The 56th edition of the Sitges Film Festival kicks off on Thursday 5 October and will continue unspooling until Sunday the 15th, offering a plethora of movies in the fantastical and horror genres. Kicking things off, Valencian helmer Paco Plaza will fire the starting pistol with Sister Death, which could be considered the prequel to his smash hit Verónica [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Paco Plaza
scheda film], while the much-loved Nicolas Cage will bring things to a close with the US production Dream Scenario, with a screenplay and direction duties entrusted to Norway’s Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Kristine Kujath Thorp
intervista: Kristoffer Borgli
scheda film]).

Other Spaniards set to pass through the Catalonian city are Bilbao’s Pablo Berger, who will present the Spanish-French co-production Robot Dreams [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], an animation that screened at Cannes and Annecy, where it picked up the Award for Best Film in the Contrechamp section; Carlota Pereda (the woman behind Piggy [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Carlota Pereda
scheda film]), who has directed The Chapel [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], a supernatural drama starring Belén Rueda; F Javier Gutiérrez (Before the Fall), who will be present to introduce the dusty, twisted plot of The Wait [+leggi anche:
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intervista: F. Javier Gutiérrez
scheda film]; Juan Antonio Bayona, who continues to promote Society of the Snow [+leggi anche:
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intervista: J.A. Bayona
scheda film], the Spanish candidate for the upcoming Oscars; Daniel Benmayor (Bruc: El desafío [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]), who will present Awareness, a science-fiction flick co-produced by the USA; and Aritz Moreno (Advantages of Travelling by Train [+leggi anche:
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scheda film]), who is returning to the festival for the world premiere of Moscas [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Aritz Moreno
scheda film] (Spain/Argentina), an intense thriller starring Ernesto Alterio.

Sitges will also serve as the perfect opportunity to take stock of the rude health of French fantastical film, with titles such as Acide [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Just Philippot, in which Mother Nature exacts her revenge; The Animal Kingdom [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Thomas Cailley
scheda film] by Thomas Cailley, starring Romain Duris and Adèle Exarchopoulos, which unfolds in an equally disconcerting setting; She Is Conann [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Bertrand Mandico
scheda film] by Bertrand Mandico, a very loose adaptation of the well-known character; Vermin [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Sébastien Vaniček
scheda film], in which Sébastien Vaniček will most likely trigger collective arachnophobia; and Vincent Must Die [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Stéphan Castang
scheda film], an agonising drama directed with aplomb by Stéphan Castang.

France is also presenting other films in the official section (both in and out of competition): Bitten [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Romain de Saint-Blanquat
scheda film] by Romain de Saint-Blanquat, a supernatural drama about a girl who is convinced that today is the last day of her life; Salem [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Jean-Bernard Marlin, a thriller set in the slums of Marseille, which uses fantasy as a vehicle for social criticism; and Wake Up by Quebecois trio RKSS (François Simard, Annouk Whissel and Yoann-Karl Whissel), a teen horror interspersed with twisted humour.

The extensive official section is also made up of the Malaysian movie Tiger Stripes [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Amanda Nell Eu
scheda film] by Amanda Nell Eu, winner of the Critics’ Week Grand Prize at the most recent Cannes Film Festival; Omen [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Baloji
scheda film], another award winner from this year’s Cannes (having snagged the New Voice Prize in Un Certain Regard), in which Belgian artist Baloji travels back to his roots in the Congo; Club Zero [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Jessica Hausner
scheda film], the new work by Austria’s Jessica Hausner, one of the most well-established talents in European cinema; The Universal Theory [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Timm Kröger
scheda film] by Germany’s Timm Kröger, a slick black-and-white thriller with Hitchcockian flourishes; There's Something in the Barn, in which Norway’s Magnus Martens takes a US family to a remote hut in the mountains; White Plastic Sky [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Sz…
scheda film], the animated flick by Hungary’s Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó, set in a post-apocalyptic Budapest; and Sorcery [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Chile’s Christopher Murray, a story of witchcraft and revenge that whisks us away to the island of Chiloé. Lastly, serving as the centrepiece is Poor Things [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Suzy Bemba
Q&A: Yorgos Lanthimos
scheda film], the film of the year, courtesy of Greece’s Yorgos Lanthimos, which won the top prize at the most recent Venice Film Festival. Sitges will host the movie’s Spanish premiere.