For the first time, FILMETS will have three host cities, with Sant Boi, and its Can Castellet cinema, being added to Badalona (Zorrilla Theatre, Principal Theatre, Blas Infante Theatre and El Carme Cultural Centre) and Barcelona (Institut Français)
The United Kingdom is the guest country with the screening of this year’s BAFTA short film winners and nominees and there will be a special session dedicated to ‘UK Geniuses’, featuring short films by Alfred Hitchcock, Ridley Scott and Sally Potter
There will also be a tribute to François Truffaut and a session dedicated to the BFI Flare festival, with the showing of LGBTI-themed shorts
The managing director of Badalona Comunicació, Josep Viñeta Balsells; The mayor of Badalona, Álex Pastor; and the artistic director of the festival, Agustí Argelich
The 45th edition of the FILMETS Badalona Film Festival, to be held from 18 to 27 October, will screen a total of 251 short films in competition in the Official Section. Of those shorts from around the world, there are 122 works of fiction, 115 animations and 14 documentaries. In total, there will be 41 hours of cinema to which audiences will have free admission and which have been presented today at a press conference.
For the first time in the history of FILMETS, the festival is expanding to include a third city. In addition to its official venues in Badalona (Zorrilla Theatre, Principal Theatre, Blas Infante Theatre and El Carme Cultural Centre) and Barcelona (Institut Français), FILMETS will also have an official venue in Sant Boi, namely the Can Castellet cinema. The slogan of this year’s edition is Dreaming is Possible.
The aim of this expansion is for FILMETS to attract new audiences beyond the viewers that will be attending the screenings in Badalona and Barcelona. The Can Castellet cinema, in turn, is looking to increase its cultural offering and encourage Sant Boi to become a cultural centre in the Baix Llobregat area.
The United Kingdom, guest country of this edition
The United Kingdom will be the guest country of this year’s edition of FILMETS. On Sunday, 20 October at 5 pm at the Zorrilla Theatre, a great evening of British cinema will begin at FILMETS. And it will do so with the ‘UK Geniuses’ out-of-competition session, followed by the International Session featuring the screening of films that competed for this year’s prestigious BAFTA Awards. During the session, the two short film winners and all of the nominees of the latest edition will be shown.
‘UK Geniuses’ with Alfred Hitchcock, Ridley Scott and Sally Potter
Under the name ‘UK Geniuses’, FILMETS has prepared a special gala session for this year’s edition. During the event, which has been made possible thanks to the collaboration of the British Council with FILMETS, the audience will be able to see works by Alfred Hitchcock, Ridley Scott and Sally Potter that are scarcely known: their short films. The screening will take place on Sunday, 20 October at 5 pm at the Zorrilla Theatre.
The BAFTAs in Badalona
The joining of forces of the FILMETS Badalona Film Festival and the British Council brings to Badalona the two short film winners of the 2019 BAFTAs, the prestigious awards of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, which were announced on 10 February at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and the other six nominees.
These short films will be screened as part of an official competitive session which will take place on Sunday, 20 October at 7 pm at the Zorrilla Theatre.
The event will conclude with an audience Q&A session with some of the directors of the shorts, such as Paul Taylor and Angela Clarke, the producer Abigail Addison, and Greg McLeod.
‘Flare Films’, a session dedicated to LGBTI-themed films
The British accent that this year’s edition of the festival will have will be reinforced by the screening of an out-of-competition monographic session dedicated to LGBTI-themed films. The session is called ‘Flare Films’ and includes nine British shorts that were screened at BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival. They show a variety of LGBTI experiences. These films can be seen in a non-competitive session that will take place on Saturday, 19 October at 9 pm.
Megan, a science fiction short, will open the festival…
FILMETS will open on Friday, 18 October at 10 pm with the short film Megan (2018), which is, in addition to the title of the short, the name of the protagonist, a young scientist involved in a military mission to deliver the antidote that can save mankind from a terminal threat, who is forced to fight for her own individual survival.
… and Detainment, a heartrending drama, will close it
The last film in competition that will be seen at FILMETS is Detainment, a heartrending drama and controversial story directed by Vincent Lambe. A gruelling chronicle based on transcripts of interviews and records from the James Bulger case, which shocked the world in 1993, involving as it did the murder of a two-year-old boy by two other children on Merseyside. The short film is particularly notable because of the impressive performances of the two child actors, Ely Solan (Jon) and Leon Hughes (Robert).
Tribute to François Truffaut
François Truffaut will be present at the 45th edition of the FILMETS Badalona Film Festival in a special session entitled ‘Vivement Truffaut’, which will take place on Tuesday, 22 October at 7 pm at the Zorrilla Theatre in Badalona. To mark the sixtieth anniversary of the landmark film Les Quatre Cents Coups (1959), FILMETS will be paying tribute to the French director. After the tribute to Les Quatre Cents Coups, two short films directed by François Truffaut will be screened.
