The newest arrival on the crowded autumn scene is the Festival of Arab and Mediterranean Cinema, now in its third year, which takes place in Sant Feliu del Llobregat. The 10 films include both commercial hits and political documentaries, with a discussion with the film-maker following the evening screening each day. Syria is this year’s guest country, and Syrian director Omar Amiralay, the godfather of Arab documentary film-making, will be presenting his 2002 documentary Déluge du Pays du Baas, a sober look at the changes that have taken place in the 30 years since his first film. The feature section includes Algerian film Mascarades, which was a hit at the Dubai Film Festival.
The month kicks off with the well-established documentary festival Docúpolis, which runs at the CCCB until October 4th. In the official section of the festival there are 39 films from 19 different countries competing for prizes in three different categories. Meanwhile other sections include a retrospective of work by Chilean film-maker Ignacio Agüero, and a themed series on ‘Madness’, with four films that explore various aspects of psychological disorder from a point of view that is less clinical and more about different ways of seeing the world. There are also sections featuring recent Catalan documentaries, and, in the final two days of the festival, a selection of films made by various NGOs to explain what they do or to raise awareness of specific projects.
The Barcelona International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival has 41 shorts, documentaries and features from 22 countries, and kicks off with The Baby Formula, a Canadian comedy about a lesbian couple who both decide to get pregnant without men—or sperm.
Unusually for a film festival, In-Edit is an itinerant event that travels to various cities in South America, with a shortened version also touring cities in Spain. Its focus is music documentaries, which this year include Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, Dr. Feelgood and Soul Power.
Finally, autumn fright-fest the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalunya is back for its 42nd year, with the usual selection of big-budget imminent releases, low-budget possible releases, and no-budget “see it here or see it nowhere” releases. As the leading European festival for gore, horror and fantasy, Sitges has proved itself adept at identifying prospective hits, while also championing smaller films that go on to bigger things. This year there is more emphasis on European films, particularly from France, Spain and the UK, though there are still strong offerings from Asian and Scandinavian film-makers, with their very different perspectives on the genre.
Latest Comments