film festival

The 18^th edition of the international documentary film festival DocsBarcelona will open its doors on 25 May. This year, 42 films from 26 countries will be screened in 3 different locations: the Aribau Cinema Club, the CCCB (Barcelona's Contemporary Culture Centre) and La Pedrera's cultural centre, located in Antoni Gaudí's famous building. Through the rich selection of this edition's programme, a wide range of human and social issues will be explored. These will include individual and family stories, pieces on historical memory, films to do with fundamental rights, as well as reflections on the environment and the economy. 'Falciani’s Tax Bomb' by Ben Lewis will open the festival, while the event closing will take place on 31 May with the screening of 'Dancing with Maria' by Ivan Gergolet.

The Catalan film director Isabel Coixet screened her second latest film 'Learning to drive', starring Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson at the Málaga Film Festival this Friday. Coixet,is probably the most internationally acclaimed contemporary Catalan filmmaker, having directed 10 feature-length films including 'Things I Never Told You' (1996),  My Life Without Me (2003) which won a Goya Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for Berlin's Golden Bear, 'The Secret Life of Words' (2005) which won the main Goya Awards, and ' Map of the Sounds of Tokyo' (2009). Coixet manages to craft her films in her own style, whilst also working  also  with Hollywood stars such as Ben Kingsley, Tim Robbins and Penélope Cruz. She has also been involved in the making of many documentary films and commercials.

The Catalan film director Isabel Coixet, most known for her internationally proclaimed films ‘My Life Without You’ (2003) and ‘The Secret Life of Words’ (2005), has been selected to open this year’s upcoming Berlin International Film Festival with her newest work ‘Nobody Wants the Night’. The film, inspired by true events, has been and adapted to the screen by writer Miguel Barros. It is set in early 20^th century Iceland and tells the inspiring tale of two women who risked their lives for the polar adventurer Robert Peary.

21^st edition of the independent film festival l’Alternativa will run from 17 to 23 November in Barcelona. It will show 159 independent films from 45 countries, covering topics such as immigration, identity and collective memory. The festival will be divided into the Official section and the Parallel one. The Official section will feature titles from Romania, Chile, Brazil, Germany, France and Spain, with shorts and feature length films of fiction, non-fiction, animation and experimental styles. While l’Alternativa Parallel this year will be subdivided into five sub-sections: Partly Fiction,Panorama, Small Experiments, and those according to directors Djibril Diop Mambéty/Mati Diop and Anne-Marie Miéville. Within the l’Alternativa Hall, viewers will be able to see screenings, of a range of experimental styles, free of charge. There will also be training and debate in filmmaking. The festival will take place in the CCCB, the Filmoteca de Catalunya, and the French Institute in Barcelona.

Film buffs and festival fans will be flocking to Sitges these next 10 days, as the 47^th Sitges International Film Festival opens this Friday, a long-awaited event after the success of previous years. Catalan filmmaker Jaume Balagueró will open the festival, with the latest in his popular REC series, ‘REC 4: Apocalypse’. The festival, which already sold nearly 32,000 tickets early this week, has a budget of €1.7 million, 2.5% more than last year. The event is anticipated to have a “wider programme than ever” according to the Festival’s Director, Ángel Sala. While under the umbrella of all things sinister and fantastic, the line-up will include everything from the latest gems to classics of the genre and a wide selection of fictional feature films, shorts and documentaries.

The 26^th edition of Girona´s Film Festival runs from the 15^th to the 19^th of July and will screen 175 films; a mix of feature films and short movies from 35 different countries. The festival will kick off with the restored version of Josep Maria Forn´s Los Culpables, shot in Girona in 1962. The event will also contain a new section entitled ´Made in Costa Brava Girona´, which will showcase new and old films shot in the north-eastern part of Catalonia. The festival is made up of 14 sections, six of which will include the presentation of non-monetary awards. Acclaimed Spanish designer, Javier Mariscal, will be a member of the judging panel.

The International Film Festival of Animation in Catalonia has celebrated its 18^th birthday by presenting 235 pieces under the leitmotif of 'hybrid’. The mix of real images and animation has been the main theme in the 2014 edition. The presence of special guests Czech director Ji?í Barta and British BAFTA nominated Chris Shepherd, Walt Disney’s Alice’s Wonderland, Michel Gondry’s L’écume des jours and a conference by The Amazing World of Gumball's creators have been the main components of this year’s festival, which was organised by Lleida City Council.

