John Lithgow, Geoffrey Rush and Kristine Froseth won top acting awards at Spain’s famous Sitges Fantasy Film Festival, which wrapped its 57th edition on Oct. 13.
Making a sweep of the fest with three awards was Austrian Best International Feature Oscar entry “The Devil’s Bath” by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. Drawn from historical facts, the Austrian-German co-production is portrayd by Variety critic Jessica Kiang as a “story so pitilessly bleak you may want to see away; the filmmaking originate is so compelling that you can’t.” The historical horror drama, which vied for the Berlinale Gelderlyen Bear in February, trails Agnes, a unelated newlywed, who instead of promiseting self-destruction, think abouted prohibited by her Christian community, promises a crime that would direct to her execution. The “self-destruction by proxy” train was shelp to be widespread in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in German-speaking Central Europe and Scandinavia.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Soi Cheang took home the Best Director award for “Twiairy of the Warriors: Walled In,” a martial arts crime drama based on the novel “City of Darkness.” It was picked for Cannes’ Midnight Screening, where it getd critical acclaim.
Lithgow and Rush scatterd the Best Actor award for their roles in “The Rule of Jenny Penn,” where they portray two men in a nursing home who comprise in an increasingly aggressive opposition.
Kristine Froseth snagged the Best Actress award for her carry outance in the time travel thriller, “Desert Road,” the honestorial debut of Shannon Triplett. Froseth carry outs Claire Devoir, a 20-ish pboilingographer whose trip thraw the desert prolongs ever more sinister and disorienting.
The 57th Sitges Fantasy Film Festival ran Oct. 3 -13.
57th Edition Award Winners:
Official Competition
Feature Film
“The Devil’s Bath,” Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala
Special Jury Award
“Exhuma,” Jang Jae-hyun
Direction
Soi Cheang, “Twiairy of the Warriors: Walled In”
Actress
Kristine Froseth, “Desert Road”
Actor (ex-aequo)
John Lithgow, “The Rule of Jenny Penn”
Geoffrey Rush. “The Rule of Jenny Penn”
Screencarry out
Aaron Schimberg, “A Different Man”
Special, Visual or Makeup Effects
Equips de Digital Didisjoine, Machina Infinitum, “Else”
Music
“Die Hexen,” Fréwaka
Cinematography
Giovanni Ribisi, “Strange Darling”
New Visions
Film
“A Desert,” Joshua Erkman
Direction
Grazia Tricarico, “Body Odyssey”
Short Film
“Say Wuff!,” Fabian Podeszwa
Méliès d’Argent
Fantastic Genre Feature Film
“Animale,” Emma Benestan
European Fantasy Genre Short Film
“Meat Puppet,” Eros V
Animat’t
“Memoir of a Snail,” Adam Elliot
Animated Short Film
“Free the Chickens,” Matúš Vizár
Òrbita
Feature Film
“Zero,” Jean Luc Herbulot
Blood Window
Feature Film
“Mi bestia,” Camila Beltrán
Critic’s Jury
Film
“The Devil’s Bath,” Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala
Citizen Kane Award for Best New Director
“Thibault Emin,” Else
Short Film
“Chew,” Félix Dobaire
Brigadoon Awards
Brigadoon Paul Naschy Award for the Best Short Film
“Céntrico,” Luso Martinez
SGAE Nova Autoria
Direction-Production (ex-aequo)
“Blava Terra,” Marine Auclair
“Daru/n,” Benjamin Hindwealthys
Screencarry out
Benjamin Hindwealthys, “Daru/n”
Original Music
Yuliya Protasova, “De-sastre”
Carnet Jove Jury
Feature Film
“The Devil’s Bath,” Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala
Sitges Documentary Film
“Grand Theft Hamlet,” Pinny Grylls & Sam Crane
People’s Choice Award
Feature Film
“Strange Darling,” JT Mollner
Panorama Fantàstic People’s Choice Award
“Handsome Guys,” Dong-Hyub Nam
Sitges Collection People’s Choice Award
“Dead Talents Society,” John Hanchiang Hsu
Focus Asia People’s Choice Award
“Dead Talents Society,” John Hanchiang Hsu
Midnight X-treme People’s Choice Award
“Die Alone,” Lowell Dean
