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

Rose Byrne (“Spy,” “Bridesmaids”) took home the Best Actress award for her role in Marie Bronstein’s “If I Had Two Legs I’d Kick You,” at Catalonia’s landmark Sitges International Film Festival, which concluded its 58th film edition.^y October 19 edition.

The A24 version was described by diverse Critic Peter Debruge like “A masterful portrait of mental disintegration that uses every tool in the director’s arsenal to recreate the feeling of apocalypse on a more intimate scale,” with Byrne giving “a frenetic, nervous performance sure to go down as one of the year’s greats.”

The festival won the Best Feature Film award for Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt’s “The Ugly Stepsister” (Den stygge stesøsteren), while South Korean Park Chan-wook won the Best Director award for his dark comedy thriller “No Other Choice,” based on Donald E. Westlake’s crime novel “The “Ax”.

He praised her diverse As “a deliciously extreme take on the beloved Cinderella legend, with broken noses, severed toes and other gory details fit for a Grimm Bros.” “The Ugly Stepsister” offers a body horror twist on the fairy tale, centering on half-sister Elvira, who goes to painfully extraordinary lengths to fit the kingdom’s beauty standards.

Meanwhile, newcomer Charlie Bollinger’s cast of The Plague, which includes Joel Edgerton, Everett Blank, Caio Martin, Lucas Adler and Kenny Rasmussen, shared the Best Actor award. The psychological drama revolves around a socially awkward 12-year-old who is relentlessly bullied at an all-boys water polo camp.

Backed by “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” producer Bill Kong and collect what diverse Described as “perhaps the most impressive collection of Asian action talent since the golden age of Hong Kong,” “The Furious,” choreographed by action choreographer-turned-director Tanigaki Kenji, took home the Special Jury Prize at Sitges, an effective runner-up award at Sitges.

It shares that plaudits with “Obsession,” a low-budget horror film about twisted love from YouTube breakout and first-time director Cary Parker that just caught attention by being picked up by Focus Features for $14 million. “Obsession” also won the prestigious People’s Choice Award in Sitges.

“The Ugly Sister” bowed at Sundance’s Midnight Strand; Both The Furious and Obsession premiered at the Midnight Madness festival in Toronto, a sign of how some of the best and most engaging films on the market are now being screened at both festivals in their respective genre sections.

Likewise, the industry star at the Sitges Film Festival is on the rise as sales agents in Europe identify the high-end genre as one of the most market-worthy in an extremely difficult international distribution landscape.

The festival had its share of stars including Benedict Cumberbatch, Luc Besson, Carmen Maura and producer Gale Anne Hurd, who received the Sitges’ Woman in Fan honorary grand prize.

The prestigious “Blood Window” award, from the most important platform of Latin American cinema, went to Mexico’s Emilio Portes (“Belzebuth”, “Pastorela”) for his nightmarish suspense drama (especially for parents), “Never Leave the Children Alone”.

“After screening our previous film, ‘Belzebuth,’ in Sitges 2017, returning for the 58th edition was a wonderful experience, full of old friends, amazing new films, great parties and cinematic legends to sightsee in such a magical city,” said Ports. “But winning the Blood Window award with ‘Don’t leave the Kids “Alone” is a beautiful nightmare come true. We are so happy.” diverse.

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

“Emilio Portes has been committed to filmmaking for a long time. His films ‘Conozca la cabeza de Juan Pérez’, ‘Pastorela’, ‘Belzebuth’ and now this film – are proof of his dedication, and I’m happy to see his work being recognized,” he said. diverse, Adding: “Blood Window is now more vibrant than ever. With its presence in Cannes and Sitges, and activities in Mexico with Morbido, it reflects the incredible moment that horror is experiencing in Latin America right now. This success is due, in part, to the consistent support that Blood Window has provided over the past decade.”

“Don’t Leave the Children Alone” wasn’t the only award for Latin American filmmaking, as “The Virgin of the Quarry Lake,” an Argentine, Spanish and Mexican production directed by Laura Casabi, took home the award for best cinematography for Diego Tenorio.

The 58th Sitges Film Festival was held from October 9 to 19.

Winners of the official competition

Best Feature Film

“The Ugly Sister” by Emily Blichfeldt

Special Jury Prize

(eg aquatic)

“Angry” Kenji Tanigaki

“Obsession” Carrie Parker

Best director

Park Chan Wook for “No Other Choice”

Best Actress

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

Best Actor

The entire cast of “The Plague” movie

Best scenario

“A Useful Ghost” by Ratchapoom Boonpunchchuk

Best cinematography

Diego Tenorio, “Virgin of the Mountain”

Best music

Yasutaka Nakata and Shuhei Amemori, “Exit 8”

Best special, visual or make-up effects

Tenel Schockey and François Dagenet for “Honey Bunch”

New insights

Best movie

(eg aquatic)

“Lesbian Space Princess” Emma Hogg-Hobbs and Leela Varghese

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

Best director

(eg aquatic)

Adam C. Briggs and Sam Dixon, “Great Irony”

Toshiaki Toyoda, “Transcending Dimensions”

Best short film

“Monstruo Obscura” Hong Seung Ji

Blood window

Best Feature Film

“Do not leave children alone” (“No dejes a los niños sos,” Emilio Portes)

Orbit

Best Feature Film

“Forbidden City” (La città proibita, Gabriele Mainetti)

Méliès Golden Prize

Best feature film of the fantastic genre

“Mr. K,” Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab

Best feature film in the short film genre

“Don’t be afraid,” Mats said

Méliès Silver Award

Best feature film of the genre

“I Feel at Home” by Gabor Holtai

Best short film in the European fantasy genre

“El fantasma de la Quinta” by James A. Castillo

Animation

Best animated feature film

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

Best animated short film

Brigadoon Paul Naschy Award

Best short film

“The Floor”, Joe Barion

Critics jury

Best movie

(eg aquatic)

“The Life of Chuck” by Mike Flanagan

“Reflection in a Dead Diamond,” by Hélène Catet and Bruno Forzani

Citizen Kane Award

Best New Director

Ratchapoom Boonpunchchok, “Helpful Ghost”

Best short film

“The Man I Wave” by Ben S. Highland

Carne Jouve jury

Best Feature Film

“Obsession” Carrie Parker

Best Documentary Film

“The Endless Cookie” by Peter Skriver and Seth Skriver

Sgai Nova Autoria

Best Direction-Production

Fran Moreno and Santiago Pujol for “Furia”

Best scenario

Fran Moreno and Santiago Pujol for “Furia”

Best original music

Sergio Rojas, “Matcha”

People’s Choice Award

“Obsession” Carrie Parker

John Hopewell contributed to this article.