The 56th edition of the Sitges Film Festival kicks off on Thursday 5 October and will continue unspooling until Sunday the 15th, offering a plethora of movies in the fantastical and horror genres. Kicking things off, Valencian helmer Paco Plaza will fire the starting pistol with Sister Death, which could be considered the prequel to his smash hit Verónica [+lire aussi :
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interview : Paco Plaza
fiche film], while the much-loved Nicolas Cage will bring things to a close with the US production Dream Scenario, with a screenplay and direction duties entrusted to Norway’s Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself [+lire aussi :
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interview : Kristine Kujath Thorp
interview : Kristoffer Borgli
fiche film]).

Other Spaniards set to pass through the Catalonian city are Bilbao’s Pablo Berger, who will present the Spanish-French co-production Robot Dreams [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], an animation that screened at Cannes and Annecy, where it picked up the Award for Best Film in the Contrechamp section; Carlota Pereda (the woman behind Piggy [+lire aussi :
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interview : Carlota Pereda
fiche film]), who has directed The Chapel [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], a supernatural drama starring Belén Rueda; F Javier Gutiérrez (Before the Fall), who will be present to introduce the dusty, twisted plot of The Wait [+lire aussi :
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interview : F. Javier Gutiérrez
fiche film]; Juan Antonio Bayona, who continues to promote Society of the Snow [+lire aussi :
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interview : J.A. Bayona
fiche film], the Spanish candidate for the upcoming Oscars; Daniel Benmayor (Bruc: El desafío [+lire aussi :
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fiche film]), who will present Awareness, a science-fiction flick co-produced by the USA; and Aritz Moreno (Advantages of Travelling by Train [+lire aussi :
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fiche film]), who is returning to the festival for the world premiere of Moscas [+lire aussi :
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interview : Aritz Moreno
fiche film] (Spain/Argentina), an intense thriller starring Ernesto Alterio.

Sitges will also serve as the perfect opportunity to take stock of the rude health of French fantastical film, with titles such as Acide [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Just Philippot, in which Mother Nature exacts her revenge; The Animal Kingdom [+lire aussi :
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interview : Thomas Cailley
fiche film] by Thomas Cailley, starring Romain Duris and Adèle Exarchopoulos, which unfolds in an equally disconcerting setting; She Is Conann [+lire aussi :
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interview : Bertrand Mandico
fiche film] by Bertrand Mandico, a very loose adaptation of the well-known character; Vermin [+lire aussi :
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interview : Sébastien Vaniček
fiche film], in which Sébastien Vaniček will most likely trigger collective arachnophobia; and Vincent Must Die [+lire aussi :
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interview : Stéphan Castang
fiche film], an agonising drama directed with aplomb by Stéphan Castang.

France is also presenting other films in the official section (both in and out of competition): Bitten [+lire aussi :
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interview : Romain de Saint-Blanquat
fiche film] by Romain de Saint-Blanquat, a supernatural drama about a girl who is convinced that today is the last day of her life; Salem [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Jean-Bernard Marlin, a thriller set in the slums of Marseille, which uses fantasy as a vehicle for social criticism; and Wake Up by Quebecois trio RKSS (François Simard, Annouk Whissel and Yoann-Karl Whissel), a teen horror interspersed with twisted humour.

The extensive official section is also made up of the Malaysian movie Tiger Stripes [+lire aussi :
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interview : Amanda Nell Eu
fiche film] by Amanda Nell Eu, winner of the Critics’ Week Grand Prize at the most recent Cannes Film Festival; Omen [+lire aussi :
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interview : Baloji
fiche film], another award winner from this year’s Cannes (having snagged the New Voice Prize in Un Certain Regard), in which Belgian artist Baloji travels back to his roots in the Congo; Club Zero [+lire aussi :
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interview : Jessica Hausner
fiche film], the new work by Austria’s Jessica Hausner, one of the most well-established talents in European cinema; The Universal Theory [+lire aussi :
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interview : Timm Kröger
fiche film] by Germany’s Timm Kröger, a slick black-and-white thriller with Hitchcockian flourishes; There's Something in the Barn, in which Norway’s Magnus Martens takes a US family to a remote hut in the mountains; White Plastic Sky [+lire aussi :
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interview : Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Sz…
fiche film], the animated flick by Hungary’s Tibor Bánóczki and Sarolta Szabó, set in a post-apocalyptic Budapest; and Sorcery [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Chile’s Christopher Murray, a story of witchcraft and revenge that whisks us away to the island of Chiloé. Lastly, serving as the centrepiece is Poor Things [+lire aussi :
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interview : Suzy Bemba
Q&A : Yorgos Lanthimos
fiche film], the film of the year, courtesy of Greece’s Yorgos Lanthimos, which won the top prize at the most recent Venice Film Festival. Sitges will host the movie’s Spanish premiere.