The Nicolas Cage myth gets real in Sitges

The premieres of ‘Mandy’, ‘Asher’ and ’Summer of 84’ are the features of the movie section of a frenetic day

He’s legendary and today he proved it in Sitges. All eyes turned to Nicolas Cage on the Festival’s frenetic third day, also dominated by the premieres of Mandy, Asher and Summer of 84; the multitudinous Sitges Zombie Walk; YouTuber Rubius; the presentation of the Nova Autoria Awards, and the hurricane called Pam Grier, who gave a master class about the art of making movies.

It was all written already. The fans knew the time, the press did too. The moment that Nicolas Cage arrived in Sitges marked a new milestone in the Festival’s history. Funny, charming, a star, Cage showed all sorts of deferencewith his fans: he signed autographs, allowed himself to be photographed and showed his true authenticity. “I know I’m at one of the big Festivals; it’s an honor to be here with you”, declared the American actor who won over audiences with his Sailor character in Wild at Heart, David Lynch’s cult film.

Nicolas Cage received the Grand Honorary Award from Festival Director Ángel Sala, right before the screening of Mandy, the film that presented today by its director, Panos Cosmatos. Mandy is a powerful action and vengeance movie with dazzling aesthetics. The actor spoke about the examples he used to give life to Red Miller, the lead character of Cosmatos’ film: “I discovered German expressionism thanks to my father, and I can say that it’s a part of me. It’s in films like Mandy when I can release the influence that images from Metropolis, Nosferatu or The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari had in me. The film is on its way to becoming one of this year’s big genre films.

Sitges experienced unlimited emotions on a day that had no apparent end. The morning kicked off with the opening of the Movistar + Marquee, dedicated to this TV channel’s new production, VR Virtual Hero. The event was spiced up with the presence of dozens of teens who cheered the entrance of the director of this new animated production, Alexis Barroso and, especially, one of the most influential Spanish YouTubers today, Rubius.

Meanwhile, Canadian directors Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell, who conquered Sitges’ audience in 2015 with their entertaining Turbo Kid, returned this year with Summer of ’84, a retro style teen flick about the persecution of a serial killer by a group of friends. Also seen in the Official Selection was the Argentinean film Aterrados by Demian Rugna, undoubtedly one of the big horror movies of the year. And presented in the Órbita Section was the action thriller starring Ron Perlman and Marta Milans, Asher.

It was precisely Ron Perlman who was featured in today’s last media focus, the Sitges Zombie Walk, when he kicked it off in front of the emblematic Sant Sebastià chapel.

New talent also had its space and recognition today with the presentation of the 2018SGAE-Nova Autoría Awards, rewarding the talent of emerging auteurs from Catalan film schools, as a part of the Festival’s Noves Visions section. Gemma Blasco’s short film Jauría, presented by the Bande à Part Film School, won the SGAE Nueva Autoría Award fora best direction-production; the Award for Best Screenplay went to Ciutat i selva, by Aleix Abulí, from Pompeu Fabra University; and Dot, directed by Natasha Arizu, from the Escola de Cinema de Barcelona (ECIB), picked up the SGAE Nueva Autoría Award for best original music.

There are still eight more days to go. At this rate, it’s going to be hard to endure the space odyssey that Sitges is experiencing day after day aboard the Discovery I.