Culture

The Catalan movie 'Pa Negre', directed by Agustí Villaronga and filmed entirely in Catalan, is a huge hit at the Goya Awards taking home 9 awards out of 14 nominations, including the awards for the best film, the best director, and 4 of the 6 acting awards. The movie pictures the dark years after the Spanish Civil War in Catalonia.

At an auction this week at the Sotheby Art Auction House in London, a Salvador Dalí painting was sold for no less than 16 million euros setting a world record for the Catalan artist and for any Surrealist work of art in the world.

Three Catalan movies compete in various categories at the Berlinale film festival. In addition, during the 10 days of festival, 13 Catalan movies are screened to the public in the German capital.

‘The Selected Stories of Mercè Rodoreda’ is the book’s title. It is the second English translation of this Catalan author from the second half of the 20th century.

Roser Capdevila created the 'The Triplets' in 1983 based on her own three daughters. The stories of the three sisters have been published all around the world and the author has decided to offer the original paintings to the Catalan Library.

The British film director Peter Greenaway was the guest of honour at the international documentary festival that took place in Barcelona from the 1st to the 6th of February. With up to 42 screenings all around the city, the festival showcased the crème de la crème of documentary making. In the end, the American documentary 'Foreign Parts' scooped the top award for best film this year and 'Enemies of the People', a chronicle of the horrific genocide of the Khmer Rouge won the Catalan Public Television prize for Human Rights

Lluís Miñarro’s documentary film ‘Finisterrae’ scooped a top award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. The film is directed by the manager of the International Sònar Music Festival in Barcelona, Sergio Caballero. This was his first ever movie and it was actually the image of last year’s Sónar Festival. Rotterdam’s jury awarded ‘Finisterrae’ impressed for its riskiness.

The 2011 edition of the rock-pop festival Primavera Sound will be even bigger with 20,000 square meters more and a brand new bigger and stage. In total there will be 8 simultaneous stages, 2 of them for large concerts.

Photojournalist Gervasio Sánchez culminates a decade of his work with a new exhibition called ‘Disappeared’. He has pictured the pain of family members who face the loss of a relative disappeared by a dictatorial regime. The work is shown simultaneously in Barcelona, Madrid and León.

Marta Casals asks the Spanish Government to ask the UN to recuperate the anthem that 40 years ago Pau Casals especially composed. The anthem was used in the seventies, under U Thant’s term, and then forgot. The famous cellist wrote a song for peace.

Valls experienced one of the most spectacular and unique Catalan events. Over 57 groups came together to build traditional human towers

In commemoration of the declaration of the Catalan Republic, 500 voluntary actors dress-up in 1930's style to participate in the film production, '14 April. Macià against Companys', a review of the declaration of the Catalan Republic, which lasted only a few days.

A tribute concert to the internationally renowned Catalan cellist and conductor Pau Casals took place in Washington DC. The memorable concert brought Marta Casals back to her husband’s performance in the White House in 1961, in front of President John F. Kennedy.

Representatives from the Mediterranean Fair of Manresa will take part in the world's largest winter music festival this year, Celtic Connections. Between the 27th and the 30th of January, a number of Catalans will be in the city of Glasgow taking part in the performance 'Showcase Scotland'.

According to the Publishers Association of Catalonia, the book sector made a 10% loss last year. Books in Catalan represent 26.5% of the domestic market, 1.1% more than in 2009.