Scotland Catalan Film Festival is back with ten days celebrating the connections between Catalonia and Scotland as well as the moment in the sun of Catalan film industry, being one of the most effervescent hubs in Europe.
The festival runs from 2-5 November in Glasgow and 13-18 November in Edinburgh. Scotland Catalan Film Festival (SCAT18’) keeps growing and this year it presents the best contemporary Catalan cinema in venues like Cameo, Glasgow Film Theatre, CCA Glasgow and Scottish Storytelling Centre. The festival expands and this year has special collaborations with Filmoteca de Catalunya, Barcelona’s D’A Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival and BFI’s Into Film Festival.
Women take the lead – Part of the so-called new wave of Catalan films is due to a new success of women cineastes in the region winning in international festivals. Over 65% of the films featured in this year’s edition are directed by women. This is not a quota or a push to get good press.
We picked our favourite films and it simply turns out that they are mostly directed by women. This is a new reality in Catalan cinema. says festival programmer Alberto Valverde.
The festival’s theme for this year explores “the right to be doubtful” as most of the films seek to humanise the so called millennial generation. Bombarded with banners and one-liners, this is a generation often dismissed looked as ‘superficial’ or unable to build meaningful relationships. We invite you to go beyond any preconceived notions to understand the context in which these individuals have to make their choices.
Awarded and praised in such film festivals as Cannes, Berlinale, SXSW or most recently San Sebastian, Catalan women are making films that have naturalism at the core and tell personal stories that transcend.
The opening in Edinburgh is a celebration of the longstanding (often overlooked) relationship that Barcelona has with Flamenco, with the Scottish premiere of La Chana, award-winning documentary following Barcelona based flamenco gypsy legend “La Chana” as she returns to the stage to give a final performance after a 30-year break.
SCAT18’ has also announced a special collaboration with Filmoteca de Catalunya to look at rare propaganda and documentary films made during the Spanish Civil War. The festival gathers a special joint programme with rare films from Filmoteca de Catalunya, National Libraries of Scotland Moving Image Archive and British Film Institute National Archive documenting the war from Catalonia and life in the republican side, as well as the Scottish volunteers that fought in the Spanish conflict.
Beyond films, the festival expands as the programme features a Catalan Poetry recital at The Royal Scots Club, Mediterranean Gastronomy dinners, Music concerts and Castellers (Human Towers) workshops.
Dwarfing the myth – The festival is a celebration of Catalan culture but is organised by two Spaniards and an international team, aiming to demonstrate that -at least at a cultural level- there is a healthy cultural conversation between Madrid and Barcelona, favouring this new wave of Catalan films triumphing worldwide. The festival shows a fresh multicultural Barcelona but also connects the city with other capitals with films taking place in Berlin, London or Glasgow.
While celebrating some of the flagship Catalan cultural icons like Mediterranean gastronomy dinners or the famous Castellers -human towers-,
the festival aims to debunk perceptions constructed in Scotland about Catalonia – particularly since last year’s events- showing a plural, rich and diverse nation, says the festival’s programmer Alberto Valverde.
Some of the filmmakers attending include Director Ventura Durall (one of the key voices behind Barcelona’s documentary film resurge) or Cannes’ awarded director Laura Ferres. Belén Funes, Pol Rebaque (Jùlia Ist) y Laia Ricart (Estiu 1993) have also confirmed and they will give talks and masterclasses at Edinburgh College of Art University of Glasgow.