Sitges Fantastic Film Festival pays homage to Tom Savini and Paul Naschy

Sitges (ACN).- The director of Catalonia’s film school, the ESCAC, Josep Maixenchs, assured the audience on Thursday afternoon that “cinema will never die” and that “there is a lot of talent that needs to be discovered and promoted”. Maixenchs gave his speech during the inauguration of the 43rd edition of the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia where he accepted the ‘Maria Honorífica’ award for the recognition of his career. Special effects and makeup artist Tom Savini was also awarded with the ‘Màquina del Temps’ prize. The ceremony also paid homage to the recently deceased actor and director Paul Naschy.

The 43rd edition of the Sitges Film Festival honoured director Stanley Kubrick’s famous horror film ‘The Shining’ during its inaugural event. The festival’s poster this year plays off of the striking image of the twin girls in ‘The Shining’.

Special effects and makeup artist Tom Savini received the ‘Màquina del Temps’ prize for his impact on the world of cinema, especially in fantasy filmmaking. Savini accepted the prize from last year’s winner Greg Nicotero, thanking “all of the films” that made his childhood a happy one. Savini also explained that he has always had a “feeling of inferiority” that goes away in moments like this one when he received awards devoted to his trajectory as an artist.

The director of the ESCAC film school, Josep Maixenchs, received the ‘Maria Honorífica’ award for his contribution to Catalan cinema as an educator and ‘creator of talents’. Maixenchs stated that in Catalonia, the Spain and all over the world “there is a lot of talent that needs to be discovered and promoted”. He mentioned that one of the first students at the ESCAC was Guillem Morales, who inaugurated the film festival this year. Guillem Morales and his crew rose to the stage to present their film ‘Los Ojos de Julia’ (Julia’s Eyes) during the inauguration ceremony. Morales calls it a “feminist” film. Actress and protagonist of the film Belén Rueda read a message to one of the film’s producers, Guillermo del Toro, during the ceremony. She thanked the director for giving voice to “a thriller of uncommon ideas that knows how to respect fetishism and the rules of genre”.

The inauguration ceremony also paid tribute to the deceased actor and director Paul Naschy. Last year’s festival marked Naschy’s last public appearance before passing away due to an illness. The festival will project various films from the director, including ‘The Man Who Saw Frankenstein Cry' and ‘Memoirs of a Wolfman’.