Mike Flanagan opens SITGES FANPITCH

07 Oct 2024

Reading 2 min.

Mike Flanagan was the godfather of this year's Sitges FanPitch. During his opening speech he shared stories with the audience about his experience and encouraged attendees to see rejection as a sort of opportunity. The most difficult pitches of his career have been, in his own words, the ones for Oculus, Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Hill House.

Paul Urkijo was in charge of starting the pitches by introducing his upcoming film, Gaua, produced by Iruson, Ikusgarri Films and Gaua A.I.E., where he once again investigates the past, this time with a story of witches and spirits with filming scheduled to start in January 2025.

A total of five series participated in the session: Antarctica (Javier Tostado), stop-motion animation addressing the consequences of climate change produced by Inspira Animation; Be Happy or Else (Chinh Tran and Eric Romero), a dystopia that blends drama and comedy; Dark Waters (Victor Garcia), a mythology-based story produced by Lastor Media, New Media Arc and Federation Spain; Heretics (Steen Agro), about the connection between the present and the Middle Ages in England; and The Haunting of Trisha Lozada (Robyn Matuto), a traumedy produced by Malachi Ellis and Dylan Pun.

In terms of feature films, a total of sixteen projects were submitted: Carrion (Renata Abeto), an animated movie that tells a story of revenge produced by André Pereira; Delia's Ghost (Elizabeth Crummett), about the friendship between a ghost and an autistic girl; Dog Legs (Matías Rojas), a story about difference produced by Tomás Gerlach and Federico Durán; Funerales Fantásticos (Francisco de la Reguera), a fable that combines comedy, drama and fantastic genres produced by Paola M. Salguera and Edgar León; Flapjax (Rocko Zevenbergen), an ambitious project about aliens produced by Aerin Chaklai and the director himself; Flo (Eric Tessier), about a girl incapable of feeling remorse produced by EMAfilms Inc; Planet (Fredrik S. Hana), based on a short film that was screened at numerous festivals, produced by Chezville; Salvaje (Koldo Serra), a feminist western produced by Bisonte Films; Spittle (Martín Desalvo), about the threat of a new virus, produced by Daniel Pensa; The Vampire of Sheung Shui (Shreyom Ghosh), about a boy who turns into a vampire, produced by Tasia Films; The Weak (Laura Muñoz), about a boy who disappears, produced by 24 Violets Producciones; The Woman Who Dreamt Underwater (Ale García and Carla Sierra), about a woman with Capgras Syndrome, produced by Antonio Urdapilleta; Triangle (Joseph Diaz), a story about loss produced by Outpost 31; New Deadly Sins (Gigi Romero, Anna Kasinska and Elisa Puerto), an anthology of three horror stories; Cordero de mí (Marina Badía), which won the Woman in Fan Sitges FanLab; Otro jardín (Mariana Gil Ríos), a story about childhood produced by Daniela Echeverri.