Festival start: 12 October 2026
Festival end: 13 October 2026
SITGES FANPITCH 2026
For the twelfth consecutive year, the Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia is organizing Sitges FanPitch, its feature film and series production project pitch competition.
Sitges FanPitch is our international pitch competition event focusing on feature films and series productions currently under development with horror, science fiction, and/or fantastic genre themes.
This initiative continues on its mission to discover the very best genre projects and facilitating connections with leading industry companies. The event will be take place using a hybrid format on October 12 and 13, 2026, at the Sitges Film Festival.
Altogether, a maximum of five series and seven feature films from all around the world will be selected. These will be joined by the projects selected by the Festival at the collaborating Sitges FanPitch film markets and the project selected at Sitges FanPitch Catalunya Imaginària.
The people responsible for each of the selected projects will have the opportunity to make a sales pitch and meet with each of the participating companies.
In addition, the five winning feature film projects will be eligible for travel grants for their international circulation and will be able to take part, without travel expenses included, in the upcoming Feratum Residency and FantasoLab Residency.
Once again this year, we will be supporting local talent with the Catalunya Imaginària label, guaranteeing a place in the final selection for a project made in the Catalan language.
In the series category, one winning project will be selected, which will be awarded a cash prize for its ongoing development.
For the sixth consecutive year, this edition will be complemented by the Showrunners LAB, an introductory and mentoring seminar on the role of the showrunner. The selected series projects will be able to benefit from individual mentoring sessions with the showrunners participating in this year's edition.
What's New for This Year's Edition
This year, Sitges FanPitch is introducing several notable new features with the aim of expanding networking and collaboration opportunities for the selected projects.
First of all, we are changing the date:
Sitges FanPitch will be held on Monday the 12th, thereby becoming part of a new configuration for the Festival's Industry calendar.
In addition, the duration of the event has been extended with the addition of a session of meetings on the morning of October 13th. This new slot will allow companies and professionals who are not direct collaborators in the program to request meetings with selected projects.
Meetings can be requested through the Festival's Industry Department, via a link that will be provided once the selected projects are announced in September.
Through this initiative, Sitges FanPitch opens doors for new industry professionals, expands the radius of influence for projects, and encourages the creation of new collaborations and professional opportunities.
Finally, this year, the call for entries has been expanded to include, for the first time, documentaries specializing in fantastic and genre cinema. With this opening, we reaffirm our commitment to diversity of views and languages, acknowledging documentary filmmaking as an essential form of exploration, reflection, and expansion of the fantastic imaginary.
This expansion enriches the call for entries and encompasses new forms of expression that engage with genre through research, memory, and creation.
AWARDS
Feature Film Category
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival – NAFF Award: Travel grant which includes accreditation, travel expenses and accommodation at the destination for one project representative.
Fantasia International Film Festival - Frontières Market Award: Travel grant which includes accreditation, travel expenses and accommodation at the destination for one project representative.
Ventana Sur – Blood Window LAB Award: Travel grant which includes accreditation, travel expenses and accommodation at the destination for one project representative.
Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival - BIF Market Award: Travel grant which includes accreditation, travel expenses and accommodation at the destination for one project representative.
Feratum International Fantastic Film Festival - Feratum Residency Award: This award covers the stay here but not travel expenses.
FantasoLab Award: Registration and direct selection for the Laboratorio Iberoamericano de Proyectos de Cine Fantástico - Sección LAB (Ibero-American Laboratory for Fantastic Film Projects - LAB Section). This award covers registration but not travel expenses or accommodation.
Series Category
Sitges FanPitch – Scripted Series Award: Cash prize of 2,500 euros (VAT included) for the project’s ongoing development.
RULES AND REQUIREMENTS
Candidate projects will need to present:
Script (in original language).
Information pack with a synopsis of the project, logline, cast, brief script treatment, benchmark films and a description of the target audience, director's bio-filmography and anything else considered of interest to the jury, producers and distributors participating in the competition. The information pack must be in english.
Video pitch with a maximum runtime of 3 minutes (in english or with english subtitles).
Poster proposal for the film/series.
Commitment to participate and acknowledgment of a sole representative on behalf of the project. This can be a PDF document with the following text signed by the representative: "I, [First and Last Name(s)], in my capacity as [position or role] for the project [Project Name], accept the commitment to participate in [name of event or initiative] and recognize [Name of Representative] as the sole official representative of the project before the organization. This document certifies my agreement with the established conditions and is hereby submitted, signed for validation purposes."
Commitment to add the Sitges FanPitch and Sitges FanLab logo to the production credits if it is ultimately brought to fruition. "I, [First and Last Name(s)], in my capacity as [position or role] of the project [Project Name], agree to add the Sitges FanPitch and Sitges FanLab logos to the production credits if the project is ultimately brought to fruition."
Awards
Feature Film Category
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival – NAFF Award: Travel grant which includes accreditation, travel expenses and accommodation at the destination for one project representative.
Fantasia International Film Festival - Frontières Market Award: Travel grant which includes accreditation, travel expenses and accommodation at the destination for one project representative.
Ventana Sur – Blood Window LAB Award: Travel grant which includes accreditation, travel expenses and accommodation at the destination for one project representative.
Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival - BIF Market Award: Travel grant which includes accreditation, travel expenses and accommodation at the destination for one project representative.
Feratum International Fantastic Film Festival - Feratum Residency Award: This award covers the stay here but not travel expenses.
FantasoLab Award: Registration and direct selection for the Laboratorio Iberoamericano de Proyectos de Cine Fantástico - Sección LAB (Ibero-American Laboratory for Fantastic Film Projects - LAB Section). This award covers registration but not travel expenses or accommodation.
