Barcelona hosts an array of annual film festivals, all of which aim to nurture local and international filmmaking talent. The city’s summer film festivals invite viewers to spend a balmy evening on the beach or in a courtyard watching an assortment of classic and contemporary flicks. They provide the perfect excuse to spend an afternoon out of the heat or a night enjoying a film under the stars.
International Women's Film Festival
June 4th-9th
This festival promotes and supports some of the best cinematic work produced by women every year at the Filmoteca de Catalunya. It focuses on documentary and experimental works by both established and up-and-coming filmmakers. Designed to highlight hard-working women in the film industry, the festival’s program has been crucial in the discovery of female directors such as Agnès Varda, as well as pioneering and often overlooked directors such as Alice Guy, Lois Weber and Ulrike Ottinger.
FIRE!!
June 6th-16th
This summer, Casal Lambda presents the 24th edition of Barcelona’s LGBTI+ film festival, FIRE!!. Showing a collection of films that highlight the struggles and realities of the LGBTI+ community around the world, the festival’s program ranges from documentaries to short and feature films. The 2019 edition will focus on the stories of young people, and includes Alba Muñoz’s documentary, Now You Are A Woman (2019) and Ella Fields’s romantic comedy Bubble Gum. Screenings to take place in various cinemas across the city. Standard tickets are €7.00.
Cinema Lliure a la Platja
June 27th-August 1st
An independent film festival, Cinema Lliure a la Platja offers free film screenings on the beach. Throughout the festival, films are screened from Thursday to Sunday in several locations: Thursday screenings take place in Barceloneta at La Platja de Sant Sebastià, moving to Badalona at Platja del Pont del Petroli on Fridays, Platja del Prat on Saturdays and at Platja Gran Palamós and Mataró’s Playa del Callao on Wednesdays. Hundreds of film aficionados gather at sunset to enjoy a selection of alternative and avant-garde films not available at conventional cinemas, reflecting the urban and contemporary spirit of the festival.
Sala Montjuïc
June 28th-August 2nd
Sala Montjuïc is one of the city’s favorite summertime festivals. A range of classic and contemporary films are showcased in the former moat of Montjuïc castle, preceded by live music and a short film screening. In previous years, the program has included La La Land (2016), The Revenant (2015) and Woody Allen’s Manhattan (1979). Sala Montjuïc is now part of the Festival Grec, an international theater, dance, music and circus festival, and kicks off with Carmen and Lola on June 28th. Other films in the lineup include Bohemian Rhapsody, Lady Bird, Green Book, Kill Bill and more. Standard tickets are available for €6.50 and children 12 and under are free of charge. Deck chairs are available for rent for €3.00, and if you don’t fancy bringing your own picnic, you can purchase one there for €11.00.
Gandules
August (dates to be announced)
Each year in August, the CCCB invites film lovers to view a diverse assortment of films based on a specific theme. In previous years, this has included femmes fatales, the seven deadly sins, immigration and love. The festival is free and equipped with deck chairs and a bar selling drinks and snacks. Often surrealist and always entertaining, it’s a lineup not to be missed. Screenings take place midweek, usually running from Tuesday to Thursday in the CCCB’s Pati de les Dones courtyard.
This article was originally published June 1, 2018, updated June 6, 2019.