This edition of Sitges 2025 Film Festival not only honors the roots of the genre but also expands its boundaries, embracing stories that explore identity, gender, and mythology through a modern, subversive lens.
Two standout films dominate the competitive section of Sitges 2025—Gaua by Basque filmmaker Paul Urkijo and The Ugly Stepsister by Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt.
Both productions share a powerful theme: reclaiming female narratives long buried under centuries of fear and folklore.
Urkijo’s Gaua takes inspiration from real witch trials conducted in 17th-century Zugarramurdi, where women were accused of witchcraft, cannibalism, and consorting with demons.
Rather than recreating the Inquisition’s horror, Urkijo transforms it into a poetic act of resistance.
His witches are not villains—they are symbols of wisdom, spirituality, and rebellion against oppression.
The film, shot entirely in medieval Basque, intertwines ancestral myths with psychological horror.
Urkijo infuses his story with imagery from Malleus Maleficarum engravings, Goya’s black paintings, and cinematic references such as The Company of Wolves by Neil Jordan and The Brothers Grimm by Terry Gilliam.
The nonlinear narrative allows the protagonist, Kattalin—played by Yune Nogueiras—to experience legends where she becomes both storyteller and victim, dissolving the line between myth and memory.
