56th Sitges Film Festival

The 56th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia took place from 5 October to 15, 2023, in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain. The supernatural horror film Sister Death, directed by Paco Plaza, opened the festival. Argentine horror film When Evil Lurks by Demián Rugna won the Best Feature Film Award.

Background
The official artwork for the festival was unveiled on 24 May 2023. Photographed by Nacho Alegre, it was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film The Birds, conmemorating the 60th anniversary of the film. On 12 September, the festival announced both the recipients for the special awards and the complete lineup. German-American producer Jan Harlan and American director and visual effects supervisor Phil Tippett wil received the Honorary Grand Prize while Spanish director J. A. Bayona, Japanese director Hideo Nakata and American director Lee Unkrich, all will be honored with the Time Machine Award (Premi Màquina del Temps).

Juries
The juries consists of the following members:

Main competition

 * Jérôme Paillard, French producer
 * Ana Torrent, Spanish actress
 * David C. Fein, American producer
 * Kim Newman, British critic and writer
 * Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Australian critic and researcher

Noves Visions / Anima't

 * Katharina Kubrick, American art director
 * Sergi Caballero, Spanish filmmaker
 * Fred Tsui, Chinese consultant

Blood Window / Òrbita

 * Max Karli, French film producer
 * Agnela Domínguez, Spanish cultural manager
 * Júlia Olmo, Spanish journalist and critic

Méliès d'Argent

 * Matthew Turner, British journalist and film critic
 * Alexandra West, Canadian film critic
 * Maura McHugh, Irish writer

Brigadoon

 * Raúl Cerezo, Spanish director
 * Daniel Rodríguez Sánchez, Spanish writer and critic
 * Aida Solé, Spanish blogger

Crítica / Méliès d'Or

 * Ylenia Cañadas, Spanish film critic
 * Francesc Miró, Spanish film critic
 * Antoni Peris, Spanish film critic

SGAE Nova Autoria

 * Jaume Balagueró, Spanish director and screenwriter
 * Marta Grau, Spanish screenwriter, writer and script editor
 * Alfonso De Vilallonga, Spanish film composer, vocalist and singer-songwriter

Sections
The films selected for each section are as follows:

In competition

 * Highlighted title indicates Best Feature Film winner.

Órbita

 * Highlighted title indicates Òrbita winner.

Anima't

 * Highlighted title indicates Best Animated Feature Film winner.

Noves Visions

 * Highlighted title indicates Noves Visions winner.

Awards
The following awards were presented at the 56th Edition:

Official competition

 * Best Feature Film: When Evil Lurks by Damián Rugna
 * Special Jury Award: Stopmotion by Robert Morgan & Infested by Sébastien Vaniček
 * Best Direction: Baloji Tshiani for Omen
 * Best Actress: Kate Lyn Sheil for The Seeding
 * Special Mention for Best Actress: Zafreen Zairizal for Tiger Stripes
 * Best Actor: Karim Leklou for Vincent Must Die
 * Best Screenplay: Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes for Late Night with the Devil
 * Best Special, Visual or Makeup Effects: Frédéric Lainé, Jean-Christophe Spadaccini, Pascal Molina, Cyrille Bonjean-Jean, Bruno Sommier and Jean-Louis Autret for The Animal Kingdom
 * Best Music: Markus Binder for Club Zero
 * Best Cinematography: Martin Roux for Bitten
 * Special Mentions: Moscas by Aritz Moreno & Riddle of Fire by Weston Razooli

Noves Visions

 * Best Film: Moon Garden by Ryan Stevens Harris
 * Best Direction: David Kapac and Andrija Mardesic for The Uncle
 * Best Short Film: The Old Young Crow by Liam Lopinto
 * Special Mentions
 * Special Mention: Halfway Home by Madarász Isti
 * Special Mention for Screenplay: Christine Doyon and Ariane Louis-Seize for Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
 * Special Mention for Cinematigraphy: Andrea Arnone for Mimì: Prince of Darkness

Méliès d'Argent

 * Méliès d'Argent Award for the Best Fantastic Genre Feature Film: Bitten by Romain de Saint-Blanquat
 * Méliès d'Argent Award for the Best European Fantastic Genre Short Film: Cultes by David Padilla

Anima't

 * Best Animated Feature Film: Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light by Filip Pošivač
 * Best Animated Short Film: Ghost of the Dark Path by Fish Wang

Òrbita

 * Best Feature Film: The Last Stop in Yuma County by Francis Galluppi

Critic's Jury

 * José Luis Guarner Critics' Award for Best Film in the SOFC: The Universal Theory by Timm Kröger
 * Citizen Kane Award for Best New Director: Stéphan Castaing for Vincent Must Die
 * Best Short Film in the SOFC: I'm Not a Robot by Victoria Warmerdam

Brigadoon

 * Brigadoon Paul Naschy Award for the Best Short Film: Ellos by Néstor López, Óscar Romero

SGAE Nova Autoria

 * Best Direction-Production: Mikel Garrido for Tenemos patria
 * Best Screenplay: Karen Joaquín for O que me parta un rayo
 * Best Original Music: Márcio Echeverria for The Sun Thief

Carnet Jove Jury

 * Best Feature Film in the SOFC: Bitten by Romain de Saint-Blanquat
 * Best Sitges Documenta Film: Kim's Video by David Redmon, Ashley Sabin

People' Choice Award

 * Grand People's Choice Award for Best Feature Film in the SOFC: Robot Dreams by Pablo Berger
 * Panorama Fantàstic People's Choice Award: Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism by Nick Kozakis
 * Focus Asia People's Choice Award: The Roundup: No Way Out by Lee Sang-yong
 * Midnight X-Treme People's Choice Award: I'll Crush Y'all by Kike Narcea

Other awards

 * Blood Window Award for Best Feature Film: When Evil Lurks by Damian Rugna

Special awards

 * Honorary Grand Prize: Jan Harlan and Phil Tippett
 * Time Machine Award: J. A. Bayona, Hideo Nakata, Lee Unkrich