Susan Sarandon will do the time warp at Catalan film festival

American actress and film producer Susan Sarandon will be visiting Sitges’ International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia to receive the Grand Honorary Award. Sarandon won the award for her extensive cinematographic career in the fantasy genre with appearances in titles like The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975), which will be shown at a special screening attended by her; The Hunger (Tony Scott, 1983) or The Witches of Eastwick (George Miller, 1987). The 50 year anniversary of Sitges’ film festival, celebrated from October 5–15, offers a wide selection of films, including the world’s best fantasy.

Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell

This year’s Sitges Festival 50th anniversary will bring together Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest and terrifying film, the best Asian cinema, the return of Jaume Balagueró, the eagerly awaited ‘Cold Skin’ and will present an award to Santiago Segura.One of the most awaited events of the Sitges' official film festival competition this year is in fact Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos’ psychological thriller The Killing of a Sacred Deer, starring Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman.

Premiere of the second season of Stranger Things

On the TV front, the festival will host the premiere of the second season of the TV series Stranger Things in a special collaboration with Netflix. The series directed by the Duffer brothers has become an authentic phenomenon among fans around the world.

Dracula headlines this 2017 edition

This 2017 edition is built around Dracula. “It is important to defend this character. There will be retrospectives at the festival and it will be magical to celebrate these 50 years,” said Diego López, one of the members of the festival’s selection committee.

Difficult times for the Catalan audiovisual sector

The bad news at this year’s Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia is the increased difficulties for the sector since the Spanish Constitutional Court repealed the Catalan audiovisual tax earlier this month. According to the festival’s director “it is a mistake” to annul this tax. The tax, approved by the Catalan Government in 2014, was aimed at promoting the Catalan audiovisual sector and helping spread digital culture. Since the Constitutional Court annulled the tax, the Catalan Executive has begun to explore successful European initiatives that could work in Catalonia.