The Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia , in collaboration with Marché du Film and the Director of International Affairs Bernardo Bergeret at INCAA, returns to Cannes with the fourth edition of Fantastic 7. Two Spanish films (plus five others) are participating: La Mala Madre, the debut feature film directed by Alicia Albares and starring a journalist who has written a highly controversial book on motherhood and one day wakes up in a house with no memory; and Venus [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film], by Jaume Balagueró ([REC] [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza
intervista: Julio Fernández
scheda film], Sleep Tight [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film]), a supernatural horror story set in an urban survival environment with elements of modern witchcraft (read more). The first of these films has been selected by the Guadalajara Festival (Mexico) (where it won two awards during its co-production meeting) and the second film, by Sitges.

Because every year, seven top festivals -dedicated to or fans of fantastic and horror films- select seven projects from this genre to be screened at the Marché du Film. This programme was designed to foster emerging filmmakers and connect them with potential business partners at Cannes for funding and co-production opportunities.

There is another European project this year in Fantastic 7, presented by the Cairo festival: The Portal (France/Syria), by Chadi Abo, whose synopsis is “in a war zone, a little girl prays for salvation; a cosmic power comes to help her, and from now on, Sana will resurrect dead children.”

Two other projects include: Seoul Horror Story (Korea), by Kim Hyunjin, selected by the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, which tells ghost stories that deal with different horrors of everyday life; and Moshari by Nuhash Humayun (Bangladesh), selected by SXSW in Austin (Texas), which tells the story of when the world is overrun with bloodthirsty creatures and the only survivors are in South Asia.

Completing the programme is Berkley Brady’s Dark Nature (Canada), about a group of therapists who are forced to confront the monsters of their past during a weekend retreat, which has been chosen by the Toronto Film Festival. And finally, The Cage, by Paul Campion (New Zealand), sponsored by the New Zealand Festival, which tells the story of how a customer and staff held captive in a home electronics store must escape from a fanatic.

These projects -which are in various stages of development and post-production- are launched at the Film Market to investors, distributors and sales agents who can help them reach a wide audience. Fantastic 7 also brings to light horror film trends and influences, while demonstrating the power of creativity in this film genre.

The Fantastic 7 pitching session will be held on Sunday 22 May between 12pm and 2pm in Cannes and will be open to all Marché du Film participants upon presentation of their accreditation. (The event will also be streamed live on the Marché du Film Online platform).

The projects:

Venus [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] – Jaume Balagueró (Spain)
Production: Álex de la Iglesia, Carolina Bang

La Mala Madre - Alicia Albares (Spain)
Production: Alberto Díaz, Alexandre Bas, Cristina Urgel, Eva Moreno

The Portal - Chadi Abo (France/Syria)
Production: Ruba El-Khesh Khair, Lilas Wahbe, May Odeh, Zorana Musikic, Chadi Abo

Seoul Horror Story - Kim Hyunjin (Korea)
Production: Lee Dongha

Moshari - Nuhash Humayun (Bangladesh)

Dark Nature - Berkley Brady (Canada)
Production: Michael Peterson

The Cage – Paul Campion (New Zealand)
Production: Jared Connon