ESCAC takes over Sitges: a week of cinema, talent and connections
Once again, the school heads to the Sitges Festival to experience fantastic cinema from the inside, connect generations and bring talent from the classroom to the industry.
During Festival week, from 8 to 18 October, ESCAC suspended academic activities and moved to Sitges so its students could enjoy a fully immersive experience at one of the major international gatherings for fantastic cinema. And, as every academic year, this edition brought all kinds of opportunities: new projects, recognition, unexpected encounters and many stories that deserve to reach the screen.
Events and networking for students
More than 425 accredited students experienced the Festival up close, sharing workshops, screenings and conversations with industry professionals. Among the most notable encounters, 40 students had the opportunity to meet Peter Jackson and ask him questions and share their concerns about the challenges, opportunities and future facing those who aspire to make their way in today’s audiovisual industry. It was a chance to hear first-hand from one of cinema’s great figures and gain insight into the challenges of an industry in constant transformation.
The Sitges party, organised by the students themselves through the ESCAC Students and Alumni Association (AEAE), sponsored by the school and held in collaboration with the Uniq venue, brought together more than 300 participants for a night of networking to connect generations, bring departments together and celebrate a shared passion: watching, making and, above all, experiencing cinema. Because the best stories often take shape in the conversations after a screening, in the exchange of ideas and in unexpected encounters that, under the Sitges moon and amid the Festival’s fantastic atmosphere, can become the starting point for future projects.
Selections and awards
ESCAC talent also found its place on screen and in the Festival’s awards list.
Nausica Serra received the Best Direction award at the SGAE New Authorship Awards for Dissecció d’una incoherència en crisi, recognising a distinctive vision and a new voice in cinema. The short film Don’t Be Afraid, directed by Alejandro Moreno, was part of the Festival’s Official Selection, bringing the school’s work into the competition.
Meanwhile, ESCAC alumnus Javi Ruiz Caldera won the Audience Award in the Sitges Collection section for 5 More Minutes. And Marc Martínez, also an alumnus of the school, won the Méliès d’Or with his short film The Old Woman and Eternity (The Old Lady and the Eternity).
Four different stories, one shared drive: to keep exploring the limits of cinematic language.
Opportunities and industry
Sitges is also a place where projects can make the leap from the classroom to the industry. This year, Script Talent, the screenwriting lab promoted by ESCAC, facilitated another meeting with industry professionals through a pitching session in which a selection of projects from the Screenwriting Department was presented. An opportunity to share ideas, find allies and start turning them into films.
In addition, New Talent, a programme dedicated to presenting the school’s emerging voices, brought industry professionals together for a private screening of a selection of the best short films from the last season, directed by ESCAC students. A window onto the school’s emerging talent and an invitation to discover the stories that could shape cinema in the years to come.
Because cinema is not experienced only on screen: it also happens in the encounters, conversations and projects that grow around it. And once again, Sitges has been the perfect setting for ESCAC students to keep writing the next chapter.
