promou la connexió d’aquests projectes amb representants de la producció i distribució internacional.
El Fantastic 7 està dissenyat per connectar projectes en diferents estadis de producció -o que hagin estat finalitzats- amb agents inversors internacionals, amb el propòsit de promoure la seva comercialització final.
Set festivals de primer nivell presenten un projecte cinematogràfic de gènere del seu respectiu territori en una sessió de pitch que se celebra de forma anual durant el Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes. El Fantastic 7 mostra els projectes de gènere més prometedors a nivell mundial, representant les noves tendències de cada continent.
Álex de
la Iglesia
Padrí Fantàstic 2023
Aquest any, el padrí de l’esdeveniment serà l’Álex de la Iglesia, director, productor i guionista de cinema.
L'Entrevista
Hi ha mestres del gènere fantàstic i hi ha amants del gènere, i després hi ha Álex de la Iglesia, que sua, consumeix i somia amb cinema, amb cinema de gènere fantàstic, és clar. La seva filmografia inclou pel·lícules de gènere com El día de la bestia, El último circo, La riqueza común i Acción mutante. Ara, als cinquanta-sis anys, de la Iglesia és un dels creadors més autoritzats de la indústria cinematogràfica i el millor padrí dels Fantàstic 7. Així ho demostren les seves reflexions durant una excel·lent classe magistral, impartida a l’edició de l’any passat del Sitges – Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya.
Lucía Nieto
Nous Talents
L'Entrevista
Els orígens del programa WomanInFan van girar al voltant de la promoció i el reconeixement de dones cineastes creatives dins de la indústria del gènere fantàstic. Per a aquesta edició del 2023, ens estem enfocant a posar les bases de la narrativa femenina, una narració única que diferencia històries i interessos des del punt de vista d’una dona. Aquest és el germen de WomanInFan Fant.Latina, una iniciativa en col·laboració amb Blood Window, que reuneix projectes de gènere liderats per dones i que, al passat mercat de Ventana Sur, va lliurar un premi a Lucía Nieto Salazar, que aspira a debutar amb la seva primer llargmetratge Los Visitantes.
Els set Festivals Fantàstics són:
Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
Cairo International Film Festival
Guadalajara International Film Festival
New Zealand International Film Festival
SXSW Film & TV Festival
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
LA ERMITA
SITGES - FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA FANTÀSTIC DE CATALUNYA, presenta:
Títol original: La Ermita
Títol en anglès: The Chapel
Directora: Carlota Pereda
Cast: Maia Zaitegi, Belén Rueda, Josean Bengoetxea, Loreto Mauleón, Jon Olivares, Elena Irureta, Nagore Aranburu
Gènere: Supernatural drama
Nacionalitat: Espanya
Idioma: Espanyol
Productors: Laura Fernández, Carlos Fernández, Iñaki Gómez, Pablo Echart
Sinopsi: Una faula fantàstica que navega entre el passat i el present, el món real i allò paranormal, a través dels ulls de l’Emma, una jove que vol continuar comunicant-se amb la seva mare, encara que això signifiqui contactar amb l’altra banda. L’Emma vol aprendre a comunicar-se amb l’esperit d’una nena que fa segles que està atrapada en una capella i per això intenta convèncer la Carol, una mèdium escèptica i falsa, perquè l’ajudi. Posar-se en contacte amb l’esperit us ajudarà a romandre a prop de la seva mare malalta una vegada que mori. El que la Carol no sospita és que l’Emma realment té “el do” i, si continua intentant fer-lo servir sense la seva ajuda, posarà en risc la seva jove vida.
