SITGES - Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya (58)

Festival start: 09 October 2025      Festival end: 19 October 2025

The SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia is a specialized, competitive fantastic genre Festival in accordance with the regulations established by the FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations). The Festival has also been declared a “Qualified Festival” by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences® in the United States. This means that those shorts winning the awards for “Best Short Film” in the Official Fantàstic Selection and “Best Short Film” in the Anima’t category will automatically be taken into consideration by the Hollywood Academy Awards® selection committee.

See festival's Rules and regulations.

SUBMISSION RULES & REGULATIONS FOR FILM PRODUCTIONS PARTICIPATING IN THE 58TH SITGES - INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL OF CATALONIA

IMPORTANT

These rules are subject to the official regulations of the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia (Sitges Film Festival). We ask that you please read the regulations carefully to understand the nature of each section and the requirements for participating in them.

The Sitges Film Festival is an event accredited by the FIAPF (The International Federation of Film Producers Associations).


I. SUBMISSION PROTOCOL:
To submit a film to the Festival and facilitate its viewing, please follow these instructions:

Submit the short or feature film via the official platforms designated by the Festival: festhome.com.


FEATURE LENGTH FILMS may be submitted in 1 of the following categories:

a) fiction feature film
b) documentary feature film
c) animated feature film
d) Brigadoon Section (feature films)
e) Sitges Family Section – family audiences (feature film)

Each film must be submitted to only one of these five categories.

SHORT FILMS may be submitted to 1 of the following categories:

a) Live action short films
b) Animated short films
c) Brigadoon Section (short film)
d) Sitges Family Section – family audiences (short films)

Each film must be submitted to only one of these four categories.

Notes on submitting short films to the Festival:
Only short films that comply with the following conditions will be considered:

- All short films must be fantastic genre films produced in 2024/2025.

- The maximum running time for short films is 30 minutes.

- The short films submitted in the general categories will be eligible for being selected for the following sections (additional information in the official regulations):

Official Fantàstic Selection

The Festival's main competitive section. Competing films must be shorts previously unreleased in Spain. The winning short film in this section automatically qualifies to be included in the shortlist of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood for consideration as a candidate for the Academy Awards®.

Noves Visions Petit Format Section

Competitive section featuring experimental or avant-garde works. Competing films must be shorts previously unreleased in Spain.

Anima’t Section

Competitive section for animated short films. Competing films must be shorts previously unreleased in Catalonia. The winning short film in this section automatically qualifies to be included in the shortlist of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood for consideration as a candidate for the Academy Awards®.

- Short films submitted to the Brigadoon Section are exclusively included in this section's selection. Brigadoon features a selection of independent productions, focusing on horror and fantastic themes. For a short film to be eligible for Brigadoon, it is not essential for it to be previously unreleased in Spain.

- Short films entered in the Sitges Family Section are exclusively included in this section's selection. Sitges Family - selects films aimed at family audiences and, specifically, aimed at a children's and young people's audiences.

Short films submitted in the general categories and in the Brigadoon or Sitges Family sections cannot be productions uploaded to the Internet or other platforms.

TEASERS/TRAILERS can only be submitted for the Sitges Coming Soon category. In this case, the maximum running time of submitted pieces must be 10'.

Other considerations:

 All films submitted in the general categories and the Brigadoon Section must include English subtitles (if the original version is in a language other than English). Films submitted in the Sitges Family Section must necessarily be dubbed into Spanish and/or include Spanish subtitles.

 Projects that are still “works in progress” will be accepted. This production status must be indicated at the time of submission by checking the appropriate box or by indicating it in parenthesis after the title.

 DVDs / Blu-Rays will not be accepted. Likewise, viewing links received outside the official platform will not be taken into consideration.

 IMPORTANT: works will not be submitted based on the Festival's specific sections, except in the case of those wishing to participate in the Brigadoon or Sitges Family sections, which have their own requirements. Participants in the general categories, if selected, will receive a communication indicating its assigned final section, as determined by the Programming Committee. This Committee reserves the right to place the work in the section it deems most appropriate, independent of the submission category, if applicable.

