08/10/2020 - The event's line-up features seven European series currently in development and seven full-length films from anywhere in the world falling within the horror, thriller or science-fiction genres

Director Ivan Sainz-Pardo, whose project Blue as Your Blood is in this year’s line-up

The 53rd International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia kicks off this Thursday, 8 October, with an industry event presented in partnership with the platform Filmarket Hub: Sitges Pitchbox 2020. For the very first time, this will be an online-only event due to pandemic restrictions. On 8 and 9 October, attendees will have the chance to discover a selection of new European series, all still in development, while 15 and 16 October are devoted to international feature films at the pre-production stage. The teams behind all selected projects will be invited to present a seven-minute pitch, before taking part in a series of one-to-one meetings with participating companies, including Atresmedia Studios, Film Factory, Filmax, Gaumont, Globalgate Entertainment, Leonine, Lionsgate, Nadcon Film, Showrunner Films, Wild Bunch and XYZ, among others.

The jury for the film section will be made up of Javier Fernández (Blood Window), Mònica Garcia (General Director of Fundació Sitges Festival Internacional de Cinema de Catalunya) and Jongsuk Thomas Nam (NAFF Managing Director of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, or BiFan). Over in the European series section, the winner will be chosen by Carolina Bang (producer, co-founder of Pokeepsie Films and actress), Susana Herreras (Content Director – Original Production at Movistar Plus+), and Katrin Pors (Snowglobe Film). The award for best motion picture comes with a cash prize of €5,000, with two finalists each taking home €1,000. The most outstanding TV series will be rewarded with €2,500.

This year’s line-up:

International Feature Films

Beyond the Veil – Michael Mortimer (United Kingdom)
Written by: Michael Mortimer

Blue as Your Blood – Ivan Sainz-Pardo (Germany)
Written by: Ivan Sainz-Pardo and Juanjo Moscardo Rius
Produced by: Till Schmerbeck (Schmerbeck Entertainment)

Cuando acecha la maldad – Demian Rugna (Argentina)
Written by: Demian Rugna
Produced by: Fernando Díaz (Machaco Films)

El arcoíris negro – Juan Diego Escobar Alzate (Colombia/Argentina)
Written by: Juan Diego Escobar Alzate
Produced by: Javier Diaz (Coruya Cine)

Frontera – Sergio Rozas (Spain)
Written by: Sergio Rozas, Igor Legarreta and Francisco Javier S. Donate

La novia de la muerte – Antonio Morales (Spain)
Written by: Antonio Morales
Produced by: Antonio Morales

Preciosísima sangre – Andrés Kaiser (Mexico)
Written by: Andrés Kaiser and Francisco González
Produced by: Nicole Maynard Pinto (Cine Feral)

European Series

La grieta – Maria Calafat (Spain)

Lemoniz – Pablo de la Chica and Elisa Puerto Aubel (Spain)
Produced by: David Torres (Salon Indien Films)

R.I.P. – Caye Casas (Spain)
Written by: Caye Casas
Produced by: Norbert Llaràs (Alhena Production)

Be Happy, or Else! – Eric Romero (Estonia)
Written by: Chinh Van Tran
Produced by: Mauricio Tunaroza Romero

Daedalus – Bárbara Almeida Ladeia and Adedunmola Olanrewaju (Germany)
Written by: Anakaren Gomez and Bárbara Almeida Ladeia
Produced by: Leopold W. Hofmann (Ampics Media)

Mr. Ray – Antoine Bours, Christophe Mavroudis, Christophe Joaquin and Pierre Puget (Belgium)
Written by: Antoine Bours, Christophe Mavroudis, Christophe Joaquin and Pierre Puget

Dubois – César González Álvarez (Italy)
Written by: César González Álvarez and Mario Felipe de la Maza
Produced by: Adele Dell'erario (Occhi di Giove) and Salvatore Lizzio (Revok Films)

(Translated from Spanish)