THE FIN
BUCHEON INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL, presenta:
Títol original: 지느러미
Títol en anglès: The Fin
Director: Syeyoung Park
Cast: Yeji Yeon, Goh-woo, Pureum kim
Gènere: Sci-Fi, Independent, Disaster
Nacionalitat: República de Corea
Idioma: Coreà
Productor: Heejung Oh
Sinopsi: Ambientada en una futura Corea distòpica, The Fin segueix tres personatges i les seves trobades inesperades entre si finalment es converteixen en un crit esquinçador. Un tritó moribund demana a un amic que doni les seves restes a la seva filla, amagant-se entre els humans. Encarregat d’aquest perillós viatge, el tritó s’adreça en secret a la terra dels humans. És perseguit per un nou empleat civil alimentat per la curiositat i l’odi.
THE SHELTER
CAIRO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, presenta:
Títol original: Le Refuge
Títol en anglès: The Shelter
Director: Talal SELHAMI
Cast: TBC
Gènere: Psychological Horror
Nacionalitat: França – Marroc
Idioma: Àrab, Francès
Productor: Lamia Chraïbi
Sinopsi: La Leila, quarantena d’Alep, era una famosa pianista, ara està refugiada a París. Ha de cuidar el Georges, un ancià, invàlid i mut. Al Georges no li queda gaire temps de vida. A la nit, el Georges pateix, els seus crits són insuportables.
La Leila no pot dormir. Una presència apareix a les ombres i li fa l’amor, és confús. És el seu marit, mort durant la guerra. La Leila encén la llum, veu el Georges, paralitzat, amb els ulls plens d’incomprensió. Més tard, és el fill mort de la Leila qui parla, amb la boca del George. Al principi espantada, la Leila entra en un joc estrany i insà; Un joc que la fa feliç…
CORPUS
GUADALAJARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, presenta:
Títol original: Corpus
Títol en anglès: Corpus
Director: Pablo Delgado
Cast: Carlos Bardem, Harold Torres, Armando Espitia, Adrián Rossi, Kanerit (Karen García), Matías del Castillo, Raúl Briones
Gènere: Terror
Nacionalitat: Mèxic
Idioma: Espanyol
Productores: Eva Ruiz de Chávez, Mariana Rodríguez
Sinopsi: Mèxic, 1928. El govern està en guerra amb els Cristeros. Una lluna vermella està sortint. Rialles i murmuris s’escolten al capdamunt dels pins. Dos nois s’enamoren al pitjor lloc del món. Un jove rebel és abandonat per la seva mare. Un prevere i els seus alumnes han vagat sense rumb durant dies. Tots els camins es creuen al mateix lloc: Sant Miquel Arcàngel. Un seminari oblidat al mig del bosc. Els rumors de federals a la zona sembren la por… Tot i això, algú sap que la veritable amenaça es troba dins de Sant Miquel, en el profund de les seves masmorres. Cosa que aviat trobarà la sortida.
THE TELEVANGELIST
WHĀNAU MĀRAMA NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, presenta:
Títol original: The Televangelist
Títol en anglès: The Televangelist
Director: Tom Levesque
Cast: TBC
Gènere: Psychological thriller, black comedy
Nacionalitat: Nova Zelanda
Idioma: Anglès
Productors: Kevin DeWalt, Matt Noonan
Sinopsi: Després de fingir un intent d’assassinat per augmentar la seva audiència online cada cop més reduïda, el televangelista d’Internet Hendrick Powell creu que un predicador cibernètic rival està darrere del seu continu declivi. Mentre el Hendrick planeja un esdeveniment per aparèixer als titulars i ser el centre d’atenció, el seu matrimoni comença a enfonsar-se quan la seva dona, la Patty, té un despertar sexual després d’obsessionar-se amb una persona influent al fitness. En enredar-se en un horrible crim, la paranoia i les obsessions del Hendrick arriben a proporcions similars a les de la histèria mentre pronuncia un sermó que es torna global per les raons equivocades. A mesura que es revela la veritat sobre el seu espectacle fraudulent, el Hendrick descobreix que les seves sospites de sabotatge poden estar justificades, però la pregunta continua: qui n’és el responsable?
