'Eva,' 'Tight' dominate early Sitges

SITGES, The nation -- Two homegrown movies, Kike Maillo's "Avoi" and Jaume Balaguero's "Sleep Tight," centered early media buzz at Spain's 44th Sitges festival, which started Thursday. Calculating only natural. Are both produced from Barcelona, merely a half hour's vehicle ride within the Mediterranean coast from Sitges. An Crazy Bunch sales hit together with a The Weinstein Co. U.S. pick-up, "Avoi" is -- for that country -- furthermore a ground-breaking robot meller. Toplining Daniel Bruehl ("Inglourious Basterds") becoming an psychologically reticent A.I. genius drawn to his home town to produce most likely probably the most psychologically advanced replicant in the world, "Avoi" carried out with a generally warm reception opening Sitges. Advised, Vital will open "Avoi" on 302 copies March. 28, mentioned producer Sergi Casamitjana at Escandalo. "Sleep Tight," which world premed at Austin Fantastic Fest, might be the most recent pic from Balaguero, a Sitges Time Machine awardee this year, whose "The Nameless" -- produced like "Tight" by Filmax -- elevated the curtain on Barcelona's modern trendy genre pic production. Put together by Barcelona-based scribe-producer Alberto Marini -- a talent to follow -- "Tight" has Luis Tosar ("Miami Vice," "The Rain"), now firmly established among Spain's topnotch thesps, just like a sadistic, voyeuristic doorman hell-bent on frightening a tenant (Marta Etura) from her wits. A perverse thriller, with echoes of Roman Polanski's "The Tenant," "Tight" flat-footed some Balaguero aficionados -- it is within the shuddering camerawork of zombie-fest "REC" -- but was recognized by a few Spain's most influential newspapers as Balaguero's best so far. Both photos mesh mainstream tropes having a couple of from the mental complexity of arthouse fare. That middle-ground mix also informed the most effective-examined of foreign game game titles over Sitges' early running: Cary Fukunaga's Medieval-romancer "Jane Eyre," welcomed just like a "perfect adaptation" through the the spanish language language daily El Pais, and Mike Cahill's sci-fi allegory and relationship-drama "Another Earth," already a Sundance prize champion. Xavier Gens' "The Divide" divided opinions Steven Soderbergh's "Contagion" was appropriately received wolverine caper "Games of Werewolves," produced by Spain's Telespan 2000 and Vaca Films, sparked hoots of laughter. At fest's opening ceremony, Bigas Luna ("Anguish") and Rodar y Rodar director-producer Scar Targarona acquired honorary Marias, the 2nd on her behalf pioneering Screenwriters Workshop Foundation. A trailer for Paco Plaza's Filmax-produced "REC 3 Genesis," getting a spook-wedding invasion, elevated extended applause. Together with a queue to find out first images of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Beginning - Part 1" extended a hundred yards from fest's primary Sitges Melia hotel for the local graveyard. However niche industry, early Sitges suggested a great number of fans for genre beginning the long run. Fest runs through March. 16. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com