The Academy of Catalan Cinema pays homage to prized films

Barcelona (CNA).- The world of Catalan cinema celebrated its 2nd summer festival, an event that brought together actors, actresses, directors, screenwriters, and technicians that make Catalan cinema possible. During the event, The Academy recognised all of the films that have received prizes in international festivals. A total of 38 Catalan films have won 115 prizes. The president of the Academy, Joel Joan, said that this demonstrates that Catalan cinema is “in a good health.” The Academy also recognised Àlex Gorina, journalist for Televisió de Catalunya, and Pere Vall, Director of the cinema magazine ‘Fotogramas’, for their work in the evolution of Catalan cinema.
The Academy of Catalan Cinema met this Wednesday evening with professionals from the world of film to celebrate for the 2nd consecutive year its summer festival. The festival aims to recognise the Catalan films that have won international prizes. This year, 38 films won a total of 115 awards. Joel Joan, president of the Academy, has said that this amount of awards means that Catalan cinema is in “good health”, especially considering that the economic crisis has hit the film industry hard.

'Bucarest, la memòria perduda' (Bucharest, the lost memory), 'Garbo, l'home que va salvar el món' (Garbo, the man who saved the world), 'Herois' (Heroes), 'Familystrip' and 'Tres dies amb la família' (Three days with the family) are just some of the titles that have been recognised at the festival. The event took place at the Museu d’Història de Catalunya (The History Museum of Catalonia). Joel Joan said that he was “happy” to bring together the actors, actresses, directors, producers, and technicians that make Catalan cinema possible.

Joan brought up the recently approved ‘Law of Cinema’, a law that obliges 50% of films in Catalonia to be dubbed or subtitled in Catalan, stating that it must be “well applied”. He also told CNA that he hopes Catalan cinema will continue to grow and that the Academy in Hollywood would eventually recognise Catalan as an official foreign language for the Oscar Awards. He has said that in his first conversations with the Academy in Hollywood, they have indicated the possibility that Catalan may be considered as an official language.

But for Joan the most important thing for Catalan cinema is to “break the ice” and create an “attitude change” in the world of film, showing that the Catalan language has a place in the international film industry.

During the festival, the Academy recognised two journalists that have followed the evolution of Catalan cinema and given support to Catalan productions, directly or indirectly. Àlex Gorina, film critic and head of the program ‘Sala 33’ of Televisió de Catalunya, and Pere Vall, film critic and director of the film journal ‘Fotogramas’, were the journalists featured in the festival’s 2nd edition.

Gorina defined himself as a “lover” of cinema and expressed his illusion in receiving recognition from the Academy, calling it “an act of love”, after he criticised the Academy’s tasks for the past year. Pere Vall opted to defend the role of the often-criticised journalist during the festival, saying that being a journalist is the “best profession”, only comparable to cinema-makers themselves. For this reason he also demanded a greater proximity and facility to be able to follow this activity.

Tonight the festival will also present some of the films that will be released on the big screen in 2010. Twenty-five films including ‘Blow Horn’ by Lluís Miñarro, ‘Herois’ by Pau Freixas, and ‘La nit que va morir l’Elvis’ (The night Elvis died) by Oriol Ferrer will be screened. Some of the films are still in production while others have already hit the box office. For Joel Joan, there is something for all tastes. The range of films include both box office hits and independent films that will go on to festival market.