II. ENTRY FEES

The Festival will charge an entry fee for each work submitted to the viewing platform. This fee does not include any submission fees that the platform may apply.
The fees established for the 2025 edition are:

Standard Deadline (27/02 to 30/06)

Extended Deadline (01/7 to 17/07)

FEATURE FILMS (general categories and Brigadoon and Sitges Family sections)
77 euros
85 euros

SHORT FILMS
(general categories and Brigadoon and Sitges Family sections)
55 euros
65 euros

TEASER/TRAILER 50 euros 60 euros

Payment will be made at the time of submission via the platform.

In the event that you decide to cancel your participation in the Festival, the entry fee will not be refunded.

The Sitges Film Festival upholds an agreement policy with film promotion organizations and/or academic institutions throughout the world. The Festival only grants waivers via these organizations and institutions. To apply for a waiver, please contact the organizations and institutions in your country and submit your request directly to them.

III. SUBMISSION DEADLINES

The deadline for submissions is:


General categories, Brigadoon & Sitges Family
July 17th, 2025

No films will be accepted once the official submission deadline has concluded.

IV. FILM SELECTION FOR THE SITGES FILM FESTIVAL

The Sitges Film Festival will contact the producers/distributors of the selected films, and they will need to complete an additional form (the entry form) to formalize their participation in the film competition. This communication will take place, at the latest, on September 1st, 2025.

In the event of not having been selected, the submission platform will send an automatic notification on September 1st, 2025, for all those films that have formalized their submission via this channel.




REGULATIONS FOR THE 58TH SITGES - INTERNATIONAL
FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL OF CATALONIA


THE FESTIVAL

The Sitges - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia (Sitges Film Festival) is a competitive festival specializing in fantastic genre films, in accordance with the regulations established by the FIAPF (The International Federation of Film Producers Associations).

The Festival has also been declared a “Qualifying Festival” by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood for the Academy Awards®. This means that those short films chosen as winners of the “Best Short Film” award in the Official Fantàstic Selection and the “Best Short Film” award in the Anima't category are automatically qualified to be included in the shortlist of the Academy Awards®.

I. SECTIONS

The Sitges Film Festival consists of the following sections:

1. Official Fantàstic In Competition Selection
2. Official Sitges Collection Section
3. Special Screenings
4. Panorama
5. Òrbita
6. Noves Visions
7. Anima’t
8. Seven Chances
9. Midnight X-Treme
10. Brigadoon (competitive section)
11. Sitges Clàssics (retrospectives and tributes)
12. Sitges Documenta
13. Sitges Coming Soon (teasers and trailers of upcoming releases from all around the world)
14. Sitges Family – family audiences (non-competitive section)

1.1. OFFICIAL FANTÀSTIC IN COMPETITION SELECTION

Feature Film Selection

Main competitive section featuring the best showcase of fantastic genre films, in the broadest sense of the concept. When making the selection, priority is given to both quality and trend-setting. One of the positive assessment criteria is that the film's premiere must be European, at the very least. Feature films of all nationalities may compete here, but they must be unreleased in Spain and the year of production must be between 2024 and 2025.

This is a competitive section with an international jury, chosen by the Festival's management. This jury will present the following awards:

 Best Feature Film
 Premi Especial del Jurat
 Special Jury Award
 Best Director
 Best Actress
 Best Actor
 Best Screenplay
 Best Cinematography
 Best Special, Visual or Makeup Effects
 Best Music

Other awards in the Official Fantàstic in Competition Selection are:

- The Grand People's Choice Award for best fantastic genre feature film, as voted for by audiences.

- The José Luis Guarner Critics' Award, presented by a jury appointed by the Catalan Association of Film Critics and Writers for the best feature film. This organization also presents the Citizen Kane Award for Best New Director, an award for which all those directors presenting their debut film at the Festival in the Official Fantàstic In Competition Selection are eligible.

Short Film Selection

The Official Fantàstic In Competition Selection also includes a selection of short films, which also complies with the criteria of quality and trend setting as a priority objective. Likewise, productions of all nationalities can compete, provided they are unreleased in Spain and have been produced between 2024 and 2025. One of the positive assessment criteria is that the short film's premiere must be European, at the very least. The maximum running time for participating short films is 30 minutes.

The winning short film is automatically qualified to be included in the Hollywood Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences shortlist to compete for the Academy Awards®.