Catalan cinema will once again play a significant part in this year’s prestigious Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), with the presentation of two feature films and one short-film. The Catalan co-production Aloft ('No ploris, vola'), by Claudia Llosa, who also directed the 2009 Golden Bear winner The Milk of Sorrow, will compete in the official section of the festival, held between the 6^th and the 16^th of February. ‘El somni’ (The Dream) directed by Franc Aleu and centred on the creative dishes of the Roca brothers, universally acclaimed Catalan Chefs, will be screened during the ‘Culinary session’ of the festival. Finally, short-film lovers will discover ‘TABA, El Juego En La Mesa’ (TABA, Table Games), directed by Pep Gatell and Eloi Colom, and produced by the ‘Fura dels Baus’ a Barcelona theatrical group famous for its innovative performances.

The 46^th edition of the International Festival of Fantastic Film of Catalonia ended on 20^th of October in Sitges (Greater Barcelona) on a very successful note. Ticket sales and public interest reached new highs while supernatural thriller Borgman was awarded ‘Best Film’. Fan favourite Charles Dance received ‘Time Machine Award’, Israeli directors Aharon and Navot Papushado Keshales won ‘Best Director’ and British actress Juno Temple and Chinese actor Andy Lau were also distinguished.

The Plague (‘La Plaga’), directed by Neús Ballús, is one of the 5 nominees in the ‘European Discovery’ category of the European Film Awards. In an exclusive interview with the Catalan News Agency from the BFI London Film Festival – in which Ballús is participating – , the film-maker explained that her movie’s nomination was totally “unexpected”. Ballús is very “impressed” by this decision, which she considers is “a recognition of movies made in a smaller and more humble dimension”.  She stressed that many Catalan movies have this dimension, which also gives them greater freedom to experiment.

Seven islets just one kilometre away from the town of L’Estartit on the Costa Brava form one of the most attracting diving areas in Europe. Twenty years of protection as a natural marine park have permitted a complete sea-bed recovery, which hosts hundreds of species such as groupers, lobsters or even red coral. Caves, sharper rocks and sand banks captivate thousands of scuba diving lovers each year. Thanks to Illes Medes, L’Estartit has evolved from a little fishing village to an international diving town where tourists from all around the world are regular visitors looking for its submarine views.

The 16th edition of the DocsBarcelona festival increased audience figures by 40% compared to 2012. The festival organisation thinks that one of the reasons for such an increase is the fact that they have moved the event from winter to spring. Furthermore, the improvement in the festival’s communication and image management as well as the higher number of movies shown and sessions held could also be behind the positive 2013 figures. Joshua Oppenheimer’s ‘The Act of Killing’ received the best movie award for its work picturing Anwar Congo’s death squads in Indonesia. Catalan Eva Vila’s ‘Bajarí’ received the jury’s special mention.

The 15th edition of the International Short Film and Animation Festival of Barcelona, known as Mecal Pro, has ended after 350 short films were selected from over five thousand and were projected for a month. An increase in participation, the extension of the festival’s length and the importance given to the animation genre were the main features of this year’s edition. This year’s biggest winners were ‘El otro’ (‘The other’) by Jorge Dorado and ‘Misterio’ (‘Mistery’) by Chema García Ibarra. The FX Animation new award goes to the Dutch film ‘Junkyard’ and the best international short film award to ‘Solitudes’, by French director Liova Jedlicki.

This past weekend Barcelona has been the international capital of sport and films. About 70 movies were screened and all kinds of sporting disciplines were represented in the 4th edition of this consolidated film festival. The winner of the best film in the BCN Sports Film Festival was the Spanish documentary ‘Pura Vida’ (The Ridge). As part of the programme there were also ‘One to One’ meetings between producers, directors and distributors, as well as the ‘Pitching advice’ presentations, a great chance to show new audiovisual projects.

The 19th edition of the Latin American Film Festival in Lleida ended last weekend after showing 117 films from 14 different countries. Argentine film director Gustavo Garzón’s movie 'Por un tiempo' (‘For a time’) had its world premiere while honorary awards were delivered to Spanish actor José Coronado and Mexican actor Damián Alcazar. 'Porcelain horse' (Mejor no hablar de ciertas cosas), directed by Ecuador’s Javier Andrade, won the Best Film Award. The budget for this year’s edition had been reduced by 24% and the Festival was forced to remove documentary and retrospective sections from the programme.