ESCAC, in the 50th edition of the Sitges Film Festival
Half a century going for the best film genre. The 50th edition of the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia is now on, and with a special programme with Dracula as its leitmotiv. Until October 15, Sitges will be the window to the latest genre creations, the risky proposals, great productions and small diamonds of the independent cinema.
Half a century going for the best film genre. The 50th edition of the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia is now on, and with a special programme with Dracula as its leitmotiv. Until October 15, Sitges will be the window to the latest genre creations, the risky proposals, great productions and small diamonds of the independent cinema.
Loyal to every yearʼs meeting -this time could be no exception- the University School of Cinema and Visual Communication of Catalonia (ESCAC), affiliated with the University of Barcelona, is participating in the Sitges Film Festival. For the fifth year in a row, ESCAC is bringing its educational activity to this event and it organizes the ESCAC Week. Also, as usual, it will be present in the programme for the festival, this year with the title Matar a Dios, Albert Pintóʼs debut in filmmaking.
ESCAC is not the only one representing the University of Barcelona in Sitges 2017. Another representative of the UB is the lecturer Jordi Ojeda, who is co-directing, together with Àngel Sala, director of the festival, the course Dracula and vampirism in fantastic cinema.
ESCAC Week: lessons move to the festival
From October 9 to 13, ESCAC is bringing the lessons to Sitges and it organizes the ESCAC Week, a program for screenings, conferences and master lessons in which hundreds of students of the School are taking part. The aim is that the students experience this artistic event from the inside, understand the international cinematography in the fantastic genre and participate in the countryʼs professional network.
Matar a Dios, Albert Pintóʼs debut
Going for the young Catalan talent, Sitges 2017 has included thirty productions with Catalan participation in its schedule. Among these is Matar a Dios, the first work by the team formed by Albert Pintó, ESCAC graduate and lecturer, and Caye Casas, competing in the section of Oficial Fantàstic. In an isolated house in the middle of a forest, a family is preparing to celebrate New Yearʼs Eve, and they are visited by a dwarf. He introduces himself as God and threatens to destroy humanity on the following day. Two people can avoid this disaster and the family has to choose them. This is the starting point of a crazy black comedy, which is the debut for Pintó and Casas, after the short film NADA S.A., honoured with more than 40 awards in international festivals. Matar a Dios will be screened on Wednesday 11 at 8.30 p.m. in the room “Tramuntana” in Hotel Meliá Sitges, and on Thursday 12 at 8.15 p.m. in the auditorium.
Dracula, main character of the official course of the festival
Last, the lecturer Jordi Ojeda, from the University of Barcelona is directing together with Àngel Sala, director of the festival, the course Dracula and vampirism in fantastic cinema. It will be offered from Monday 9 to Wednesday 11, from 4 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. This course analyses the myth of Dracula in cinema, it distinguishes the most important films about this character and goes over the topic of vampires in Asian cinema and the new tendencies from the last years: the new lab vampires. The teaching team is formed by different experts on fantastic cinema and will have the presence of several invited members in the festival. Registrations are open but limited. Enrolment can be done by sending an email to sitgescampus@sitgesfilmfestival.com.
More information in the website Festival de Sitges