DEAD ENDERS
SXSW FILM & TV FESTIVAL, presenta:
Títol original: Dead Enders
Títol en anglès: Dead Enders
Directors: Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Tyler Walker
Cast: TBD
Gènere: Horror, Comedy, Coming of Age
Nacionalitat: USA
Idioma: Anglès
Productors: Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Tyler Walker
Sinopsi: La Maya és una jove i esgotada empleada d’una benzinera al petit poble de Tanglewood, Texas. Però la seva còmoda vida dibuixant còmics amb el seu millor amic, el Charlie, es veu alterada després que un accident de fracking allibera una mena de paràsits que controlen la ment i converteixen les persones en abellots condemnats a realitzar tasques servils que terraformen Tanglewood en una colònia d’insectes. Sis mesos després: la ciutat està sota confinament enmig de l’amenaça dels Headsqueezers. Quan la Maya s’assabenta que el Charlie ha desaparegut, recorre als seus antics companys de feina per reconstruir els fets. Per recuperar la seva millor amistat, la Maya s’haurà d’aventurar a les profunditats de la ciutat exterior infestada d’insectes, enfrontar-se cara a cara amb els horrors que aguaiten sota la plàcida façana de Tanglewood i descobrir l’obscur preu que va pagar el Charlie per recuperar la vida de la manera com solia ser. És segur dir que podria arribar tard al proper torn.
RESTORE POINT
TALLINN BLACK NIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL, presenta:
Títol original: Bod Obnovy
Títol en anglès: Restore Point
Director: Robert Hloz
Cast: Andrea Mohylová, Matěj Hádek, Václav Neužil, Milan Ondrík, Karel Dobrý, Agáta Kryštůfková, Katarzyna Zawadzka, Jan Vlasák, Iveta Dušková, Richard Stanke, Adam Vacula, Jan Jankovský, Lech Dyblik
Gènere: Science fiction
Nacionalitat: República Txeca
Idioma: Txec
Productor: Jan Kallista
Sinopsi: L’any 2041 totes les persones tenen el dret constitucional de viure una vida sencera. Si algú mor d’una mort no natural, reviuen i poden continuar amb la seva vida. Tot el que cal fer és crear regularment un punt de restauració, una còpia de seguretat on es guarda la seva memòria. En aquesta societat, l’assassinat és gairebé impossible. El jove detectiu Em Trochinowska ha de resoldre un misteri d’assassinat on l’únic testimoni és una de les víctimes ressuscitades.
L'Entrevista: ÁLEX DE LA IGLESIA
There are fantastic genre masters and there are genre lovers, and then there’s Álex de la Iglesia, who perspires, consumes and dreams of film, of fantastic genre film, of course. As a Renaissance man, he has cultivated comics and writing, and film he’s done the same in the areas of screenwriting, directing and, recently, production. His filmography includes seminal entries in the history of genre films such as The Day of the Beast, The Last Circus, Common Wealth and Mutant Action. Now at the age of fifty-six, de la Iglesia is one of the most authoritative creators in the film industry and the best godfather for Fantastic 7. This is something evidenced by his reflections during an excellent masterclass, given at last year’s edition of the Sitges - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia.
The Enjoyment of the Fantastic Genre
I genuinely enjoy genre not because fantastic films are lowbrow, but because they don’t pretend to be intelligent, because they aim to make you enjoy yourself as a viewer. And then, in fact, it turns out that the most intelligent films are found within the fantastic genre.
From my point of view, the fantastic genre is the one that best expresses feelings and that leaves the most room for creation. I go to the movies to have a good time. Movies brings me out of my problems, I don’t want movies to be my problem.
In other film genres it’s easy to slip into boredom or a false pretension, whereas in the fantastic genre, even bad movies are cool. And I love that director who has only managed to make one decent film, because I know why he did it. I understand every shot, I understand the problems he’s had, the failings, the shortcomings. I understand all of it. And despite it all, he’s still delivered the fucking vampire. He’s delivered the fucking zombie. He’s had the balls to deliver that zombie who is his brother-in-law with shitty make-up. And the thing is that in the fantastic genre it’s very common to work with more passion than money. But if on top of that someone with no money and a huge amount of passion achieves a perfect product, then the only thing left for you to do is to kneel down and tell him I love you, you’re the fucking man.
