We are in an edition on the verge of candy to fly higher and continue to advance”, Conxita Casanovas, director of the BCN Film Fest, tells La Vanguardia with pride about the programming of a “powerful” event for Barcelona that has been running for seven years and that starts today with Mi crimen, a comedy of intrigue by François Ozon.
After inviting stars of the weight of Jeremy Irons, Johnny Depp, Isabelle Huppert, Oliver Stone or Richard Gere, this year Wim Wenders, Susan Sarandon, Ozon himself and Omar Sy will parade on the red carpet of the Verdi cinemas. “They are very important names, but we are not a festival that goes crazy with glamour. We like the idea of ​​linking the BCN Film Fest with culture. And this character of a cultural festival is taking root more and more”. She assures that she is “very satisfied with the inclusion of the Ateneo and its literary tradition as a venue this year”. “I think it gives us more strength in the character of the festival because it interconnects different artistic disciplines. We want to do another edition that is a work of art and above all not to repeat ourselves”, admits Casanovas, for whom the public is very important: “I think you can set up your own routes without stressing yourself out” .
And it is that, at these times when festivals are so full, the journalist emphasizes: “We want to offer a comfortable and affordable festival for everyone. Of course, criticism and the press, which are fundamental, deserve respect and it’s something that has been lost a lot lately.” Another of the issues highlighted by the veteran voice of cinema at RNE is that in the current scenario “it seems that the theaters are being colonized by blockbusters, but there is life beyond popcorn cinema and we want to show the way to these works different. Culture is not a can. On the contrary, it can be very rewarding to discover a painter like Oskar Kokoschka, as we propose this year with Alma
Among the seventy films that can be seen until April 28, literary and theatrical adaptations have a great weight. From the aforementioned Mi crimen to La desconocida, by Pablo Maqueda, based on the work of Paco Bezerra, through A bit of light, starring Anna Paquin. Titles that prove that “another type of cinema is possible”. Like that of the German Wim Wenders, Honor prize to whom a wide retrospective will be dedicated and will exhibit thirty photographs from filming. “He was a filmmaker who pushed the limits of cinema, something that Ozon is also doing. They are two directors who have never allowed themselves to be tamed. They give way to imagination and creativity in the face of repetition. And they open their doors to the public.” An audience that will also be able to enjoy discussion sessions with the author of Paris, Texas Omar Sy, very popular since he rose to prominence with the blockbuster Intocable and who will now present Padre y soldado, or Sarandon talking about Thelma
Spanish and Catalan cinema will once again have a prominent presence there with Un cel de plom, by Miquel Romans, “a tribute to Neus Català “; Someone who cares for me, by Elvira Lindo and Daniela Fejermam; Las buenas compañÃas, by SÃlvia Munt, or the “eagerness to overcome” shown by Unzué. El último equipo de Juancar. The official section is completed, among others, with El viaje de Harold, with the presence in Barcelona of the British actress Penelope Wilton; The Padilla case, by Pavel Giroud; The lost king, by Stephen Frears; No bears, by the Iranian Jafar Panahi, or The first day of my life, with Toni Servillo. In Zona Oberta we will find pieces such as the new work by Ari Aster, Beau tiene miedo, with a Joaquin Phoenix who has to face his fears; The bounty hunter, a western by Walter Hill; Els enchants, by Elena Trapé, or Esperando a DalÃ, by David Pujol. Sica, by Carla Subirana, will be the closing tape.
One of the concepts that Casanovas highlights in this edition is that of travel. “The BCN Film Fest is like a travel agency because we offer all kinds of trips, starting with Paris, Texas and ending with Thelma
