Rose Byrne (“Spy,” “Bridesmaids”) won the Best Actress award for her role in Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick It” at the Sitges-Catalan International Fantastic Film Festival, Europe’s leading genre film festival, which concluded its 58th edition on October 19th.
Variety critic Peter DeBrugge called the A24 film a “masterful depiction of the unraveling of the psyche, using every tool in the director’s arsenal to recreate the feeling of the end of the world on the most intimate of scales,” and Byrne delivering “a performance of frenetic, raw nerve that will be remembered as one of the year’s best.”
At the festival, Norwegian director Emily Blichfeld’s “Den stygge stesøsteren” won best feature film, while South Korean director Park Chan-wook won best director for “No Other Choice,” a dark comedy thriller based on Donald E. Westlake’s crime novel “Axe.”
“Ugly Sister-in-Law” Provided by: Sitges Film Festival
Variety magazine hailed it as “a deliciously outrageous take on the beloved Cinderella legend, complete with broken noses, amputated legs, and other gory details worthy of the Brothers Grimm.” “The Ugly Stepsister” is a body horror twist on a fairy tale centered around step-sister Elvira, who goes to painfully extraordinary lengths to conform to her kingdom’s beauty standards.
Meanwhile, the entire cast of newcomer Charlie Pollinger’s The Plague, consisting of Joel Edgerton, Everett Blank, Kayo Martin, Lukas Adler and Kenny Rasmussen, shared the Best Actor award. This psychological drama follows a socially awkward 12-year-old boy who is relentlessly bullied at an all-boys water polo camp.
Action choreographer-turned-director Kenji Tanigaki’s The Furious, backed by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon producer Bill Kong and bringing together what Variety described as “perhaps the most formidable collection of Asian action talent since Hong Kong’s Golden Age,” won the Special Jury Prize, a de facto runner-up at Sitges.
That accolade is echoed by “Obsession,” a low-budget twisted love horror film from YouTube breakout and first-time director Currie Barker, which just gained attention when it was picked up by Focus Features for $14 million. “Obsession” also won Sitges’ coveted People’s Choice Award.
“Ugly Stepsister” bowed out at Sundance’s Midnight Strand. “Fast and Furious” and “Obsession” had their world premieres at Toronto’s Midnight Madness, a sign that both festivals now feature some of the best and most marketable films in their genre categories.
Similarly, industry stars at the Sitges Film Festival are also emerging, as European distributors recognize the premium genre as one of the most marketable film types in the highly challenging international distribution scene.
The festival featured stars such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Luc Besson, Carmen Maura and producer Gale Anne Hurd, winner of the Sitges Women in Fan honorary award.
The coveted Blood Window Award from Latin America’s most important genre film platform went to Don’t Leave the Kids Alone, a nightmarish suspense drama (especially for parents) from Mexico’s Emilio Portes (Beelzebute, Pastorella).
“After screening our previous film Belzebuth in Sitges in 2017, it was a great feeling of deja vu to be back for the 58th screening, with old friends, new jaw-dropping films, great parties and a legendary tourist film in such a magical town. But winning the Blood Window Award for Don’t Leave the Kids Alone feels like a sweet nightmare coming true. We couldn’t be happier.”
Emilio Portes, don’t leave your children alone
“The Sitges Film Festival, the most important genre film festival in the world, has once again partnered with Blood Window to recognize Latin American talent. The important point for me is that this film had its world premiere in Rotterdam, a major non-genre film festival, and then won in Sitges. This shows that Latin American genre films are being recognized both genre-specific and mainstream.” said Pablo Guiza, Group Founder and CEO. Festival, this is a victory for Latin horror as a whole. ”
“Emilio Portes has been working on genre filmmaking for a long time. His films La Cabeza de Juan Pérez, Pastorela, Beelzebut, and now this film are testament to his dedication, and I’m delighted to see his work recognized in this way,” he told Variety, adding: Morbido, it reflects the incredible moment that Latin American horror is currently experiencing. This success is due, in part, to Blood Window’s solid support over the past decade. ”
Never Leave the Children Alone was certainly not the only Latin American genre filmmaking winner, with Laura Casabe’s Argentinian-Spanish-Mexican production The Virgin of the Quarry Lake winning Best Cinematography for Diego Tenorio.
The 58th Sitges Film Festival was held from October 9th to 19th.
Winner of official contest
Best Feature Film Award
“Ugly Stepsister” Emily Brickfeldt
Special Jury Award
(Former Equo)
“Fast and Furious” Kenji Tanigaki
“Obsession” Curry Barker
Best Director Award
Park Chan-wook: “There is no other choice”
Best Actress Award
Rose Byrne: “If I had legs, I’d kick you.”
Best Actor Award
The entire cast of “The Plague”
Best Screenplay Award
“Useful Ghost” Ratchaphum Bumbunchachok
Best Cinematography Award
Diego Tenorio “La Virgen de la Tosquera”
best music
Yasutaka Nakata & Shohei Amimori “Exit 8”
Best special, visual, or make-up effect
Tenille Shockey & François Dajeunet “The Honey Bunch”
new vision
Best movie award
(Former Equo)
“Lesbian Space Princess” Emma Hough Hobbs & Leela Varghese
“True beauty when you’re bitten by a tick” Pete Ors
Best Director Award
(Former Equo)
Adam C. Briggs & Sam Dixon “A Grand Mockery”
Toshiaki Toyota “Beyond dimensions”
Best short film
“Monster Obscura” Hong Seung Gi
blood window
Best Feature Film Award
“Don’t leave the children alone” (“No dejes a los niños Solos” by Emilio Portes)
orbit
Best Feature Film Award
“The Forbidden City” (“La città proibita”, Gabriele Mainetti)
Golden Méliès Award
Best Fantastic Genre Feature Film
“Mr. K” Talulah Heisekamp Schwab
Best Short Film Genre Feature Film
Mats Wood “Don’t be afraid”
Silver Méliès Award
Best Fantastic Genre Feature Film
“Feels like home” Gabor Holtai
Best European Fantasy Genre Short Film
“El Fantasma de la Quinta” James A. Castillo
animation
Best Animated Feature Film Award
“Lesbian Space Princess” Emma Hough Hobbs & Leela Varghese
Best Animated Short Film Award
Brigadoon Paul Naschy Award
Best short film award
“Floor” Cho Ba-reun
jury of critics
Best movie award
(Former Equo)
“The Life of Chuck” Mike Flanagan
“Reflections of a Dead Diamond” by Hélène Catetto and Bruno Forzani
Citizen Kane Award
Best New Director Award
Ratchaphum Bumbunchachok “Useful Ghost”
Best short film award
“The Man I Shake” by Ben S. Hyland
carne jove jury
Best Feature Film Award
“Obsession” Curry Barker
Best Documentary Award
“Endless Cookie” Peter Skriver & Seth Skriver
SGAE Nova Outria
best direction production
Fran Moreno & Santiago Puyol “Furia”
Best Screenplay Award
Fran Moreno & Santiago Puyol “Furia”
Best Original Music Award
Sergio Rojas “Matcha”
People’s Choice Award
“Obsession” Curry Barker
John Hopewell contributed to this article.