The Spectacle of Film
Film starts from a lie; it starts from a spectacle that has a lot to do with the spectacle of a fairground attraction. In fact, film was born at a fair, sharing the billing with the bearded woman, the boy with seven heads, the cow with four arms, and there was the film spectacle. And in that absurd place, full of mud and smelling of feces, they show a train coming towards you and you think it’s going to kill you. And that’s film. And from that point on, we are lucky that someone also tells us how man can go to the moon or fight against animals from space, or against some fish-shaped men, thanks to Méliès, who establishes both the fantastic genre and film. And the fact is that film starts off being fantastic.
Film itself in its very language has an intention to entertain and to capture viewers’ attention in such a way that you can be in several places at the same time. In that regard, film enhances life because it gives you very different points of view. And that’s your responsibility as a director, to offer viewers a richer life than the one they are living.
The Role of Festivals
I come to Sitges because it’s necessary, because I need to come here, because my food is here, as if I were
a vampire. At this festival we all want to enjoy what we’ve done with our friends and that doesn’t happen at other festivals. There are other festivals where I don’t have a good time because people don’t come to enjoy themselves. They come to impose their genius on you or to explain their brilliant topic to you, and that’s a mistake. If the rest of us don’t have fun, why do you do it? Who do you want to impress or what is it you want to do? It’s something that bothers me deep-ly. How is it possible for someone to want to explain something that’s so important to them and forget about the entertainment?
It seems to me that this is what film is all about. Film is emotion; it’s about moving you with something. I don’t understand people who only want to impress.
Repeating the Formula for Success
I really love the industry and I really love being suc-cessful. And I’m convinced that if we were to make a sequel to The Day of the Beast, as bad as it might be, we would make a lot of money. But you have to have respect for the The Day of the Beast brand because it’s a great movie that many people I love very much were involved in and I think it’s something that shouldn’t be touched. Its time already passed.
We also thought about doing a Mutant Action prequel, but it’s something I rule out every time. It would be like denying myself. In other words, I think that if we move forward, we move forward.
On Elevated Horror
I can’t stand it. I can’t stand the label, but do I love elevated horror. I think we’re living in a golden age of horror movies similar to the great era of Universal, which gave birth to the world of Frankenstein, the werewolf, the mummy and all those films that changed or laid the foundations of horror movies. But today we don’t have the power to make the kind of films that were made back then, when there was nothing else and everything was focused on that. However, right now we have the filmmaking of Ari Aster or the filmmaking of Panos Cosmatos. And it is a very good filmmaking, but it’s not elevated or it’s not as elevated as others.
Let me clarify: we can’t say that Carpenter is banal. He’s a filmmaker with a very specific way of working, that addresses a very specific audience and has a very specific style. And The Thing is as good as Alien, I think. And I don’t feel it’s fair to say that Alien is more exquisite or deserves more respect. These are absurd industry factoids.
Elevated filmmaking is, shall we say, a pejorative concept if we use it to discredit all other horror movies. We all agree that a lot of very good films are branded with that label. In that regard, I think that Midsommar isn’t normal. Ari Aster’s filmmaking isn’t normal because it’s very powerful, very hallucinatory. Hereditary is one of the most terrifying films I’ve ever seen in my life. I saw it with my daughter, and we were terrified watching it because it suddenly works with a new kind of horror, a different way of presenting horror and playing with people, but it’s not more elevated than others. That assessment seems to me to be a belittlement of genre.
The Hardest Part of the Producer’s Role
I don’t usually interfere as a producer because it’s very hard to know what the director has in his/her head at any given moment. With Jaume Balagueró, for example, when he did the first edit, he showed it to me and that was enough. The film is extraordi-nary. As simple as that. It’s true that I commented on certain things to him as a viewer: what you see and how you could improve it in case he wanted to improve it. And yes, he told me he would think about it and in the final result, I was able to see that there were things he listened to me on and others that he didn’t. But the truth is that the film he has made is unsurpassable. It’s perfect.