1.2. OFFICIAL SITGES COLLECTION SECTION
This section includes those productions that do not enter into competition but are of special interest to audiences due to their subject matter and/or the attending guests accompanying them. Priority will be given to national premieres. This is a competitive section and the winner is decided by the audiences' votes.

1.3. SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Included in this section are screenings that are part of a gala ceremony or accompany an event (anniversary, tribute, etc.). They are divided into three main types:

o Gales: Galas: opening, closing or themed.
o Special screenings.
o Surprise screening.

1.4. PANORAMA
Competitive section including films of all nationalities, previously unreleased in Spain and produced between 2024 and 2025. The films must belong to the fantastic and/or horror genres and be independent productions.

The Festival's Programming Committee reserves the right to exceptionally program films previously screened at another Spanish film festival.

1.5. ÒRBITA
Competitive section including films of all nationalities, previously unreleased in Spain and produced between 2024 and 2025. It includes films from genres closely related to fantastic genre including thrillers, action films, adventure films and black comedies.

The Festival's Programming Committee reserves the right to exceptionally program films previously screened at another Spanish film festival.

1.6. NOVES VISIONS
Competitive section that includes films of all nationalities, previously unreleased in Spain and produced between 2024 and 2025. It features fantastic genre films that embrace experimentation, new languages and formats and genre hybridization.

The Festival's Programming Committee reserves the right to exceptionally program films previously screened at another Spanish film festival but not included in the official competition of said festival.

This section's awards are for Best Feature Film and Best Director. There is also an award for Best Short Film in the Noves Visions Petit Format section.

This section contains a subsection for short films by students from Catalan film schools, grouped under the name Nova Autoria. The selected shorts (from a shortlist made by the participating schools), in collaboration with the SGAE, compete for the awards for Best Screenplay, Best Directing and Best Music.

1.7. ANIMA’T
Competitive section that includes films of all nationalities, previously unreleased in Spain and produced between 2024 and 2025. The Festival's Programming Committee reserves the right to exceptionally program films previously screened at another Spanish film festival but not included in the official competition of said festival.

Anima't includes a competitive category for short films produced between 2024 and 2025, which must have a maximum running time of 30 minutes. The participating shorts must be previously unreleased in Catalonia.

The Programming Committee reserves the right to select advertising, promotional or music video-type works as short films if they are considered to have sufficient artistic and cinematic value, provided that they are thematically related to the Festival's specialization.
The Anima't Section's jury will present the following awards: Best Animated Short Film (this production is automatically entitled to enter the shortlist of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood to compete for the Academy Awards®) and Best Animated Feature Film.

1.8. SEVEN CHANCES
Section programmed in collaboration with the Catalan Association of Film Critics and Writers (ACCEC). It consists of seven screenings focused on fantastic genre cinema in its broadest sense, as well as on other genres related to the Festival (thrillers, spaghetti westerns, Wuxia, etc.).

The section aims to showcase films of interest, which are worth discovering or rediscovering, and which will be screened in their original format or with a restored print.

1.9. MIDNIGHT X-TREME
A selection of the best independent horror movies. The competition includes films produced between 2024 and 2025. This is a competitive section and an award is presented to the best fiction feature film chosen by audiences' vote.

1.10. BRIGADOON
A selection of fantastic and horror genre feature films, short films and documentaries. The section includes new releases, retrospectives, tributes and/or cult films. A jury presents the Brigadoon Paul Naschy award for the section's Best Fantastic Genre Short Film.

1.11. SITGES CLÀSSICS
This section includes productions that are part of the Festival's Retrospective, commemorative tributes, anniversaries and/or collaborations.

1.12. SITGES COMING SOON
A selection of upcoming premieres of productions from all around the world. These productions must currently be in their final post-production phase.

1.13. SITGES DOCUMENTA
A selection of non-fiction feature films produced between 2024 and 2025 that are thematically related to the Festival's area of specialization.

1.14. SITGES FAMILY (family audiences)
A selection of productions geared towards children and young people and designed to be enjoyed as a family. Sitges Family offers a selection of films that are important for film literacy and highlights productions offering the potential for social transformation and dealing with issues that are committed to important values. The section is non-competitive. The Programming Committee reserves the right to include films in the Sitges Family lineup that are also featured in other sections but share the same focus on children and young people.

