Austrian Oscar Entry ‘The Devil’s Bath’ Sweeps Sitges Film Festival

John Lithgow, Geoffrey Rush and Kristine Froseth won top acting awards at Spain’s prominent Sitges Fantasy Film Festival, which wrapped its 57th edition on Oct. 13.

Making a sweep of the fest with three awards was Austrian Best International Feature Oscar entry “The Devil’s Bath” by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. Drawn from historical facts, the Austrian-German co-production is described by Variety critic Jessica Kiang as a “story so pitilessly bleak you may want to look away; the filmmaking craft is so compelling that you can’t.” The historical horror drama, which vied for the Berlinale Golden Bear in February, follows Agnes, a depressed newlywed, who instead of committing suicide, considered taboo by her Christian community, commits a crime that would lead to her execution. The “suicide by proxy” practice was said to be common in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in German-speaking Central Europe and Scandinavia.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Soi Cheang took home the Best Director award for “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” a martial arts crime drama based on the novel “City of Darkness.” It was selected for Cannes’ Midnight Screening, where it received critical acclaim.

Lithgow and Rush shared the Best Actor award for their roles in “The Rule of Jenny Penn,” where they portray two men in a nursing home who engage in an increasingly violent rivalry.

Kristine Froseth snagged the Best Actress award for her performance in the time travel thriller, “Desert Road,” the directorial debut of Shannon Triplett. Froseth plays Claire Devoir, a 20-ish photographer whose trip through the desert grows ever more sinister and disorienting.

The 57th Sitges Fantasy Film Festival ran Oct. 3 -13.

57th Edition Award Winners:

Official Competition

Feature Film

“The Devil’s Bath,” Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala 

Special Jury Award

“Exhuma,” Jang Jae-hyun

Direction

Soi Cheang, “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” 

Actress

Kristine Froseth, “Desert Road”   

Actor (ex-aequo) 

John Lithgow, “The Rule of Jenny Penn”

Geoffrey Rush. “The Rule of Jenny Penn”

Screenplay

Aaron Schimberg, “A Different Man” 

Special, Visual or Makeup Effects

Equips de Digital District, Machina Infinitum, “Else”

Music

“Die Hexen,” Fréwaka

Cinematography

Giovanni Ribisi, “Strange Darling”

New Visions

Film

“A Desert,” Joshua Erkman

Direction

Grazia Tricarico, “Body Odyssey” 

Short Film

“Say Wuff!,” Fabian Podeszwa

Méliès d’Argent

Fantastic Genre Feature Film 

“Animale,” Emma Benestan

European Fantasy Genre Short Film 

“Meat Puppet,” Eros V

Animat’t

“Memoir of a Snail,” Adam Elliot

Animated Short Film

“Free the Chickens,” Matúš Vizár 

Òrbita 

 Feature Film

“Zero,” Jean Luc Herbulot 

Blood Window

Feature Film 

“Mi bestia,” Camila Beltrán 

Critic’s Jury

 Film

“The Devil’s Bath,” Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala

Citizen Kane Award for Best New Director 

“Thibault Emin,” Else  

Short Film

“Chew,” Félix Dobaire  

Brigadoon Awards

Brigadoon Paul Naschy Award for the Best Short Film 

“Céntrico,” Luso Martinez

SGAE Nova Autoria

Direction-Production (ex-aequo)

“Blava Terra,” Marine Auclair

“Daru/n,” Benjamin Hindrichs

Screenplay 

Benjamin Hindrichs, “Daru/n”

Original Music 

Yuliya Protasova, “De-sastre” 

Carnet Jove Jury

Feature Film

“The Devil’s Bath,” Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala

Sitges Documentary Film 

“Grand Theft Hamlet,” Pinny Grylls & Sam Crane 

People’s Choice Award

Feature Film

“Strange Darling,” JT Mollner 

Panorama Fantàstic People’s Choice Award 

“Handsome Guys,” Dong-Hyub Nam

Sitges Collection People’s Choice Award 

“Dead Talents Society,” John Hanchiang Hsu

Focus Asia People’s Choice Award 

“Dead Talents Society,” John Hanchiang Hsu

Midnight X-treme People’s Choice Award

“Die Alone,” Lowell Dean