Spring brings an exciting energy back to the city. The sun is warmer, the days are longer and grass is greener. Although you may feel the desire to shake off that winter slumber and reacquaint yourself with an active outdoor schedule, consider taking a few hours to sit back and relax while enjoying some of the most cutting-edge cinema from around the world. Barcelona boasts a wide variety of renowned film festivals each spring, and 2023 promises to be another spectacular edition. You'll discover festivals dedicated to fashion docs, films inspired by literature and history, astounding cinematic works that delve into the creativity, mystery and resilience of the human brain and films that explore the LGBTI experience. From premieres to classics, from established directors to up-and-coming artists and independent productions, each festival brings to Barcelona an in-depth look at places, ideas and themes that we might not otherwise have the opportunity to explore.
Film still from "Tom à la ferme" by Xavier Dolan and Michel Marc Bouchard (2013, Canada), image courtesy of Ohlalà French Film Fest.
Ohlalà French Film Fest
March 1-8, 2023
Ohlala! is Barcelona’s first film festival dedicated to French language cinema. In its fifth year, this is the place to discover French films, many of which have not yet been screened in Catalunya. The festival earns its name from a common French expression, used to convey at once surprise, joy and nostalgia—rather fitting for a festival dedicated to celebrating the range of emotions invoked by the big screen. Each year films come from a variety of French speaking countries including France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and beyond.
The week opens with Louis Garrel's L’innocent (2022, France) a comedy in which a son learns that his mother is about to marry a man in prison, so he panics. He will do everything to try to protect her, but on meeting with his new father-in-law he gains a new perspective. Other titles include Mon légionnaire by Rachel Lang (2022, France), La Mif by Fédéric Baillif and Stéphane Mitchell (2021, Switzerland), Tom à la ferme by Xavier Dolan and Michel Marc Bouchard (2013, Canada) and Céline Devaux's Tout le monde aime Jeanne (2022, France).
This year's guest of honor is director and film critic Thierry Frémaux, general delegate of the Cannes Film Festival and director of the Institut Lumière in Lyon, and he has chosen to present Dans la nuit (1929), the last film of French silent cinema. Films will be screened in original version with Spanish or Catalan subtitles. Venues are the Institut Français and Cinemes Girona. Tickets and showtimes available online at: ohlalafilmfestival.com
Film still from "A Compassionate Spy," by Steve James (2022, USA), image courtesy of Americana Film Festival.
Americana Film Festival
March 7-12, 2023
Started by a group of friends who wanted Barcelona audiences to be able to enjoy some of the best independent films from North America, Americana features a diverse range of films directed by established prize-winners and break-out newbies, showcasing some of the best North American cinematic talent. This year the Americana Film Festival celebrates its tenth edition, and to live up to this very special anniversary the festival has the honor of receiving filmmaker Todd Solondz, director of films Happiness and Wiener-dog, who will present a complete retrospective of his filmography in collaboration with the Filmoteca de Catalunya.
Other films on this year's program include Charlotte Le Bon's Falcon Lake (2022), a mysterious coming-of-age film from Quebec; Beth de Araújo's directorial debut Soft & Quiet (2022), a disturbing horror-fueled thriller that forces viewers to confront the ugly reality of race relations in American today; and the most awarded documentary of the year, Shaunak Sen's All That Breathes (2022), a film that follows two brothers who run a bird hospital dedicated to rescuing injured black kites, a staple in the skies of New Delhi, India. Screenings will take place in Cinemas Girona, Zumzeig Cine Cooperativa and Phenomena Experience cinemas as well as Filmoteca de Catalunya. See the event's website for tickets: americanafilmfest.com
Film still of Vero Cratzborn's "Into Dad’s Woods" (2019, Belgium), image courtesy of Brain Film Fest.
