21/10/2025 - Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice and Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s A Useful Ghost were among the other big European winners at the fantastic film festival

Having unspooled from 9-19 October, the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival concluded its 58th edition by handing out its multitude of prizes at an awards ceremony on Sunday, with Emilie Blichfeldt’s The Ugly Stepsister [+see also:
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film profile] taking home the main trophy – Best Feature Film in the Official Fantastic Competition – complete with a €20,000 award. The black comedy-cum-body horror, crafted as an immensely dark and gruesome riff on the Cinderella fairy tale, premiered at Sundance in January of this year, in the festival’s Midnight section, and also played in the Berlinale Panorama strand.

The Official Fantastic Competition was judged by US director of American Psycho Mary Harron, Hong Kong-born filmmaker Peter Chan, Argentinian filmmaker Hernán Findling, Canadian director Jovanka Vuckovic and Spanish visual effects supervisor Laura Pedro. Two films secured the Official Fantastic Competition’s Special Jury Award, ex-aequo: Kenji Tanigaki’s martial-arts thriller The Furious and Curry Barker’s horror flick Obsession.

Park Chan-wook’s newest effort and capitalist critique No Other Choice [+see also:
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A Useful Ghost also won the Citizen Kane Award for Best New Director, presented by the Critics’ Jury. Meanwhile, Reflection in a Dead Diamond [+see also:
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interview: Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani
film profile] – a stylised spy flick that premiered in the Berlinale Competition earlier this year, helmed by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani – received the José Luis Guarner Critics’ Award for Best Film in the Official Fantastic Competition, ex-aequo with Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck. Gabriele Mainetti’s kung fu-action fusion film Forbidden City [+see also:
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The Méliès d’Argent, presented by the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF) to the best European fantastic films of the year at different member festivals, went to Feels Like Home by Gábor Holtai for Best Feature and The Quinta’s Ghost by James A Castillo for Best Short. Out of all of the Méliès d’Argent entries from participating festivals, Mr. K [+see also:
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interview: Tallulah H Schwab, Crispin …
film profile] and Don’t Be Afraid were selected as the Best Feature and Best Short winners, respectively, for the cumulative Méliès d’Or (see the news), with the awards presented earlier at Sitges.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Official Fantastic Competition

Best Feature Film
The Ugly Stepsister [+see also:
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Special Jury Award (ex-aequo)
The Furious – Kenji Tanigaki (Hong Kong/China)
Obsession – Curry Barker (USA)

Best Direction
Park Chan-wook – No Other Choice [+see also:
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Best Actress
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (USA)

Best Actor
The entire cast of The Plague (USA/Romania)

Best Screenplay
Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke – A Useful Ghost [+see also:
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Best Cinematography
Diego Tenorio – The Virgin of the Quarry Lake [+see also:
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interview: Laura Casabé
film profile] (Argentina/Mexico/Spain)

Best Music
Yasutaka Nakata, Shouhei Amimori – Exit 8 (Japan)

Best Special, Visual or Make-up Effects
Tenille Shockey, François Degnais – Honey Bunch (Canada)

Noves Visions

Best Feature Film (ex-aequo)
Lesbian Space Princess – Emma Hough Hobbs, Leela Varghese (Australia)
The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick – Pete Ohs (USA)

Best Direction (ex-aequo)
Adam C Briggs, Sam Dixon – A Grand Mockery (Australia)
Toshiaki Toyoda – Transcending Dimensions (Japan)

Best Short Film
Monstruo Obscura – Hong Seung-gi (South Korea)

SGAE Nova Autoria awards

Best Direction-Production
Fran Moreno, Santigo Pujol – Furia (Spain, short film)

Best Screenplay
Fran Moreno, Santigo Pujol – Furia

Best Original Music
Sergio Rojas – Matcha (Spain, short film)

Anima’t

Best Animated Feature Film
Lesbian Space Princess – Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese

Best Animated Short Film
Luz diabla – Gerva Canda, Paula Boffo and Patricio Plaza (Argentina/Canada)

Òrbita

Best Feature Film
Forbidden City [+see also:
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Brigadoon

Brigadoon Paul Naschy Award for Best Short Film
Floor – Jo Bareun (Korea)

Other awards

Méliès d’Or Awards

Best Fantastic Genre Feature
Mr. K [+see also:
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interview: Tallulah H Schwab, Crispin …
film profile] – Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab (Netherlands/Belgium/Norway)

Best Fantastic Genre Short
Don't Be Afraid – Mats Udd (Sweden)

Méliès d’Argent Awards

Best Fantastic Genre Feature
Feels Like Home – Gábor Holtai (Hungary)

Best Fantastic Genre Short
The Quinta’s Ghost – James A Castillo (Spain)

Blood Window Award for Best Ibero-American Production

Best Ibero-American Feature Film
No dejes a los niños solos – Emilio Portes (Mexico)

Critics’ Jury Awards

José Luis Guarner Critics’ Award for Best Film in the Official Fantastic Competition (ex-aequo)
The Life of Chuck – Mike Flanagan (USA)
Reflection in a Dead Diamond [+see also:
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interview: Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani
film profile] – Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani (Belgium/Luxembourg/France/Italy)

Citizen Kane Award for Best New Director
Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke – A Useful Ghost

Best Short Film in the Official Fantastic Competition
The Man That I Wave At – Ben S Hyland (UK)

Carnet Jove (European Youth Card) jury

Best Feature Film in the Official Fantastic Competition
Obsession – Curry Barker

Best Sitges Documenta Film
Endless Cookie – Peter Scriver, Seth Scriver (Canada, short film)

People’s Choice Awards

Best Feature Film in the Official Fantastic Competition
Obsession – Curry Barker

Best Feature Film in the Panorama Section
Bagworm – Henry Bernsen (USA)

Best Feature Film in the Midnight X-Treme Section
Flush – Grégory Morin (France/UK)

Best Feature Film in the Sitges Collection Section
Arco [+see also:
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Best Feature Film in Focus Asia
Hi Five – Kang Hyeong-cheol (South Korea)