Sitges number one fantasy film festival in the world

SITGES 2005 - (October 9th to 18th, 2005),the International Film Festival of Catalonia is the number one fantasy film festival in the world and represents, at the same time, the cultural expression with the most media impact in Catalonia. With a solid 37 years of experience, the Sitges Festival is a stimulating universe of encounters, exhibitions, presentations and screenings of fantasy films from all over the world.

Born in 1968 as the 1st International Week of Fantasy and Horror Movies, today the Festival is an essential rendezvous for movie lovers and audiences eager to come into contact with new tendencies and technologies applied to film and the audiovisual world.

Sitges’ status as the number one fantasy film festival in the world allows it to receive visits from top-level movie stars, directors and producers like Quentin Tarantino, Anthony Hopkins, Cameron Diaz, Sarah Michelle Gellar, John Landis, Dino de Laurentis, Takashi Miike, Wim Wenders, Tony Curtis, David Cronenberg, Vanessa Redgrave, Brad Dourif, Franco Nero, John McNaughton, Peter Greenaway, John Woo, Paul Naschy, Ray Liotta, Jon Voight, Sam Raimi, Roger Corman, Mira Sorvino, Santiago Segura, Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, Guillermo del Toro, Kim Ki Duk, Álex de la Iglesia and Aitana Sánchez Gijón, among others from the long list of people who, year after year, are a media attraction.

This years's 37th edition pays tribute to Steven Spielberg (commemorating the 30th Anniversary of Jaws and offers tributes to Johnnie TO, Jim Henson Company, Jodie Foster, Álex de la Iglesia, Bill Plympton, Jaws Crew: Joe Alves, Carl Gottlieb and Greg Nicotero...
Sitges 2005 commemorates the 30th anniversary of the world premiere of Jaws, by Steven Spielberg, the movie that not only changed the shapes and concept of fantasy films in the 70’s, but also the entire way of understanding the exploitation of a movie in the commercial movie theater circuit when it became history’s first summer blockbuster.


Tributes Johnnie To - Màquina del Temps
Born in 1955 and seasoned during the seventies at the TVB television station where he was an assistant, producer and executive producer, the career of this eclectic Hong Kong director and producer, who has known how to successfully cross the turbulent waters of local production, includes more than fifty titles to date, from all imaginable genres.


Tributes Jim Henson Company

Jodie Foster - Grand Honorary Award
This year the Festival will be presenting actress Jodie Foster with its Grand Honorary Award.


Honorary La Màquina del Temps (Time Machine) award to Álex de la Iglesia, Bill Plympton, Jaws Crew: Joe Alves, Carl Gottlieb and Greg Nicotero
Màquina del Temps
Three of the men that played an essential role in the creation of the Jaws myth will be in Sitges to accept the honorary La Màquina del Temps (Time Machine) award. Carl Gootlieb (co-writer and actor in the film), Joe Alves (in charge of production design) and special effects wizard Greg Nicotero, will receive this award not only for the film Sitges is honoring this year, but for a whole lifetime devoted to the Seventh Art.

Julio Fernández - Maria Honirífica
Julio Fernández. President of Filmax Group is one of the architects of the audiovisual industry’s new stage in Spain.

Square Enix Co. Ltd. - Honorary Maria Award
With its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, Square Enix develops, publishes and distributes recreational products including interactive entertainment software and publications. .

Square Enix brings together, under one name, “Final Fantasy” and “Dragon Quest”, two of the most successful franchises in Japan with millions of dollars in sales in the rest of the world.

In September 2005, at movie theaters all over Japan, the company premiered Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, the long-awaited digital animation production based on the famous series of console games, also a special guest at the 61st Venice Mostra. Sitges