L'Entrevista: LUCÍA NIETO
The origins of the WomanInFan program were shaped around the promotion and recognition of creative female filmmakers within the fantastic genre industry. For this 2023 edition, we are focusing on establishing the foundations of female narrative, a unique storytelling that differentiates stories and interests from a woman’s point of view. For decades, the history of the fantastic genre has been populated by monsters, nightmares and traditions created by male filmmakers. We have learned to shudder in a movie theater with stories told from the male point of view, while the intervention of women has been residual or barely acknowledged.
This is why the WomanInFan initiative has been travelling around markets and festivals for three years now, recalling the role of past, present and future female filmmakers. And not only for their unique cinematic vision but also for their indispensable work as transmitters of legends, traditions and stories, which are relevant to their particular filmographies. This is the seed of WomanInFan Fant.Latina, an initiative in collaboration with Blood Window, which brings together genre projects led by women and which at the past Ventana Sur market, granted an award to Lucía Nieto Salazar, who aspires to make her debut with her first feature film Los Visitantes (The Visitors).
Genre, A Vanishing Point
Ever since I was a child, I lived more in my imagination than in reality. I looked for that escape to other worlds in cinema and literature. I liked to play that life was
a dream (and I still do to this day). So I was always fascinated by the dreamlike, magical realism, fantasy. It is a way I have of living life; imagining that there are other places, other characters, hidden in reality itself. I play at believing that they exist, at imagining where they come from, where they are going. It is the engine I have to live: to believe that there is an intangible magic that surrounds me and that generates a constant fascination for the world around me.
Influences Between Film and Literature
My main influences in the realm of film are Roman Polanski, David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick. In literature: Mario Levrero, Mariana Enriquez, Felisberto Hernandez, Horacio Quiroga, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allan Poe, among others.
The Creative Impulse
What usually happens to me is that, from an experience, an idea is triggered, and I quickly develop a story. For example, a few weeks ago I was in the kitchen, and I looked outside and for a few seconds I saw myself in the garden watching me, as if there was another me. I quickly wrote The Other, a short film in the development stage. That’s why I love to inhabit different environments, to meet new people, original characters; because it is in reality where I find the triggers.
Women in the Fantastic Industry
I think the difficulties that women have when it comes to evolving professionally in different positions within the film industry are not alien to the rest of society. If we take a closer look, most successful directors are men. The discrimination that we suffer as women usually occurs in power relationships.
In this regard, I have never experienced (at least in the film industry up to now, although I have in others) any degrading situation, possibly due to the circumstances of my environment: I live in a small place, Maldonado. Uruguay is a little country where all of us who are involved in this field know each other. Also, and fortunately, in recent years certain social policies have been put into practice that favor greater equity with regard to national public funds. Likewise, in international market and film festival sections, a greater inclusion of women and minorities is being achieved. But, on an industry scale, I do believe that there is still a glass ceiling, and particularly in genre filmmaking.
Debuting in Feature Film
Los Visitantes (The Visitors) is my debut feature film. A psychological thriller that follows the life of Helena, a young woman in her thirties, who moves to a sprawling estate on the outskirts of the city with her boyfriend. But the couple breaks up and Helena is left alone. This causes her to experience an enormous depression, because she suffers from an emotional imbalance that, at times, distorts her perception of reality. She feels threatened by the world that surrounds her, but especially by the male gender, which she finds to be very hostile. A visitor, a friend of the owner’s, is expected to arrive. A man arrives at the residence, but then, a few days later, another one shows up. Helena will have to discover who the impostor is and what his dark intentions are.
The film inhabits a strained, dark atmosphere, with surreal and hallucinatory moments. Suspense runs throughout the story: Who is the impostor? Who is the real enemy? This is the question that harasses Helena regarding her lovers and that immerses her in unremitting doubt: Does he love me, or does he want to hurt me?