Benedict Cumberbatch and Gérard Depardieu to star in 2022 BCN Film Fest

Barcelona is set to hold the 6^th edition of its BCN film fest, with over 20 productions on offer, including ten premiering in Spain and one in Catalonia.

Some big names in Hollywood can be found in the casts, such as Gérard Depardieu in Patrice Leconte’s 'Maigret', and Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy in Will Sharpe’s 'The Electrical Life of Louis Wain'.

Furthermore, Oliver Stone once again investigates the mysterious assassination of President Kennedy, 30 years after his first attempt in 'JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass'.

The Official Selection category of the event, which comprises literary adaptations, productions based on historical events and biopics, also includes 'I Want To Talk About Duras' by Claire Simon; 'The World Champion' by Aleksey Sidorov; 'Eugénie Grandet' by Marc Dugain; 'The Accusation' by Yvan Attal; 'The Phantom of the Open' by Craig Roberts; and 'The Storms of Jeremy Thomas' by Mark Cousins.

Like last year, five more sections make up the festival: Cinema amb Gràcia – Comedies –, Zona Oberta, Imprescindibles – The Essential Ones –, Art al Cinema and CineAsia. The last of these celebrates cinema from a different Asian country every year, with 2022’s choice being the Chinese-made 'The Battle at Lake Changjin', a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War.

Conxita Casanovas, the Director and Head of Programming for the event, said in a press conference that they “want this sixth edition of the festival to be very inspiring and a place to rethink culture and that every viewer finds a way of connecting with different ways of viewing the world and life”.

Casanovas also announced that this year the official partner would be streaming giant Netflix, although this unfortunately does not mean the films in the programme will be available on the platform during this time.

Tickets start at just €3.90, and cinemas all over Barcelona will host screenings, notably at Cines Verdi in the neighbourhood of Gràcia, with others taking place in the Institut Français, the CaixaForum, and Casa Seat, from April 21 to 29.

There are eight awards up for grabs, including Best Film, Best Actor/Actress, and Best Script, all to be presented at the Closing Ceremony.