As part of its program, the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia hosted a presentation ceremony for the seventh edition of the City of La Laguna Isla Calavera Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival, to be held from November 10 to 19. The meeting with the general public and accredited professionals was conducted by Gloria Fernández and counted with the participation of Isla Calavera co-directors Ramón González Trujillo and Daniel Fumero, as well as Vanesa Bocanegra, director of communication. The event was also attended by Mònica Garcia i Massagué, director of the Sitges Foundation, and Ángel Sala, the Catalan Festival's artistic director.
To the first titles confirmed in the Official Competition Section at Isla Calavera 2023, Blood by Brad Anderson, Acide by Just Philippot, and the Spanish productions Os reviento (Kike Narcea), When the masters sleep (Santiago Alvarado) and The Dining Room Table (Caye Casas), are joined by four other outstanding feature films.
The rural and intimate horror of The Waitingdirected by F. Javier Gutiérrez with Víctor Clavijo, Ruth Díaz and Pedro Casablanc, can be seen at Isla Calavera after celebrating its world premiere in Sitges. Set in the Andalusian mountains, it is the story of Eladio, a farm guard whose life collapses after accepting a bribe from a hunter, putting his sanity to the test.
Written and directed by Olivia West Lloyd, Isla Calavera presents the unsettling thriller Somewhere quietabout a woman who, after a traumatic kidnapping, tries to regain normalcy in her life. However, an escape to her husband's family's tranquil wilderness estate will do nothing to improve her situation.
In addition, there will be a screening of the action-packed Korean thriller The Childewritten and directed by Park Hoon-jung, screenwriter of the critically acclaimed I Found the Devil (2010). It centers on a young Filipino boxer trying to raise money for his ailing mother's treatment, when one day his unknown father shows up and asks him to come visit him in Korea.
Within science fiction, the program includes the film UFO Swedenabout a rebellious teenage girl who lives in a foster home and suspects that her father has been abducted by aliens. This is the new feature film from the Swedish filmmaking collective Crazy Pictures, known for their popular short films with millions of views on YouTube.
Individual vouchers and tickets for the screenings of the Isla Calavera Festival, whose complete program will include more titles and parallel activities, will go on sale very soon.