Brain Film Fest
March 15-19, 2023
As you guessed, the brain is the star of this festival. With a unique emphasis on cinema, neurology, psychiatry and technology, the Brain Film Fest includes screenings, lectures and workshops all aimed to encourage cinematic creation and raise awareness of the brain, its amazing capabilities and the diseases that threaten it. Go on a provocative journey exploring the mind and consciousness through the lens of legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog in his documentary Theater of Thought (2022, USA); experience the fine line between normality and mental illness through the eyes of childhood in Vero Cratzborn's Into Dad’s Woods (2019, Belgium); discover the heartwarming love story of Gordon, a comic book artist diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 32 in the moving documentary Long Live My Happy Head from Will Hewitt and Austen McCowan (2022, UK).
Co-organized by the Pasqual Maragall Foundation and Minimal Films production company, the festival features screenings of over fifteen films from a variety of countries, all with an emphasis on the brain, the adversities it faces and its infinite capacities. Screenings will take place at CCCB. Tickets can be purchased through the festival’s website: brainfilmfest.com
"Le Me Be Me" movie poster (Dan Crane, Katie Taber, USA, 2021).
Moritz Feed Dog
March 22-26, 2023
A festival exclusively dedicated to fashion documentaries, Moritz Feed Dog offers some of the most niche content of this spring season. Featuring works about Pierre Cardin, Karl Lagerfeld, Martin Margiela and everything in between, this is an event for fashion gurus and documentary fans alike. The festival strikes a balance between the glamor and hedonism surrounding fashion with themes that aim to reflect the other side of the coin. It explores aspects related to identity, gender, equality and how these concepts are treated both in fashion and in society.
This year's program has yet to be announced, but a glance at last year's films should be enough to whet your appetite for another round. The 2022 edition opened with Sadie Frost's Quant (UK, 2021) which tells the story of 1960s fashion icon, Mary Quant. Ten years before The Beatles conquered the planet, Mary Quant opened her first store on King's Road, sniffing out the youthful revolution that was about to sweep the world. A modern woman, advanced for her time, she was an entrepreneur in a world of men and a leading stylist of the decade who brought together feminism, the pill and swinging London. Other films featured last year include Discount Workers, a startling exposé on the fashion industry's exploitative supply chain and labor conditions (Ammar Aziz & Christopher Patz, Germany, Pakistan, 2020) and Let Me Be Me, a coming-of-age story about an isolated, autistic boy fascinated by fabric who becomes a fashion designer (Dan Crane, Katie Taber, USA, 2021).
Hosted at Cinemes Aribau Multicines, the festival offers a wide range of ticket packages varying from single tickets to six-show passes. Almost all films are shown in their original version with subtitles in either Spanish or Catalan. moritz.feeddog.org
Film still from Paul Schrader's "Master Gardner" (2022, USA), image courtesy of D'A Film Festival.
D'A Film Festival
March 23-April 2, 2023
Each spring, the D’A Film Festival offers an extensive review of current world cinema, screening an international panorama of the finest films in contemporary cinema. Featuring emerging talents alongside internationally established directors, the festival claims to be one of the Mediterranean’s best events of the spring. The large-scale event spreads across several locations in Barcelona and includes supplemental events such as panel discussions, workshops, musical performances and professional development. The extensive program includes Kirill Serebrennikov's biographical drama Tchaikovsky's Wife (2022, Russia) which chronicles the tumultuous relationship between Pyotr Tchaikovsky and his wife Antonina Miliukova, Paul Schrader's independent crime thriller Master Gardener (2022, USA), and Joanna Hogg's beguiling psychological story of a middle-aged daughter and her elderly mother who must confront long-buried secrets in The Eternal Daughter (2022, UK).
Participating venues include CCCB, Filmoteca de Catalunya, Zumzeig and Aribau Cinema. Most showings take place in original language with subtitles in either Catalan or Spanish, see the official website for details. dafilmfestival.com
Film still from "The Kiss," Bille August (2022, Denmark), image courtesy of BCN Film Fest.
