The highly-anticipated Catalan Film Festival returns for its ninth edition coming to cinemas across Scotland from March 20th – April 14th, 2024.
This year the festival will pay particular attention to female desire and the taboo’s that surround this. The Catalan Film Festival will feature the latest Catalan films from award- winning features to the best short films with in-depth Q&As with our guest directors. The Catalan Film Festival will continue to provide a multidimensional portrait of Catalan culture with its own language and traditions. As in previous editions, the festival is created and produced by CinemaAttic with close support from Institute Ramon Llull and Screen Scotland with additional support from Estrella Damm, Centre Català and Colla Castellera d’Edinburgh.
They Shot the Piano Player / Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal / 2023
We are delighted to welcome three guests this year, Juanjo Giménez, Julieta Lasarte and Marta Cruañas to help us contextualise the programme and give an insider view not only on their individual films but also the film panorama of Catalonia.
Juanjo Giménez, film director. Palme d’Or in the Cannes Film Festival, nominated for an Oscar with more than 100 international prizes.
We have selected 8 feature films and 11 short films to showcase the best of the year output from one of the strongest film powerhouses in Europe. Amongst the titles, one of the most-talked about film phenomena of the year was Creatura by Elena Martín, winner of the prestigious Europa Cinemas Award in the last Cannes Film Festival. The film has opened a long-neglected debate around female desire, taboo, family and partner’ companionships.
La imatge permanent (Laura Ferrés, 2023)
Another film set to impress audiences is The Permanent Picture, one of the biggest revolutions in recent Spanish cinema, and the debut of Laura Ferres. A proof that filmmaking has so many uncharted territories still to explore Foremost by Night also a first feature by director Victor Iriarte plays with an unconventional narrative to present an edge of the seat noir thriller that will keep you wondering long after the film ends. How about a colourful animated thriller starring Jeff Goldblum filled with sounds and rhythm of the golden bossa nova years, They Shot The Piano Player by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal is a masterstroke of optimism and exciting music. La Singla is our most heart- warming documentary this year as we celebrate the deaf gitano dancer Antonia ‘La Singla’ who revolutionised flamenco, yet was written out of history. Vampir- Cuadecuc will give us the chance to revisit the never-ending universe of one of Spain’s most iconic figures in Spanish film, Pere Portabella.
Cuadecuc-Vampir (Pere Portabella, 1971)
Out of Sync by Juanjo Gimenez and starring the legendary Marta Nieto is a masterclass in presenting sound as a vehicle that intertwines several histories with the very essence of the masters of cinema.
The short film programme is where it all started for CinemaAttic and with every edition, we spend most of our time looking for a collection of Short Films that best represent the immense productions that come out of Catalonia from well-established directors, production companies to the world of academia. This year, we bring you 4 programmes from veterans like Juanjo Giménez to works from newcomers like Jaume Claret Muxart to the magnificent The Danube Rivers. From pure observational documentaries such as The Bus by Sandra Reina to a far more experimental approach to storytelling from Alba Cros with Anhel de Llum, family stories intertwined with that of the places where they habit with an elusive feeling of what was once important to what no longer matters, the collection this year will leave no one untouched. If all of the above wasn’t enough, we are planning to close the festival with a gastronomic event to celebrate the last nine years of the festival, its successes and to share our experiences with a glass of cava in hand and a presentation of delicious food. What is there to be missed? Nothing at all!
Get your tickets now to avoid disappointment.
