WomanInFan & FanPitch Selections

As per usual, the good news from the Industry Department comes in threes. And elaborating from this starting point, even more good news appears. To put things in order, let's break it down by parts:

 

First of all, we can finally announce that WomanInFan has reached a decision regarding its two calls for entries. This year, the GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FAN. II WOMANINFAN-SITGES FANLAB TEASER-SHORT FILM COMPETITION will be impregnated by airs arriving straight from Belize, a territory not frequently visited by cinema, and which is the birthplace of the family of Samantha Aldana, director and co-writer of 'Little Lying Wild', a blend of fantasy, horror and magical realism enveloped in an engrossing mystery involving a terrible murder; a story of female empowerment strongly rooted in Mayan folklore.

 

 

With this competition, this Sitges Film Festival’s initiative for the visibility and incorporation of female creators in fantastic genre filmmaking  invites participants to create a piece destined to be shown around the audiovisual market circuit. As a result WomanInFan consolidates its field of action to include film production in order to support the work done by female filmmakers within the fantastic genre industry. 

 

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FAN. II WOMANINFAN-SITGES FANLAB TEASER-SHORT COMPETITION Award

 

• 1 Industry Pass. 
• A 10,000 euro budget (VAT included), which will be allocated entirely to producing the winning teaser short film. 
• Support from the Sitges - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia during the project's production stages. 
• Presentation of the project as part of the corresponding edition of the Sitges - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia in the Industry section and/or at those venues that the Festival considers most convenient.

 

On the other hand, the SITGES FANLAB-WOMANINFAN FANTASTIC RESIDENCY announces the names of the three winners of its first call for entries: Anna Kasińska, Elisa Puerto Aubel and Gigi Romero. The first of them, Polish director and screenwriter, will be arriving with 'Hiss' under her arm, a mysterious fusion of human and animal nature in the form of body-horror. Elisa Puerto Aubel, a Belgian-born filmmaker of French-Spanish heritage, will be presenting 'The Mound', the chilling homecoming of a man forced to face the harshest circumstances (climatological, emotional... supernatural); an invitation to lock ourselves up inside a haunted house and discover the monsters that also inhabit our interior. Gigi Romero, Spanish-Venezuelan director and screenwriter specializing in psychological horror, will present 'La cura' ('The Cure'), about a desperate struggle against a disease: a spiritually based healing process, but with ramifications that will expose the dynamics of dependency in the most toxic relationships.

 

 

With this competition, this Sitges Film Festival’s initiative for the visibility and incorporation of female creators in fantastic genre filmmaking  invites participants to create a piece destined to be shown around the audiovisual market circuit. As a result WomanInFan consolidates its field of action to include film production in order to support the work done by female filmmakers within the fantastic genre industry. 

 

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FAN. II WOMANINFAN-SITGES FANLAB TEASER-SHORT COMPETITION Award

• 1 Industry Pass.
• A 10,000 euro budget (VAT included), which will be allocated entirely to producing the winning teaser short film. 
• Support from the Sitges - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia during the project's production stages. 
• Presentation of the project as part of the corresponding edition of the Sitges - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia in the Industry section and/or at those venues that the Festival considers most convenient.

 

On the other hand, the SITGES FANLAB-WOMANINFAN FANTASTIC RESIDENCY [DJC1] announces the names of the three winners of its first call for entries: Anna Kasińska, Elisa Puerto Aubel and Gigi Romero. The first of them, Polish director and screenwriter, will be arriving with 'Hiss' under her arm, a mysterious fusion of human and animal nature in the form of body-horror. Elisa Puerto Aubel, a Belgian-born filmmaker of French-Spanish heritage, will be presenting 'The Mound', the chilling homecoming of a man forced to face the harshest circumstances (climatological, emotional... supernatural); an invitation to lock ourselves up inside a haunted house and discover the monsters that also inhabit our interior. Gigi Romero, Spanish-Venezuelan director and screenwriter specializing in psychological horror, will present 'La cura' ('The Cure'), about a desperate struggle against a disease: a spiritually based healing process, but with ramifications that will expose the dynamics of dependency in the most toxic relationships.

 

Finally, WomanInFan also announces the finalists of their respective contests. Elizabeth Schuch, Nerea Úbeda Segura, Norma Vila, Natacha Thomas, Nikki Bohm, Rioghnach Ní Ghrioghair, Coral Amiga, Nichole Hartley, Lucía Forner and Haizea Giménez Viana, who will each receive an Industry accreditation for the 56th edition of the Festival.

 

 

Finally, SITGES FANPITCH 2023 is also announcing its particular starting grid, which includes 13 feature films and 3 series.

 

As for the feature film format, we will find Kevin Kopacka's 'All the World Drops Dead', a terrifying road movie with a female touch; 'Daddy's Little Girl' by Coral Amiga and Nicole Hartley, the story of an infernal crisis between a couple in the middle of an idyllic getaway; Guillermo Carbonell's 'El destello', a story of supernatural encounters in the antechamber of death; Jordi López Navarro's 'El día después', dealing with a disconcerting return after a supposed abduction; 'Horrordomo' by Jordi Jimeno and Ignacio Malagón, a chilling pact with the Devil that will bring us face to face with our worst fears; Sean Wainstein's 'Idaho Winter', an adaptation of Tony Burgess' hilarious novel of the same name; Lucía Nieto Salazar's 'El visitante', a horror story about the death of loved ones, and the menacing desolation that remains in its wake; Caye Casas' 'Malamuerte', a reflection on human miseries in the form of a black comedy with surrealistic touches; Gabriela Serrano's 'Please Bear With Me', which will take us to a futuristic Philippines where people have lost the ability to dream; Jorge Leyva's 'Ruta al Sol', an intense drama featuring religious sects and deep crises of faith as its main ingredients; 'Shadow Work' by Areito Echevarria and Raqi Syed, a psychological thriller fueled by the distressing threat of doppelgängers; Rioghnach Ní Grioghair's 'The Hive', a journey through the moral turpitude of a streamer broadcast live; and Quarxx's 'This Thing Inside Me', a romantic drama struggling to break out of the overprotective captivity of maternal bonds.

 

The Honorable Mentions went to Safet Ayhan's 'Aytasi', a surreal story suspended in Purgatory; 'Dead Enders by ‘Fidel Ruiz-Healy and Tyler Walker, dealing with the difficulties of growing up and cultivating the artistic spirit; Paul Ertl's 'Durst', a vampire road movie; Desiré Sobrino Gutiérrez's 'Eucharistia', with the explosive catalyst of neighborhood tensions in a small town in Extremadura; and Edgar Burgos' 'L. A. Calor', a stifling and hallucinogenic urban-night odyssey.

 

In the series category, the three projects selected were Jon-Carlos Evans' 'The Lost Gods of Memphis', a mythological neo-noir set in the lands bathed by the Mississippi River; Martin Echevarria's 'Martes de misterio', based on the popular podcast compilation of real paranormal events told by their own protagonists; and Tamara Scherbak's 'White Noise', a body-horror anthology.

 

 

The Special Mentions went to 'Huellas', by Silvia Espín and Ainhoa Bolaños, a ghost story with a youthful spirit; J.P. Bouix's 'Malebeste', a modern fantasy based on different points of view; and Tomás Lazarowski's 'Miasma', the shocking investigation of an unspeakable crime.

 

SITGES FANPITCH is the international pitch competition event focused on feature films and series productions in development with horror, science fiction and/or fantastic themes.

 

This initiative continues with its goal of discovering the best genre projects and hooking them up with leading companies in the industry. The event will take place in hybrid format on October 8th and 9th, 2023, as part of the Sitges Film Festival.