The 40th Sitges Film Festival kicks off in just a few short weeks (OCTOBER 4-14) and this years festival promises to be a magnificent celebration of its 40 years. This annual festival takes place just southwest of Barcelona and right next to the Mediterranean Sea and on average one can see anywhere from 5-10 movies a day. Crowds are absolutely amazing there. The only festival I've attended where crowds erupt chanting Johnnie To's name or singing along to a song in a Minoru Kawasaki film. The main theatre there, "The Melia" is a movie lovers paradise. It boasts the most jaw dropping cinema experience you will find in a movie theatre throughout the whole world. Last year when they played The Host you could literally be standing outside within a good distance and with a good degree of certainty know exactly what part of the movie was currently being shown. Sitting in there is like being strapped into a massive rollercoaster ride that gives you a highly rich, kinetic and deeply immersive moviegoing experience. I can't wait to be out there covering the festival for Twitch this year.
A quick run down of some of the big films playing just to name a few (click the link below to see the full lineup): Triangle, Black House, Grindhouse, Inside, Dainipponjin, Frontiere(s), Devil Dared Me To, Timecrimes, Hell's Ground, George Romero's Diary of the Dead, I'm a Cyborg, but that's OK, Rogue (can't wait to see this monster croc film and hope its as good as Dark Age from 1987), Stuck, Sukiyaki Western Django, Cassandra's Dream, Glory to the Filmmaker!, Hot Fuzz, Mad Detective, Redacted, Stardust, Roman, Sword Bearer, Ugly Swans, Aachi & Ssipak, Tekkonkinkreet, Vexville, 14 Amazons (Shaw Brothers anyone?), Battle of Wits, Blood Brothers, Flash Point, Hong Kong Film Noir, AFR and Boarding Gate. Older films showing include: Last House on the Left, Dead of Night, Brotherhood of Satan, Burnt Offerings, A Gun for Jennifer, Devil Fetus, Dracula in Istanbul, The Blood Rose, Daughters of Eve, 1990 The Bronx Warriors, Blade Runner: The Final Cut, The Thing (John Carpenter), No Blade of Grass, Last Man on Earth, Playtime, Metropolis and Things to Come.
I also highly recommend their regular shorts and animiated short sections. They typically feature a really nice expansive international selection for both of these.
FULL 40TH SITGES FILM FESTIVAL LINEUP (PDF is available here via their main site)
OCTOBER 4-14, 2007
SITGES, SPAIN
GALA CLAUSURA GALA INAUGURACIO
1408
El orfanato (The Orphanage)
OFICIAL FANTASTIC LLARGS (OFFICIAL FANTASTIC FEATURES)
A l'interieur (Inside)
Dainipponjin
El rey de la montana
First Snow
Frontiere(s)
Halloween
I'm a Cyborg, but that's OK
Joshua (El hijo del mal)
La habitacion de Fermat
Los cronocrimenes (Timecrimes)
Mushishi
Rec
Rogue
Slipstream
Stuck
Sukiyaki Western Django
Teeth
The Devil's Chair
The Fall
The Nines
The Signal
Waz
OFICIAL FANTASTIC CURTS (SHORTS)
142
89 Gator Mine
Aunt Tigress
Breathing Chamber
Columba Palumbus
Damnation
Die Grosse Werkstatt (The Big Garage)
Finkle's Odyssey
High Mantenance
Pig Tale
Saliva
The Eyes of Edward James
The Red Box
Torsia
OFICIAL PREMIERE
American Crime
Aparecidos
Cassandra's Dream
Confession of Pain
Dead Silence
Glory to the Filmmaker! (Kantoku Banzai!)
Hot Fuzz
Los Justos
Mad Detective
Mr. Brooks
Redacted
Stardust
The Ten
OFFICIAL NOVES VISIONS
American Zombie
Dr. Plonk Rolf
Hoy el dia se repite diferente
It is Fine! Everything is Fine!
