Rose Byrne and Joel Edgerton win acting awards at the 58th Sitges Film Festival

Rose Byrne (“Spy,” “Bridesmaids”) won the Best Actress award for her role in Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You” at Europe’s premier genre film festival, the Sitges – Catalonia International Fantastic Film Festival, which closed its 58^th edition October 19.

The A24 version is described by Variety critic Peter Debruge as “a virtuoso portrait of mental unraveling that uses every tool in the director’s arsenal to recreate a feeling of the end of the world on the most intimate scale”, where Byrne delivers “a feverish and nervous performance that will certainly go down as one of the greatest of the year”.

The festival crowned Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt’s “The Ugly Stepsister” (“Den stygge stesøsteren”) with the best feature film award while South Korean Park Chan-wook won the best director award for his black comedy thriller “No Other Choice,” based on Donald E. Westlake’s crime novel, “The Axe.”

Greeted by Variety as a “delightfully extreme version of the beloved ‘Cinderella’ legend, complete with broken noses, severed toes and other gory details befitting the Brothers Grimm.” » “The Ugly Stepsister” offers a body horror version of the fairy tale, centering on half-sister Elvira, who goes to painfully extraordinary lengths to match the kingdom’s beauty standards.

Meanwhile, the entire cast of newcomer Charlie Polinger’s “The Plague,” consisting of Joel Edgerton, Everett Blunck, Kayo Martin, Lucas Adler and Kenny Rasmussen, shared the best actor award. The psychological drama follows a socially awkward 12-year-old who is constantly bullied at an all-boys water polo camp.

Backed by Bill Kong, producer of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” and bringing together this Variety Described as “perhaps the most formidable collection of Asian action talent since Hong Kong’s golden age,” action choreographer-turned-director Tanigaki Kenji’s “The Furious” won the Sitges Special Jury Prize, Sitges’ second prize.

He shared that praise with “Obsession,” a low-budget twisted romance horror film from first-time YouTube director Curry Barker that just gained attention by being picked up by Focus Features for $14 million. “Obsession” also won the coveted Sitges Audience Award.

“The Ugly Stepsister” bowed at Sundance’s Midnight Strand; “The Furious” and “Obsession” had their world premieres at Toronto’s Midnight Madness, a sign that some of the best and most market-appealing films at both festivals are now screening in their genre sections.

Likewise, the industry star of the Sitges Film Festival is growing as sales agents in Europe identify the high-end genre as one of the most interesting types of films on the market in a very difficult international distribution scene.

The festival had its share of stars including Benedict Cumberbatch, Luc Besson, Carmen Maura and producer Gale Ann Hurd who received the Sitges Woman in Fan Honorary Grand Prize.

The coveted Blood Window Prize, awarded by Latin America’s largest genre film platform, went to Mexican Emilio Portes (“Beelzebuth,” “Pastorela”) for his nightmarish suspense drama (especially aimed at parents) “Don’t Leave the Children Alone.”

“After the screening of our previous film, “Beelzebuth”, in Sitges 2017, returning to the 58th edition was a wonderful deja vu, spiced with old friends, amazing new films, great parties and cinema legends in such a magical city. But winning the Blood Window Award with “Don’t Leave the Children Alone”, is a sweet nightmare come true. We are more than happy”, said Doors. Variety.

“Once again, the Sitges Film Festival, the most important genre festival in the world, has partnered with Blood Window to reward Latin American talent,” said Pablo Guisa, founder and CEO of Morbido Group. “A key point for me is that this film had its world premiere in Rotterdam, a major non-genre festival, and then won in Sitges. This shows that Latin American genre film is recognized by both genre cinema and mainstream festivals, which is a win for all Latin horror.

“Emilio Portes has been committed to genre cinema for a long time. His films “Conozca la cabeza de Juan Pérez”, “Pastorela”, “Beelzebuth” and now this one are proof of his dedication, and I am happy to see his work get this recognition,” he said. Variety, adding: “Blood Window is now more vibrant than ever. With a presence in Cannes and Sitges, and activities in Mexico with Morbido, it reflects the incredible moment Latin American horror is currently experiencing. This success is due, in part, to Blood Window’s unwavering support over the past decade.”

“Don’t Leave the Children Alone” was indeed not the only prize awarded to Latin American genre cinema with “The Virgin of the Quarry Lake,” an Argentine-Spanish-Mexican production directed by Laura Casabé, which won best cinematography for Diego Tenorio.

The 58th Sitges Film Festival took place from October 9 to 19.

OFFICIAL CONTEST WINNERS

Best Feature Film

“The ugly half-sister”, Emilie Blichfeldt

Special Jury Prize

(also)

“The Furious”, Kenji Tanigaki

“Obsession”, Curry Barker

Best Director

Park Chan-wook, “No Other Choice”

Best actress

Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”

Best Actor

The entire cast of “The Plague”

Best screenplay

“A Useful Ghost,” by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke

Best Cinematography

Diego Tenorio, “The Virgin of Tosquera”

Best music

Yasutaka Nakata and Shouhei Amimori, “Exit 8”

Best special, visual or makeup effects

Tenille Shockey & François Dagenais, “Honey Bunch”

NEW VISIONS

Best film

(also)

“Lesbian Space Princess,” Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese

“The true beauty of being bitten by a tick”, Pete Ohs

Best Director

(also)

Adam C. Briggs and Sam Dixon, “A Great Mockery”

Toshiaki Toyoda, “Transcending Dimensions”

Best Short Film

“The Black Monster”, Hong Seung-gi

BLOOD WINDOW

Best Feature Film

“Don’t leave children alone”, Emilio Portes

ORBIT

Best Feature Film

“The Forbidden City” (“The Forbidden City”, Gabriele Mainetti)

GOLDEN MÉLIÈS AWARD

Best Fantasy Genre Feature Film

“Mr. K”, Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab

Best Short Film Genre Feature

“Don’t be afraid”, Mats Udd

SILVER MÉLIÈS AWARD

Best Fantasy Genre Feature Film

“It feels like home”, Gábor Holtai

Best European short film in fantasy genre

“The Ghost of the Fifth,” James A. Castillo

ANIMATION

Best Animated Feature Film

“Lesbian Space Princess,” Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese

Best Animated Short Film

BRIGADOON PAUL NASCHY PRIZE

Best Short Film

“Floor”, Jo Bareun

CRITICISM JURY

Best film

(also)

“The Life of Chuck”, Mike Flanagan

“Reflection in a dead diamond”, Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani

KANE CITIZEN AWARD

Best New Director

Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, “A Useful Ghost”

Best Short Film

“The Man I Waving to,” Ben S. Hyland

YOUNG JURY CARD

Best Feature Film

“Obsession”, Curry Barker

Best Documentary

“Endless Cookie,” Peter Scriver and Seth Scriver

NEW SGAE AUTHORITY

Best direction-production

Fran Moreno and Santiago Pujol, “Furia”

Best screenplay

Fran Moreno and Santiago Pujol, “Furia”

Best Original Music

Sergio Rojas, “Matcha”

AUDIENCE AWARD

“Obsession”, Curry Barker

John Hopewell contributed to this article.