Last Saturday, the two BAFTA-winning short films, one of which also won an Oscar, as well as the six other nominees were screened at Badalona’s Teatre Zorrilla
FILMETS and the British Council have joined forces to bring the UK’s best short films of the year to Badalona
Isabella Petith, from British Council, Agustí Argelich and Josep Viñeta Balsells, CEO of Badalona Comunicació
The FILMETS Badalona Film Festival has once again served as Catalonia’s gateway to the 2020 BAFTA awards organised by the prestigious British Academy of Film and Television Arts, which were presented on the 2nd of February at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
FILMETS collaborated with the British Council, the UK’s organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, to bring the eight BAFTA-nominated short films to the FILMETS festival. Among them are the two award-winning films in the Best Short Fiction and Best Short Animation Film categories. This is the second year in a row that the British Council and FILMETS have cooperated on the initiative.
The short films were screened at a session attended by Isabella Petith, the British Council’s representative in Catalonia, and Isona Passola, president of the Catalan Film Academy. Following the previous evening’s Opening Session, it was the second audience-attended session at the Teatre Zorrilla in Badalona. The audience sessions are fully compliant with all the health measures issued by the Government of Catalonia, and the capacity of the Teatre Zorrilla has been reduced to 50%.
Isona Passola at FILMETS
The two BAFTA award-winning shorts
This year, FILMETS screened the winners of the 2020 BAFTA in the Best Short Fiction and Best Short Animation Film categories.
–Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If you’re a Girl): winner of the BAFTA Best Short Fiction Film category. A 39-minute short directed by Carol Dysinger and produced by Elena Andreicheva. The short tells the story of a young Afghan girl learning to read, write – and skateboard – in Kabul. The film also won an Oscar for Best Short Documentary. It was screened as a non-competing short because its 39-minute duration exceeds the 30-minute limit set by the FILMETS entry conditions.
–Grandad was a Romantic: winner of the BAFTA Best Short Animation category. A 4-minute short directed by Maryam Mohajer. In the film, a boy explains that his grandad was a romantic who once saw a picture of his granny and realised that she was the love of his life. One day his grandad decided to go and meet her.
The six BAFTA short-film nominees
The six other shorts nominated for the 2020 BAFTA awards were also screened at the Teatre Zorrilla last Saturday. They were:
– Azaar: a 21-minute film directed and written by Myriam Raja and produced by Nathanael Baring. The film tells the story of a tribe of women awaiting the return of their men from war. Azaar, one of the last young girls in the village, is intertwined between her mother, grandmother and the rest of the tribe, as she comes to learn the true cost of womanhood.
– Goldfish: an 18-minute short directed by Hector Dockrill, produced by Harri Kamalanathan and Benedict Turnbull, and written by Laura Dockrill. In the aftermath of her older brother’s death, an 11-year-old girl struggles to process her grief. With only her mother and precious pet goldfish for company, her rosy view of the world is turned upside down until she finds a letter from a stranger that changes everything.
– Kamali: a 24-minute short directed and produced by Sasha Rainbow and co-produced by Rosalind Croad. Kamali is the only girl skateboarder in a fishing village. Her mother, Suganthi, embarks on a pilgrimage in a quest for self-discovery. Separated for the first time, they must find freedom in a man’s world.
–The Trap: a 32-minute short directed by Lena Headey and produced by Anthony Fitzgerald. When a reclusive woman falls in love, it’s easy to fall with her in this tender and sensual story of shocking self-discovery.
–In her Boots: an animated short directed by Kathrin Steinbacher. In this 6-minute short, Hedi is experiencing strange things. While her granddaughter is visiting, she suddenly embarks on a hiking journey to the deepest parts of the Alps, revealing the reason for her devoted attachment to her hiking shoes. The film is a story about Hedi’s attempt to retain her identity and autonomy.
–The Magic Boat: an animated short directed by Naaman Azhari and produced by Lilia Laurel. 6-minute duration. An intimate insight into the relationship between a mother and her son in the midst of the most dangerous journey of their lives.
Members of FILMETS and the British Council
In Madrid, during the summer of 1940, the musician, writer and communicator Walter Starkie founded the first British Council centre in Spain. Later that year, in October, the first British Council Primary School began giving classes.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the British Council in Spain. During that time, the organisation has remained true to its original purpose of creating connections, understanding and trust between British and Spanish citizens, through the arts, culture, education and English.
Globally, the institution works on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2019-20, it connected with 80 million people directly and with 791 million people overall through its online activities, broadcasts and publications.
Projection at FILMLETS
