The Festival enjoys a first day with talks by Mucho, Filipe Carvalho, Cocolab and Brosmind
Sitges Next – International Festival of Innovation in Communication and New Media, started its engines today as a meeting place for communication creatives and professionals, in order to create a common space to share the latest trends in advertising, design and new technologies.
The Festival’s year zero kicked off this morning by hosting, in the Maricel Palace, Mucho studio’s workshop, where those attending delved into art direction and got to know all the steps in the creative process, from the idea to the final product. Early in the afternoon, Sitges Next was officially inaugurated at the Prado Theater, filled to the brim. Christian Molina, the Festival’s art director, began the speeches, followed by Xavier Duran, Festival director, who highlighted “the importance of acknowledging the work done by creatives, while at the same time recovering a festival for Catalonia and a meeting place”. The inauguration ended with words from the Mayor of Sitges, Miquel Forns, who stated that he was “pleased with the talent coming together these two days in Sitges; Next couldn’t find a better place to grow”.
Filipe Carvalho, Portuguese art director and designer, kicked off the conferences by presenting his homage to the Ghost in the Shell manga, created along with designer Ash Thorp. Afterwards, it was time for Mexican studio Cocolab, creators of the unique Disarm project, an orchestra of instruments made from decommissioned weapons that the Mexican army acquired from drug cartels. In this project, these agents of violence come to life and become tools of creation. Following a short break, which also serves as a networking space for attendees, the key players from the morning’s workshop, Mucho, offered a conference revolving around creative strategies.
During Sitges Next’s first day, the organization presented awards corresponding to the following categories: Brand Content (Mucho), Digital (Vasava), Social Media (Paper Magazine), ADFantastic (Ash Thorp + Filipe Carvalho), Innovation (Cocolab + Pedro Reyes) and Editorial (Brosmind).
The Mingarro Brothers, founders of the Brosmind studio, closed the day one conferences with their multidisciplinary creations, revolving around illustrations full of color, fantasy and humor.
Sitges Next is a festival curated by Héctor Ayuso and Christian Molina, and which is organized by the Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia Foundation, the Sitges Town Council and the Catalonian Generalitat (the autonomous government of Catalonia) , through the Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (Catalan Institute of Cultural Enterprises).