Sitges 2009

So I got the scoop on Sitges from my good friend Violeta. She said the festival this year was great although she missed me, and to tell you the truth I also missed going to the festival with her.

The highlights according to her were La Horde, Carriers (already released in the US), Zombieland (excellent zom-com of which you can read some of my thoughts here), Accidents Happen, and her favorite this year, Palermo Shooting.

Of those, I must admit I urged Violeta to see both La Horde, Zombieland and Park Chan Wook’s latest, Bakjwi aka Thirst (which she couldn’t see because it premiered the previous weekend). She, on the other hand, was fixed on the idea of watching Palermo Shooting, which for some reason I wasn’t feeling it, because even though I recognize some good work from Wim Wenders I also believe he is a very pretentious Director (yet not as pretentious as Peter Greenaway) and doesn’t always deliver. In any event, Palermo Shooting with its punctual metaphysical study of death was the best of the bunch according to my friend. The way she speaks of it spiked my interest and I will most likely check it out.

 La horde, which is the French foray into Zombie apocalypse, is one of the films I am most excited about. The French have shown that they know horror, and it was just a matter of time before they stepped into Zombie terrain. From what I was told it seems like sort of Assault on Precinct 13 (John Carpenter) meets Dawn of the Dead (Zack Snyder) with a French flavor. Exciting right?

Carriers (Infectados), already released in the US, was also a great success. The Writers and Directors, Àlex Pastor and David Pastor, who happen to be two Spanish brothers, attended the presentation of their movie. A movie that is the materialization of their lifelong dream; is a story about survivors of pandemic contagion. The movie is rooted in well-drawn characters and a carefully imagined world that seems just around the corner, and for that is much scarier. The Pastor brothers also benefited from the financial backing of a US production company, they are certainly a promising duo.

Regarding Paranormal Activity (which I’m yet to see) was not really my friend’s cup of tea but she did recognize that it made her uncomfortable at some moments. Geena Davis was really good as usual in Accidents Happen. Van Diemen's Land, a movie centered on cannibalism was flat and gory. And ahh, as I told you before, this movie has its own on-going legend. Apparently it was too hard on a young woman who happened to pass out during one of the movie’s particularly realistic scene (which I won’t spoil!).

The festival itself had a great affluence of fans and was perfectly managed by an experienced committee and crew; after all it is the 42th edition. They also did something pretty cool, as they decided to offer zombie make-up to the fans. Imagine walking around the beach with zombies trying to eat your brains as if it was a Romero film! It is a pity I was not there to get me some of that make up! But this is what I would like as a Zombie, and you can also take a look at my friend with some Italian Zombies. Brilliant!

Sitges Film Festival

Sitges is a small Spanish town located 30 minutes south of Barcelona. Every year, Sitges hosts one of my favorite film festivals; a fantastic film festival that is truly fantastic. Nowadays film festivals are a booming business (even during the economic crisis), but Sitges has been around for over 40 years, and that gives the festival credibility. It is no secret that I fancy the horror/sci fi genre, but that is not the only reason why I love Sitges. It is has to do more with the audience; they (we) are real movie fans. It is true that the horror/sci fi genere does have the proclivity of attracting hardcore fans, but I’ve never seen this type of fandom anywhere else. I’ve only been to a few other festivals but if I had to pick one festival to go for the rest of my life, Sitges would be it.

The weather in Sitges is perfect for watching movies (is there bad weather for watching movies?) and the town is small with all the venues within walking distance. If you go to Sitges you go to watch movies, but if that’s not your cup of tea you can walk around the small picturesque streets. Sometimes when you can’t get the movies you want, you might need to do just that. You can also walk down to the beach, if that’s more like you.

The audience is utterly enthusiastic about every movie, even the bad ones. That doesn’t mean that the audience is dumb, it just means that they want to have fun and experience films. I remember a particular screening of Takashi Shimizu’s Ghost vs. Alien 03 (2007), which isn’t a particular good movie, and maybe not even a movie but rather a collection of straight to video shorts, yet the audience clapped and cheered after the screening. Only in Sitges; had it been Cannes everyone would’ve walked out.

Sitges also has its fair share of celebrities and as opposed to other festivals, in Sitges they are accessible to everyone. I had the opportunity of meeting Oldboy’s wunderkind director Park Chan Wook at a Q&A session in Sitges, in Cannes I had to see him from the barricades. Yes, other festivals do offer access to the filmmakers and actors, but are other festivals 42 year old?

Other than Cannes and Sundance, I’m not aware of any other festival being immortalized in film in the way Sitges was. John Carpenter’s Cigarette Burns has the ill fated “Le Fin Absolue du Monde” premiere at Sitges; offering a perfect homage, a sort of love letter to the festival. Every year you hear stories of people fainting during the screening of a movie and although I have never seen it, it adds to the mystic and legend of Sitges.

I would watch 5 movies per day for three or four days, and by the end we would always wish we had more time and more movies. This year I won’t be attending, but Violeta will, and although it will be her first time alone at the festival she promised to keep me posted. Will this be another great year for Sitges? I am sure it will be. I will tell you more later.