A FILMETS with many shorts that are sure to make an impact
FILMETS will not disappoint anyone this year thanks to the very high quality and diversity of the short films that will be shown. The following four short films in different formats are a small sample of what the festival will be offering.
- Stronger Together, a short film featuring Ricky Rubio and a sick boy
FILMETS will be hosting the world premiere of the short film Stronger Together, the story of a poignant relationship between the basketball player Ricky Rubio and Luca, a boy suffering from cancer. The film will be shown on Saturday, 19 October at 12:30 pm. The documentary chronicles the boy’s struggle to fight the disease and how, once cured, he goes to an NBA match to see Ricky Rubio play.
- President Kennedy, protagonist of a short film
Kennedy is the protagonist of a short film at FILMETS. JFK vs THE AIR FORCE features the real voice of the president of the United States John F. Kennedy. This film will be screened at the Zorrilla Theatre in Badalona during the opening session of the festival on Friday, 18 October at 10 pm. JFK vs THE AIR FORCE is an animated short that uses authentic declassified recordings featuring the voice of President Kennedy. It is a curious exercise in reverse dubbing, in which the images were synched to the dialogue.
- Le Mans 1955, the story of a tragedy
Directed by Quentin Baillieux in 2018, the animated short Le Mans 1955 is a dramatisation of Pierre Levegh’s accident during the race, still the deadliest in motor racing history, told with great rigour, spirit and efficiency, and visually striking.
- Grenouille de cristal with Gérard Depardieu
Gérard Depardieu will be at the FILMETS Badalona Film Festival. At least on the screen of the Zorrilla Theatre in Badalona. The festival audience will be able to see his impressive performance in the short film Grenouille de Cristal during a session to be held on Friday, 25 October at 9 pm.
The Night of the Venuses, the climax of FILMETS
On Saturday, 26 October at 10 pm, the climax of FILMETS will take place with the festival’s Night of the Venuses, the awards ceremony in which the traditional Badalona Venus statuettes will be awarded to the winning short films. During the event, which will be broadcast by Televisió de Badalona and Xarxa de Televisions Locals de Catalunya, the short film winner will be screened.
Maria Molins, president of the Official International Jury
The Catalan actress Maria Molins will be the president of the Official International Jury of the 45th edition of the FILMETS Badalona Film Festival. Accompanying Maria Molins on the jury will be Ruth Cantarero, Pascal Faure, Thea Marti and Motokazu Kawamura, all of whom have recognised prestige in the world of film and audiovisual culture.
OFF FILMETS, other festival events
OFF FILMETS is a part of the FILMETS Badalona Film Festival that includes events and activities that are not competitive. It is in this section of the festival that screenings of short films will take place for third-year primary school and fourth-year secondary school pupils. This year, the films will be shown in Badalona and Sant Boi de Llobregat.
The El Carme Cultural Centre will also be a meeting point for professionals from the world of short film. On Tuesday, 22 October at 10 am, the Catalonian Audiovisual Cluster will be holding an event entitled ‘The Catalonian Audiovisual Animation Industry’. On Friday at 4:30 pm, an event called ‘Short Film in Europe: distribution and promotion tools at festivals’ will be held.
Lesbos refugee drama
Finally, FILMETS will be hosting a preview of the documentary Lesbos, una illa que espera, a production by Badalona Comunicació with the support of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area and Barcelona Provincial Council. It is a project that seeks to understand what is happening on the Greek island of Lesbos and in the Moria refugee camp, where thousands of people are living in very poor conditions. It can be seen on Friday, 18 October at 7 pm at the Zorrilla Theatre in Badalona.
Bidding to become a benchmark in the short film world
The mayor of Badalona, Álex Pastor, during the presentation of FILMETS, said that ‘FILMETS is one of the reasons that Badalona should feel proud as a city because this year’s films are very good. And what is fantastic about FILMETS is that it shows short films for all audiences, for those who are very knowledgeable and those who are new to this world.’
The managing director of Badalona Comunicació, Josep Viñeta Balsells, noted that ‘FILMETS is aiming to become the Catalonian, or even Spanish, benchmark for short film. It will also be the gateway to Catalonia for the United Kingdom’s prestigious BAFTA Awards.’
Finally, the artistic director of the festival, Agustí Argelich, explained that ‘among the most notable themes highlighted by the shorts this year are environmental protection, Europe’s refugee crisis and social consciousness.’ And also noted that ‘a large number of animated shorts will be screened, so we can say that we have an animation festival as well within the FILMETS festival.’
Agustí Argelich, Àlex Pastor and Josep Viñeta Balsells
