For the eighth consecutive year, the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia has hosted the ceremony for the Méliès d’Or Awards, presented annually by the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF) to celebrate the best European fantastic features and short films of the year.

This year’s jury, composed of Daniela Urzola, Josep Maria Bunyol and Antonio Weinrichter, awarded the Méliès d’Or for Best European Fantastic Feature Film to Mr. K [+lee también:
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entrevista: Tallulah H. Schwab y Crisp…
ficha de la película], a Kafkaesque and darkly humorous reflection on the absurdity of life, directed by Norwegian filmmaker Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab. The film stars the ever-enigmatic Crispin Glover as the titular travelling magician, who becomes trapped in a surreal labyrinthine hotel, where his attempts to escape only draw him deeper into a web of strange encounters and existential dread.

The Award for Best European Fantastic Short Film went to Don’t Be Afraid, directed by Mats Udd. The tale follows a photographer haunted by grief who attempts to restart his life and career by taking new photos at the same location where his son disappeared years ago. With its atmospheric visuals and emotional depth, the short stood out as an intimate and original ghost story.

During the ceremony, the festival also paid tribute to acclaimed French actor Dominique Pinon, who received the Méliès Career Award. His career includes collaborations with directors such as Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], Delicatessen), Claude Lelouch (Roman de gare [+lee también:
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ficha de la película]), Roman Polanski (Frantic), Álex de la Iglesia (The Oxford Murders [+lee también:
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entrevista: Álex de la Iglesia
entrevista: Gerardo Herrero y Mariela …
ficha de la película]) and Javier Fesser (Mortadelo and Filemón: The Big Adventure). Holding his Méliès Award, Pinon fondly recalled moments from his youth spent along the Catalonian coast, and reflected on how Georges Méliès’ pioneering imagination continues to inspire generations of artists.

The Méliès d’Or Awards are the culmination of a year-long cycle of competitions across the federation’s network of 29 member festivals in 21 countries. Each of these gatherings presents a Méliès d’Argent to outstanding European fantastic films, which then compete for the ultimate accolade at Sitges. The federation, reaching an annual audience of more than 900,000, plays an important role in promoting European genre cinema internationally, enhancing its visibility, cultural influence and distribution potential.

The Méliès d’Or 2025 feature-film nominees included Animale [+lee también:
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entrevista: Emma Benestan
ficha de la película], winner at the Sitges Film Festival; After Us, the Flood [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], which triumphed at the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival; Mr. K, honoured at the Imagine Film Festival; The Home [+lee también:
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entrevista: Mattias J. Skoglund
ficha de la película], winner at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF); The Ugly Stepsister [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], which took home the award at the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF); The Holy Boy, recognised at the Festival Européen du Film Fantastique de Strasbourg; and Her Will Be Done [+lee también:
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entrevista: Julia Kowalski
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