TALKS & GUESTS
We prefer to meet them in person, take them to the pub and talk with a whisky in hand – but instead of that, this year we meet directors and experts online. A wide range of Q&As, In-depth talks, lectures and panels on modern Spanish history and contemporary Catalan arts.
All these insightful talks will be available in our digital hub at Festhome during the festival.
Short is Biutiful! Q&As with the directors of the Catalan Shorts 2020. Short film was the origin and remains the heart of the festival. This year we widened the selection to 15 shorts, and our team had a short talk with most of the directors selected.
DIRECTOR’S TALKS
Found Footage, Illusion and Lies. A Conversation with Nuria Gimenez Lorang.
My Mexican Bretzel is probably the most talked-about phenomena of theSpanish cinema of this strange year 2020.
We have a total crush on the film, becoming ultra-orthodox “Bretzelistas”. In her talk, director Nuria Gieménez Lorang shares the cinematic journey of recovering and resignifying home-made tapes to create a film that questions the essence of cinema and illusion, truth and lies, reality and fiction.
A Conversation with Pilar Palomero on her creative process.
We discuss filmmaking and memory with Pilar Palomero – the freshest, exciting new voice to shine out of the recent wave of catalan cinema – led mainly by women filmmakers.
Alongside the Scottish premiere of Las Niñas, we are proud to dedicate a total retrospective to the early films of Pilar Palomero. Family, home, atmosphere, memories-these are all elements present in her short films that bloom all together in her Málaga Film Festival winning first feature.
Talkin’ bout a Revolution (in the schools) with Ventura Durall
One of the key filmmakers behind Barcelona’s documentary film boom. In this talk we explore his personal journey as a father, director and citizen to shine a light on the need for an education reform in our schools.
Chasing Plensa. A conversation with director Pedro Ballesteros
Chasing a big wave, Pedro Ballesteros has made one of the most compelling documentaries of the year.
A portrait of prestigious Catalan artist Jaume Plensa, introducing us to his body of work around the world, and affording us a glimpse of his magnetic personality in between poetic words, peaceful profound thoughts and beautiful images.
PANELS, LECTURES AND LIVE TALKS
Off the Hook.
A conversation with director Raul Liarte, co-writer of The Year of the Discovery and Glasgow Union representatives on the relationship between cinema, workers rights and the (under)representation of workers in films.
Speakers: Raul Liarte (Director), Tomm Breslin (Scottish Trades Union Congress), more speakers TBC
In collaboration with Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC)
Jaume Plensa. Art will Bring Us Together.
Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) was the first institution in the UK to showcase the work of prestigious Catalan artist Jaume Plensa back in 1992. We close the circle with a video-contextualisation by RSA celebrated Scottish sculptor Kenny Hunter and RSA Committee members who decided to bet on the (then) young Catalan sculptor.
Speakers: Kenny Hunter (Sculptor, Royal Scottish Academy)
In collaboration with Royal Scottish Academy
Catalan Cinema Against Itself.
A Lecture by Steven Marsh (University of Illinois Chicago) on Jacinto Esteva, Lejos de los Árboles (Far from the Trees) and the directors of La Escuela de Barcelona
Speakers: Steven Marsh (University of Illinois Chicago), Daria Esteva (Lejos De los Árboles Producer)
In collaboration with Instituto Cervantes London
Contextualising the times of Josep Bartoli.
An historical introduction to ‘La Retirada’ and the Spanish Civil War refugees camps in France after 1939 (Dr Peter Anderson – University of Leeds)
In collaboration with Instituto Cervantes Manchester
Catalonia – Scotland and the Education Paradigm.
A Conversation with Scottish and Catalan education reform thinkers and trying to change things in Catalan/Scottish education systems.
Speakers: Tamara Von Strithjem (Take One Action) Eduard Vallory (Social analyst, co-founder of Escola 21)
In collaboration with Take One Action