The 6th edition of the Brain Film Fest kicks off, the international film festival about the brain promoted by the Pasqual Maragall Foundation and co-organized by Minimal Films. The contest, which will take place from March 15 to 19 at the CCCB, has a highly varied program, highlighting the latest work by Carlos Saura, Las paredes hablan, and the award-winning El sostre groc, by Isabel Coixet, who will be awarded with the special prize of the festival.
The Brain Film Fest, which was born with the Solé Tura award for short films on neurodegenerative pathologies, has been expanding its borders, and now revolves around proposals on any condition that affects the brain. These parameters include topics as varied as neurological diseases, but also philosophy, mental health, artificial intelligence, emotions or identities.
The festival’s program includes 18 fiction feature films and documentaries out of competition. Among these, the director of the festival, Albert Solé, highlights Las paredes hablan, the latest work by the recently deceased Carlos Saura. This is a documentary that reflects on the combination between the brain and artistic creation. A theme, says Solé, that enters fully into the DNA of the festival.
Another of the protagonists this edition is Isabel Coixet who, in addition to presenting her latest work El techo amarillo, will be awarded the festival’s special prize. “The films by the acclaimed Catalan director often address issues related to the festival, especially the management of trauma and post-trauma,” says Solé.
The yellow roof, winner of the Goya this year, tells the story of a group of women who filed a complaint against two of their teachers from the Lleida Theater Class for sexual abuse that occurred between 2001 and 2008. Out of fear or shame they took a long time time to digest what had happened, and the complaint came when the case had already expired and was filed.
The festival director highlights Imad’s Childhood, the documentary by Zahavi Sanjavi that shows a five-year-old Iazidi boy released from ISIS captivity after two and a half years. He also mentions Gerardo Herero’s comedy Bajo terapia, Werner Herzog’s documentary Theater of Thought, and Long Live My Happy Head, a moving testimony about how art and creativity can be the way out to cope with illness.
The screening of 20 short films that compete for the Solé Tura Award is also scheduled, in addition to the selection of four micro-shorts that can be viewed and voted for online through the web and the popular vote will decide the winner.
The jury for the 13th Solé Tura Award, which recognizes the best short film on brain themes, is made up of Judith Colell, president of the Catalan Film Academy, the actor Brays Efe, the polyglot and polyhedral journalist Elianne Ros and the researcher José Luís Trejo . A varied jury, says Solé, “representative of different views.”
The cinematographic proposal is complemented by a wide program of activities of all kinds that are related to the theme of the festival in a neurological key. Proposals that help brain health or talk about it, such as workshops, round tables and debates with specialists. This year highlights a workshop on yoga and neuroplasticity, a round table on neuroart, a gospel workshop and one on smell.
All Brain Film Fest screenings are free, and tickets to attend the scheduled activities can be purchased through its website.
