‘Alcarràs’ reaches theatres after prestigious Berlin award

Carla Simón’s critically acclaimed ‘Alcarràs’ has finally reached theatres across Catalonia. 

There has been huge excitement for the movie to reach cinemas ever since it picked up the top prize at this year’s Berlinale International Film Festival, the Golden Bear. 

Tuesday saw the premiere of the movie in Lleida, while the movie was also the curtain-raiser on Barcelona’s D’A Film Festival on Thursday in the sold-out Cinemas Aribau. 

‘Alcarràs’ tells the story of the last fruit harvest that a family goes through on their farm before they must leave the land after the owners decide to install solar panels. It’s a tribute to rural life, family farms, and respectful agriculture, and made history as the first-ever Catalan film to take the biggest award at one of the most prestigious international film festivals in the world in Berlin in February.

Like Simón's (b. Barcelona, 1986) first feature film (‘Summer 1993’), the story is based on personal experience, in this case the death of her grandfather, as she explained to the Catalan News Agency (ACN) during an interview in Berlin.

"The loss of my godfather, who had always worked in the fields, made me appreciate his legacy and I wondered if those trees would really be there forever. And the answer, probably, is no," Simón says.

Her film, with a cast made up of non-professional actors, delves into the loss too of an entire way of life – small-scale family farms.

She wants it to act as a tribute to "one of the oldest jobs in human history but one that is in danger of dying out," while at the same time showing off the "cinematic value" of rural Lleida.

D’A Film Festival kicks off in Barcelona

D'A Film Festival Barcelona 2022 kicked off on Thursday with a program featuring 127 films, 47 short productions, 10 world premieres, 24 Spanish premieres, and 66 Catalan premieres.

Both the opening and closing films of the D'A 2022 feature women filmmakers: the Catalan film of the year, 'Alcarràs', by Carla Simón, inaugurates the festival, while 'Cinco lobitos', by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, which was the big winner at this year’s Málaga Film Festival, will bring the curtain down on the event. 

The 12th edition of the D'A Film Festival will be held from April 28 to May 8, focusing on great filmmakers of contemporary cinema and award-winning films at major international festivals. 

The D'A 2022 will take place in cinemas in the city of Barcelona: the CCCB Theatre, Hall, and Auditorium, the Renoir Floridablanca cinemas, Zumzeig, and the Filmoteca de Catalunya.

Some 40 directors, filmmakers, and production teams will present their films in person at the festival and speak with gathered audiences. 

Among them will be ‘Alcarràs’ director Carla Simón, former artistic director of Cannes Critics Week Charles Tesson, Nadav Lapid ('Ahed's Knee'), Alauda Ruiz de Azúa ('Cinco lobitos'), Yngvild Sve Flikke ('Ninjababy'), Mounia Akl ('Costa Brava', 'Lebanon'), Nely Reguera ('The Volunteer') or Meritxell Colell ('Duo').