Series Category
Sitges FanPitch – Scripted Series Award: Cash prize of 2,500 euros (VAT included) for the project’s ongoing development.
CALL FOR ENTRIES AND SUBMISSIONS
Call for entries opens: March 9, 2026
Submission period:
Standard: March 9, 2026 – May 31, 2026 (11:59 PM on May 31) (Submission fee: 53 euros)
Extended: June 1, 2026 – June 30, 2026 (11:59 PM on June 30) (Submission fee: 63 euros)
Call for entries closes: June 30, 2026 (11:59 PM on June 30) Projects submitted after this deadline will not be accepted.
Announcement of the selected project: September 1, 2026
WHERE TO APPLY
Call for entries via Festhome. Materials sent via email will not be accepted.
Applications must be submitted through the official channels of the call for entries.
SUBMISSION QUESTIONS AND ISSUES
Technical issues with uploading materials to platform:
Festhome:https://festhome.com/es/faqs#2 If you can't find the answer, contact Festhome at help@festhome.com, or call:
Spain: +34 683 158 619
USA: +1 (516) 85842 85
United Kingdom: +44 (0) 20 32 86 41 40 (13.00-19.00 GMT)
Questions regarding requirements and content: industry.hub@sitgesfilmfestival.com
In collaboration with: Encuentro Internacional de Productores – EIP (Encounter of International Producers)
SITGES FANPITCH Documentary (Video pitch with a maximum runtime of 3 minutes (in English or with English subtitles)
Short and Feature Films
Fee-8%
Standard53€48.76€
31 May 26
Late63€57.96€
30 Jun 26
Submissions deadline
30 Jun 26
Save up
4.24€
Submit
At the end of the submission process, you will be required to attach a single PDF document containing the following information:
- Script (in original language).
Information pack with a synopsis of the project, logline, cast, brief script treatment, benchmark films and a description of the target audience, director's bio-filmography and anything else considered of interest to the jury, producers and distributors participating in the competition. The information pack must be in english.
- Poster proposal for the film/series.
- Commitment to participate and acknowledgment of a sole representative on behalf of the project. This can be a PDF document with the following text signed by the representative: "I, [First and Last Name(s)], in my capacity as [position or role] for the project [Project Name], accept the commitment to participate in [name of event or initiative] and recognize [Name of Representative] as the sole official representative of the project before the organization. This document certifies my agreement with the established conditions and is hereby submitted, signed for validation purposes."
- Commitment to add the Sitges FanPitch and Sitges FanLab logo to the production credits if it is ultimately brought to fruition. "I, [First and Last Name(s)], in my capacity as [position or role] of the project [Project Name], agree to add the Sitges FanPitch and Sitges FanLab logos to the production credits if the project is ultimately brought to fruition."
SITGES FANPITCH Scripted Series (Video pitch with a maximum runtime of 3 minutes (in English or with English subtitles)
Short and Feature Films
Fee-8%
Standard53€48.76€
31 May 26
Late63€57.96€
30 Jun 26
Submissions deadline
30 Jun 26
Save up
4.24€
Submit
At the end of the submission process, you will be required to attach a single PDF document containing the following information:
- Script (in original language).
Information pack with a synopsis of the project, logline, cast, brief script treatment, benchmark films and a description of the target audience, director's bio-filmography and anything else considered of interest to the jury, producers and distributors participating in the competition. The information pack must be in english.
- Poster proposal for the film/series.
- Commitment to participate and acknowledgment of a sole representative on behalf of the project. This can be a PDF document with the following text signed by the representative: "I, [First and Last Name(s)], in my capacity as [position or role] for the project [Project Name], accept the commitment to participate in [name of event or initiative] and recognize [Name of Representative] as the sole official representative of the project before the organization. This document certifies my agreement with the established conditions and is hereby submitted, signed for validation purposes."
- Commitment to add the Sitges FanPitch and Sitges FanLab logo to the production credits if it is ultimately brought to fruition. "I, [First and Last Name(s)], in my capacity as [position or role] of the project [Project Name], agree to add the Sitges FanPitch and Sitges FanLab logos to the production credits if the project is ultimately brought to fruition."
SITGES FANPITCH Feature Films (Video pitch with a maximum runtime of 3 minutes (in English or with English subtitles)
Short and Feature Films
Fee-8%
Standard53€48.76€
31 May 26
Late63€57.96€
30 Jun 26
Submissions deadline
30 Jun 26
Save up
4.24€
Submit
At the end of the submission process, you will be required to attach a single PDF document containing the following information:
- Script (in original language).
Information pack with a synopsis of the project, logline, cast, brief script treatment, benchmark films and a description of the target audience, director's bio-filmography and anything else considered of interest to the jury, producers and distributors participating in the competition. The information pack must be in english.
- Poster proposal for the film/series.
- Commitment to participate and acknowledgment of a sole representative on behalf of the project. This can be a PDF document with the following text signed by the representative: "I, [First and Last Name(s)], in my capacity as [position or role] for the project [Project Name], accept the commitment to participate in [name of event or initiative] and recognize [Name of Representative] as the sole official representative of the project before the organization. This document certifies my agreement with the established conditions and is hereby submitted, signed for validation purposes."
- Commitment to add the Sitges FanPitch and Sitges FanLab logo to the production credits if it is ultimately brought to fruition. "I, [First and Last Name(s)], in my capacity as [position or role] of the project [Project Name], agree to add the Sitges FanPitch and Sitges FanLab logos to the production credits if the project is ultimately brought to fruition."
Festhome holds accountable fees festivals by holding the payment of the fees of most newer festivals until they have viewed the submissions, held their festivals and other methods.
-8%
Festhome holds accountable fees festivals by holding the payment of the fees of most newer festivals until they have viewed the submissions, held their festivals and other methods. 