Catalan cinema enters new golden age with box office hits and critical acclaim

Catalonia took to cinema very early. 

In 1897 – the same time the Lumière brothers were active in neighboring France – the first fiction film in the history of Catalan and Spanish cinema was shot on a café-bar terrace outside the Vapor Vell factory in Sants, Barcelona. 

Silent, black and white, and barely a minute long, Fructuós Gelabert's 'Riña en un café' (Fight in a Café) nevertheless sparked the beginning of a golden age for Catalan cinema. 

The early 20th century was a time of innovation, experimentation and creativity, with Catalan cinema a trailblazer in Spain. 

This was all abruptly halted by the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent Franco dictatorship, which brought censorship and restrictions, including a ban on films in Catalan. 

Record-breaking year 

A century on, Catalan cinema – and especially cinema in Catalan – can be said to be enjoying a new golden age.  

2024 was a record-breaking year, with more than 700,000 people – 728,435 to be exact – watching a film in the Catalan language in cinemas in Catalonia, and over a million across Spain. 

These are unprecedented numbers, more than double the previous record back in 2010, and all the more impressive for coming at a time when cinema attendances are dropping in general. 

The 47 and A House on Fire  

Two films have led the charge at the box office.  

First, the summer hit 'Casa en flames' (A House on Fire), a comedy drama about a middle-class Catalan family reuniting for a weekend on the Costa Brava. 

It made over €3 million at the Spanish box office, the most commercially successful film in Catalan in decades, only to be surpassed just a few months later. 

'El 47' (The 47) tells the true story of social struggles in Barcelona in the 1970s, centered on a bus driver who hijacks a bus and drives it to the Torre Baró neighborhood in protest at the lack of public transport. 

It became the most watched film in Catalan in 40 years, made over €3.25 million at the Spanish box office, and won five Goyas at Spain's equivalent of the Oscars. 

The 47 also swept the board at the Catalan Film Academy's Gaudí Awards, winning seven. 

At the ceremony, he told Catalan News of the significance of The 47's success. 

"It's the very first time in Spanish history that a Catalan film, told in Catalan, shot in Catalan is number one at the box office," Barrena said. 

"Now we can go to big platforms like Prime, Netflix, HBO, and Spanish networks and say, 'Hey, we want to shoot in Catalan,' because it's possible to make a huge impact and achieve great success." 

Black Bread 

The 47's success marks only the second time that a Catalan-language film has won the Best Picture at the Goya Awards, after 'Pa negre' (Black Bread) in 2011. 

In fact, there have been more English-language Best Picture winners. 

Black Bread, a drama from Mallorcan director Agustí Villaronga set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, marked a turning point for cinema in Catalan. 

As well as its success at the Goyas – it won nine awards in total – it was also the first film in Catalan to be chosen by the Spanish Academy for Oscars consideration in the Best International Feature Film category (Best Foreign Language Film as it was then known). 

Alcarràs 

Catalan cinema has had international recognition too, most notably Carla Simón’s Alcarràs winning the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2022. 

For the first time ever, the winner of the top prize at one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals was Catalan. 

Alcarràs is a tribute to rural life, telling the story of the last fruit harvest that a family goes through on their farm, where they have cultivated peaches for generations, before they must leave the land after the owners decide to install solar panels. 

While the film was also a box office success, making more than €1.5 million in its first month on release across Spain, it has been outdone by The 47 and A House on Fire. 

As Judith Colell, Catalan Film Academy president, told Catalan News: "Before we had been in festivals, winning awards, and Catalan cinema was very internationalized. It has a very good reputation, but now we have the audience also. 

Next stop: Hollywood 

There's no greater recognition in cinema than the Oscars, and Catalonia was well-represented at the 2024 ceremony.  

Barcelona filmmaker J. A. Bayona's 'Society of the Snow' competed in the Best International Feature and Best Makeup and Hairstyling categories, while the Catalan-produced 'Robot Dreams' was nominated for Best Animated Feature. 

Ultimately, the two films missed out, but it marked yet another step forward for Catalan cinema in a landmark year and a new golden age.