BCN Film Fest
April 20-28, 2023
Film, history and literature, oh my! The Barcelona International Film Festival, or BCN Film Fest, boasts the highest quality films, with a goal to unite lovers of cinema, history and literature with a selection of more than 70 international films. In line with this criteria, featured films shown at Cines Verdi are often adaptations of literary works, productions related to historical events or biopics about well-known figures.
Films confirmed so far in the 25th edition include Bille August's romance The Kiss (2022, Denmark), Mathieu Vadepied's war drama Father & Soldier (2022, France, Senegal), Paolo Genovese's comedy Il primo giorno della mia vita (2023, Italy) and Bong Joon Ho's thriller Memories of Murder (2003, South Korea) with many more to come. In addition, this year the festival pays tribute to Wim Wenders, with a retrospective of his most representative works, Buena Vista Social Club, Wings of Desire, Pina, Paris, Texas and many more.
Most of the movie screenings are in original language with subtitles and will take place at Cinemes Verdi. Other venues include the Institut Français, CaixaForum, Casa Seat, La Perla 22 and a number of civic centers in Barcelona. Please check the official program for details. bcnfilmfest.com
Image courtesy of DOCS Barcelona.
DOCS Barcelona
May 18-28, 2023
Now entering its 25th season, DocsBarcelona is a festival dedicated to documentary film. Each year, an international programing committee selects films for three different categories: Panorama, Latitude and What the Doc! These three groupings highlight the newest international documentaries, most daring and innovative documentaries and documentaries from the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. The festival is dedicated to bringing professional talent and productions closer to the audience through conferences and activities such as its Q&A sessions with directors and industry experts. This year's program is in the works and will soon be announced.
Last year's festival opened with Daniel Roher's Navalny (USA, 2022), a portrait of Aleksei Navalny, Putin's main opponent, who in 2020 was poisoned in Siberia. Covering a wide range of topics from around the world, the program also included A Thousand Fires (France, Switzerland, Netherlands and Palestinian Territories, 2021), Saeed Taji Farouky's emotional picture of a Burmese family that extracts oil by hand to survive; Gorki Glasser-Müller's Children of the Enemy (Sweden, Denmark and Qatar, 2021) which tells the story of Patricio Gálvez's odyssey to rescue his seven orphaned grandchildren trapped in Syria; and Susanne Regina Meures' Girl Gang (Switzerland, 2022), a contemporary fairy tale about fame and the world of influencers. In total 43 productions from every continent were screened in theaters and on Filmin. All films are shown in original version with subtitles in Catalan and English. docsbarcelona.com
Film still from "Mars One," by Gabriel Martins (2022, Brazil), image courtesy of Mostra FIRE!!
FIRE!!
June 8-18, 2023
Celebrating another year with pride, the FIRE!! Film Festival showcases the best LGBTI films from across the world. Organized by Casal Lambda de Barcelona since 1995, it was the first LGBTI film festival in Spain. The festival aims to deal with diversity through a carefully curated selection of feature-length films, shorts and documentaries. For nearly two weeks, the Institut Français will host a wide range of films featuring stories and testimonies from individuals, creators who break down barriers, fight for human rights and help—through love—to build a fairer and freer world. While this year's program has yet to be announced, the festival's past editions hint that this year's FIRE!! will close the spring film festival season with a bang. mostrafire.com
Image courtesy of La GRAN Pantalla.
La Gran Pantalla
July 4-9, 2023
This festival does kick off the summer season, but we just had to squeeze it in for its unique focus. La GRAN Pantalla is an international film festival for the elderly, an inter-generational meeting space to promote cinema as a tool for dialogue, reflection and social transformation around the ideas that society perpetuates about the elderly.
Screening films that tackle issues that affect the elderly, the festival explores their plurality and combats the most classic stereotypes. It highlights the beauty of old age, reflects on what unites us and highlights what differentiates us from those around us. La GRAN Pantalla takes a long, lingering look at the older people we will become, if we are lucky. Films will be screened at Cinemes Girona, the program schedule will soon be available on the festival website: lagranpantallafestival.com