The 52nd edition of the FILMETS Badalona Film Festival officially opened this evening with the screening of nine short films, offering a glimpse of the wide range of stories and cinematic works that audiences can discover until 25 October at the Teatre Zorrilla in Badalona and the festival’s other venues.
The selection combined the historical drama “Cinco paredes”, by Mey Montero, set in post-Civil War Spain, with the thriller “Coyotes”, a Palestinian production directed by Said Zagha that takes us to a deserted road in the West Bank. We also discovered “Una aventura terrorífica”, a production by Institut Escola Baldomer Solà in which third-grade pupils sneak into their school at night to investigate some strange occurrences, and “Sota el sol”, a stop-motion animation film by Marc Riba and Anna Solanas.
The programme also explored issues such as the living conditions of migrant workers in “No Place Like Home”, from Taiwan, directed by Shen-Chief Tsang; family conflicts and values in the Norwegian film “Stakkars Meg”, directed by Liv Joelle Barbosa Blad; and grief and communication difficulties in personal relationships in “Never Even”, by Iván Perea Acedo.
The programme concluded with the Indian film “We Were Here”, by Pranav Bhasin, a comedy about the fear of machines replacing people in the workplace, and “Monstruo”, by Nacho Monter and Yago Casariego, which introduces fantasy comedy through the story of a man on the verge of turning into a werewolf.
The event was opened by Rosa del Amo, third deputy mayor of Badalona City Council, who highlighted that “Badalona wants to be not only a city to live in, but also a city of culture, talent and opportunity.” Del Amo also had words of recognition for the 27 productions from Badalona: “You are a source of pride for the city.”
ESCAC receives the first Venus d’Honor award of this year’s festival
During this opening session, the Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya received the first Venus d’Honor award of this year’s festival. The school has been training industry professionals for more than 30 years. Its director, Sergi Casamitjana, highlighted that “a festival dedicated exclusively to short films is an incredibly bold undertaking that recognises the value of students’ work.”
The second Venus d’Honor award of the 52nd edition of the FILMETS Badalona Film Festival will be presented to actor and director Miguel Ángel Muñoz on 24 October, as part of La Nit de les Venus.