II. CROSS-SECTIONAL AWARDS AND LABELS

2.I. Focus Àsia Award
All films produced by Asian companies and included in any of the Festival's sections are eligible for this award, provided that their subject matter pertains to popular genres (thriller, action, fantastic).
Animation is not included. They must be previously unreleased in Spain. The assessment of these criteria is reserved for the Festival's Programming Committee.

2.2. Méliès d’Argent Awards
Awards presented to the best European fantastic genre feature and short films included in any of the Festival's sections and as nominated by the Programming Committee. The winning feature film and short film will go forward to compete for the Méliès d'Or Awards, organized by the MIFF (Méliès International Festivals Federation).

2.3. Blood Window Award
All films produced in Latin America and included in any of the Festival's sections are eligible for this award, provided that their subject matter pertains to the fantastic genre. The assessment of these criteria is reserved for the Festival's Programming Committee.


III. OFFICIAL PARTICIPATION PROCEDURE IN THE EVENT OF BEING SELECTED

3.1. The production company or distributor of the selected films will receive the entry form and a proposal from the Programming Committee for approval.

The production or distribution company agrees to complete and send the entry form to the Festival before August 7th, 2025.

In the event that the Festival is required to share the print with other festivals, this should be specified on the entry form, along with the availability of the print during the dates of the 58th Sitges - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia.

3.2. The company providing the film must also deliver high-quality publicity material to the Festival: photographs, posters, press packs, trailers, etc., so that the Festival can promote the film appropriately. The Festival reserves the right to not return these materials.

3.3. In the event that the film needs to be subtitled, the company providing the film must supply the necessary material: reference link, DVD or Blu-Ray and list of dialogues and/or subtitles. The Festival will not return this material, which will be destroyed once the Festival has ended.

If the film is distributed in Spain, the distribution company must provide the Festival with a subtitled original version screening print.
Films participating in Sitges Family must necessarily have Spanish and/or Catalan subtitles or be dubbed into these languages.

3.4. The screening formats for the selected works will be:
Feature length films included in the Official Fantàstic Selection, Special Screenings, Òrbita, Noves Visions, Sitges Documenta, Panorama, Anima’t, Seven Chances, Midnight X-Treme and Sitges Clàssics:

- 35 mm
- DCP on physical media (hard drive) or digital transfer. In the event that they are encrypted, the Festival will not cover the costs of generating DKDMs or KDMs.

If the distributor and/or representing company does not have a DCP of the selected production, the Festival can provide the contact details of a production service that will be in charge of creating the DCP at the expense of the distributor and/or representing company.
Short films included in the Official Fantàstic Selection, Noves Visions Petit Format, and Anima’t sections:

- Unencrypted DCP
- HD quality digital file (.mov)
Feature films and short films included in the Brigadoon section:
- HD quality digital file (.mov) or DVD/Blu-Ray
Pieces included in the Sitges Coming Soon, Sitges Family and Nova Autoria sections:
- HD quality digital file (.mov)

3.5. Transport costs arising from the shipment of screening prints will be paid by the Festival, except in the event that the print must be sent to another film festival. In this case, the other festival will pay for transportation from the Sitges Film Festival's address to the other specified address. The Festival will not cover the costs of sending or returning trailers or teasers. Likewise, the Festival will not cover any potential digital shipping expenses.

3.6. In the event of providing a screening print on a hard drive, the Festival commits to returning this copy as soon as possible, no later than 20 days after the end of the film competition. The Festival organization commits to deleting all screening materials received in digital format once the current edition has ended.

3.7. In the event that the copy is damaged as a result of its screening at the Festival, the owner must inform the Festival within one month’s time, starting from the date the print is returned.

The Festival's liability will not exceed the cost specified on the entry form by the company providing the film.

3.8. The Festival Organization will decide each film's screening dates and times. No film, included in any of the Festival's sections, will be screened more than 5 times, including the press screening, without the owner's prior consent.

3.9. Regarding the recording of film clips for use on television programs, the Festival will comply with the regulations established in the FIAPF rules & regulations for competitive specialized festivals.

3.10. The Festival accepts all FIAPF rules & regulations for competitive specialized festivals.

3.11. Participation in the Festival implies full acceptance of all the rules and regulations herein.

3.12. Any issue or dispute arising during the course of the Festival that is not covered under these rules and regulations will be settled by the Festival Organization in accordance with international regulations.

3.13. The Festival does not award cash prizes.