"I feel like a lot of time has passed and we've all grown up," he says with a nostalgic smile. Julia Ducournau (Paris, 1983) recalling his first visit to the Sitges Film Festival to present his debut film, Raw, one of the sensations of the 2016 edition. "I have great memories of the festival, I had a great time," he adds. Nine years and a Palme d'Or later (for Titane), Ducournau is still that tall and magnetic young woman who, due to her attitude and cinematic tastes, could be mistaken for the festival audience, but now she opens Sitges with Alpha. She's left her jeans and t-shirts in the closet and wherever she goes she's surrounded by a group of fans and cameras, as befits one of the star directors of new European cinema.