La antena
Mister Lonely
Noise
Nos Amis les Terriens
Roman
The Sword Bearer (Mechenosets)
Senseless
The Ugly Swans
Trigger Man
Zoo
ANIMA'T LLARGS (ANIMATED FEATURES)
Aachi & Ssipak
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie for Theathers
Brave Story
Free Jimmy Christopher
La crisis carnivora
Tales from Earthsea
Tekkonkinkreet
Nocturna
Vexille
Yobi, the five-tailed Fox
ANIMA'T CURTS (ANIMATED SHORTS)
Alter Ego
Animal Farm
Arka
Battle of the Album Covers
Canary Beat
Charred and Feathered
Codehunters
Crone
Dji vou veu volti
Do-it-yourself
El ataque de los kriters asesinos
El bufon y la infanta
Famine
Frank Kafka's A Country Doctor
Game Over
Gloria
Hezurbeltzak
Jeu
Lapsus
L'homme qui attendait
Lost Utopia
Love and War
Mirage
Nettalk
On The Edge
OOIOO UMO
Postman
Raymond
Roots
Rootsnine
Square Roots
The Girl Who Swallowed Bees
The Mouse
The Pearce Sisters
The Tale of How
The Watermelon Chickens
Their Circumstances
Tong
Vita brevis
Wolfie The Pianist
ORIENT EXPRESS
14 Amazons
A Battle of Wits
Black House
Blood Brothers
Dororo
Eye in the Sky
Flash Point
Hong Kong Film Noir
Invisible Target
Tazza: The High Rollers
The City of Violence
The Restless
Triangle
MARATO HORROR
Recon 2022: The Mezzo Incident
The Slit-mouthed woman
MIDNIGHT X-TREME SECTION
Babysitter Wanted
Black Christmas
Black Water
Flight of the Living Dead
Hell's Ground (Zibahkhana)
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door
Mulberry Street
Storm Warning
The Devil Dared Me To
The Rage
The Tripper
The Zombie Diaries
MONDO MACABRO SECTION
A Gun for Jennifer
Devil Fetus (Mo Tai)
Drakula Ystanbul'Da (Dracula in Istanbul)
La Rose Ecorchee (The Blood Rose)
Silip (Daughters of Eve)
AMERICAN GOTHIC (SPECIAL RETROSPECTIVE)
Brotherhood of Satan
Burnt Offerings
Dead of Night (Deathdream)
House of Dark Shadows
Last House on the Left
Messiah of Evil
The Devil's Rain
The Hills Have Eyes
The Other
Willard
EUROPA IMAGINARIA
Il seme dell'uomo Marco
L'Ultimo Uomo Sulla Terra (Last Man on Earth)
Metropolis
No Blade of Grass
Playtime
Things to Come
SEVEN CHANCES
AFR
Boarding Gate
Brand Upon The Brain!
Clean, Shaven
El amarillo
Hotaru
Love Conquers
SESSIO ESPECIAL
Grindhouse
1990 The Bronx Warriors
Animal Angel
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film
Masters of Horror (2): Family
Masters of Horror (2): Right to Die
Masters of Horror (2): The Black Cat
Masters of Horror (2): The Screwfly Solution
Masters of Horror (2): The Washingtonians
The Survivor
Vargtimmen (La hora del lobo)
SESSIO ESPECIAL HOMENATGE
Habit
No Telling, or the Frankenstein Complex
The Last Winter
Wendigo
MAQUINA DEL TEMPS
Bug
George Romero's Diary of the Dead
SESSIO ESPECIAL INFANTIAL
Los Totenwackers
SESSIO ESPECIAL CURT (SHORTS)
La marea
Limoncello
After the Rain
Avant Petalos Grillados
SITGES CLASSICS
The Thing (John Carpenter)
NOVA AUTORIA
Temporada 92-93
You, Fucking Idiot!
Vestido Nuevo
La Pesca Perfecta
Unguents
El Cazador De Estrellas
Cabeza Hueca
BRIGADOON CURTS (SHORTS)
Naturaleza muerta
La Habitacion contigua
John y Terry. La Demostracion
El ataque del Pene Mutante
Deap Drop
El Escondite
Todos
The Demonology of Desire
Paso de peatones
Snuff
Ausencia
Brico Killer
Humanos con Patatas
Pulso
Seguro de vida
El acomodador de Zombies
Cuestion de fe
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JOHNNIE TO! JOHNNIE TO! JOHNNIE TO! <--- Had to get my vocal chords ready.
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TWITCH COVERAGE:
First Sitges '07 Titles Announced