Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival Unveils 2025 Programming
The Catalonia International Fantastic Film Festival has announced new titles for this year’s lineup. Audiences can look forward to a diverse mix of Korean thrillers, Japanese animation, fresh works by Joe Begos and Jason Eisener, and a documentary exploring the impact of the iconic “REC” saga. The lineup continues Sitges’ tradition of showcasing bold genre cinema from across the globe.
Asian cinema’s presence at Sitges grows even stronger in this edition. Expect to see a strong slate of thriller features such as Jeong Woo-seong’s A Man of Reason and Kim Hong-sun’s Wolf Hunt Project, which organizers describe as more violent and frenetic. Choi Dong-hoon’s Alien blends science fiction with martial arts and androids, underscoring Sitges’ appetite for boundary-pushing storytelling. These selections reflect a deliberate expansion of the festival’s international reach and genre variety (citation: Sitges Festival organizers).
Japanese animation holds a steady place in Sitges, with demonstrations of artistic breadth and technical prowess. Audiences will encounter visually striking works such as Koji Yamamura’s dozens of north, Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s musical pieces, and indie gems like Say Some Harmony and Blue Thermal by Masaki Tachibana. The narrative threads revolve around youthful discovery, collaboration, and the exhilaration of flight, offering a rich counterpoint to live-action thrillers (citation: Sitges Festival press materials).
Indonesian director Joko Anwar returns to Sitges with the gothic horror Devil’s Slaves: Communion, a follow-up that deepens the franchise’s dread and supernatural atmosphere. This selection sits alongside the broader catalog of Anwar’s gothic sensibilities, reinforcing Sitges’ commitment to regional voices that push traditional horror into new emotional territories (citation: Sitges Festival program notes).
New and returning voices from North America further diversify the lineup. Jason Eisener’s catalog continues to resonate with fans, including works like Hobo with a Shotgun, while Joe Begos offers a bloodier invitation to holiday nightmares with Christmas Bloody Christmas. Eisener’s selections are a nostalgic nod to late-20th-century genre cinema, reimagined for contemporary audiences, whereas Begos leans into visceral, bloody spectacle as part of the festival’s fear-driven experience (citation: festival catalog).
From the Americas, Mexican filmmaker Isaac Ezban presents Event, a blend of dread and sorcery that sits comfortably within Sitges’ grain of eerie fantasy. The program also features the world premiere of Diego López-Fernández’s [REC] On the Creation and Impact of a Horror Epic, a documentary addressing the enduring influence of the celebrated horror saga. As part of Sitges’ ongoing exploration of genre storytelling, the festival will also present new episodes in the contemporary horror TV landscape, including a season of Terror Without Pause and a modern take on Chico Ibáñez Serrador, the legendary Spanish horror figure from the 1960s (citation: festival press materials).
Prominent headlines promise an array of fan favorites. Audiences can anticipate Dead Stream, a quirky horror satire directed by Joseph and Vanessa Winter; Unsuccessful, a survival-oriented thriller by Scott Mann; and Observer, Chloe Okun’s psychological suspense. These titles illustrate Sitges’ knack for pairing offbeat humor with tense, cerebral storytelling, shaping a festival experience that appeals to a broad spectrum of genre enthusiasts (citation: Sitges press release).
The program also highlights a number of creative debuts, including We Ceremonies, the directorial debut of French filmmaker Simon Rieth, and Jim Archer’s whimsical comedy Brian and Charles, which centers on the playful creation of artificial life. The documentary strand continues to shine with 1982: The Biggest Geek Year Ever, by Roger Lay Jr., surveying the pivotal geek milestones of a transformative year, alongside Víctor Matellano’s El valle del Concavenator, which delves into this dinosaur species discovered in Cuenca. Sitges once again proves its knack for pairing imaginative fiction with insightful documentary storytelling (citation: festival program notes).
As the festival’s 55th edition unfolds in Barcelona from October 6 to 16, audiences will witness a carefully curated mix of new voices, genre-adjacent experiments, and beloved cult favorites. The festival’s evolving programming continues to celebrate both regional cinema and international collaborations, offering something for horror devotees, science fiction fans, animation enthusiasts, and documentary seekers alike. The result is a celebration of imagination that mirrors the diverse landscape of modern fantastic cinema (citation: Sitges festival schedule).