Two German films, Hans-Christian Schmid's Requiem and Martin Weisz's Butterfly-AGrimm Love Story (Rohtenburg), split most of the top prizes at the 39th edition of thegenre International Film Festival of Catalunya (Oct 6-15), better known as Sitges.
Requiem, the story of a woman's dramatic spiral downward,took home the official fantastic competition's best film award and a bestactress nod for Sandra Hueller, a repeat of the prize she won at the Berlinale.Requiem also picked up the JoseLuis Guarner Critics Award.
Butterfly, the controversial tale of the so-called "cannibal ofRohtenburg," won best director, a tie for best actor for Thomas Krestchmann andThomas Huber, who play cannibal and victim respectively, and best photography.
Joe Dante's Homecoming, from the US-Canadian Masters of Horror series, won the special jury prizeand best script for writer Sam Hamm's tale of a group of deceased military men who come back tohaunt American policy-makers during apresidential election.
Other Sitges prizes went to Norway's The Bothersome Man for best production design, South Korean-Japanesetitle Time forbest make-up effects, South Korean Bong Joon-ho's The Host for best special effects, andGeorgian-French co-production Tzameti (13) for best original soundtrack.
Michel Gondry's TheScience Of Sleep took the Audience Awardfor best motion picture, while Anders Morgenthaler's Princess walked away with the Silver Melies prize for bestEuropean motion picture. US director Rian Johnson won the Citizen Kane Awardfor up-and-coming director for his high school-set film noir Brick.
The Carnet Jove Jury gave its prizes to Johnnie To's Exiled and Crispin Glover's What Is It', with special mentions for JohnCarpenter's Cigarette Burns and Scott Glosserman's Behind The Mask: The Rise OfLeslie Vernon.
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