The Rewind season presents a monthly look back at some of the greatest films screened at Cambridge Film Festival in the lead up to the Festival’s 40th anniversary in November. It offers a Pay What You Can Afford pricing structure via the Festival’s website.
From 16th – 22nd July, Rewind will showcase three must-see Catalan films from the archives of the Festival’s CAMERA CATALONIA strand as part of its ongoing monthly screenings. Each film has the power to entertain and thrill as much as any English-language Hollywood production, from heart-breaking melodramas to romance. The films include:
BLACK BREAD (2010) had its UK premiere at the 32nd Cambridge Film Festival (2012) as part of CAMERA CATALONIA. Beta Cinema Spain’s submission for the Best Foreign Language Oscar is the first film in the Catalan language to win the Goya for Best Film as well as in eight other categories. The film is set during the aftermath of the civil war, and against the backdrop of the beautiful Catalan countryside. Beneath this beauty lies the debris of nationwide conflict. A young boy, Andreu, finds the corpses of a man and his son in the forest. When the authorities want to pin the blame on his father, the boy decides to try and help him, setting out to discover who killed them. From a shocking opening, Villaronga follows his themes of childhood, war, horror and guilt in a powerful film.
Take One review: https://takeonecinema.net/2012/black-bread-pa-negre/
THE MARINA CAFE (2014). Lead actress Marina Salas came to Cambridge in 2015 to take part in two fascinating Q&As with our Camera Catalonia audiences. This film is based on a very popular Catalan play from the beginning of the 20th century and reminiscent of the work of Marcel Pagnol. It was after translating Pagnol’s Marius that Josep Maria de Sagarra decided to write The Marina Café. Sílvia Munt, one of Catalonia’s most important actresses, has been mostly behind the camera of late. She opens the play for the cinema medium and manages to orchestrate the cast in this ensemble effort. Love, jealousy, honour, family obligations, poverty and status are all present in the film. This is a film for those who love classical theatre.
Take One review: https://takeonecinema.net/2015/el-cafe-de-la-marina/
FICTION (2006) (CFF in 2014). Writer-director Cesc Gay specialises in explorations of male friendships and the existential crises of men questioning their life decisions. A film director retreats to the mountains to stay with his friend and finish his next screenplay, leaving his wife and children behind. FICTION is a slow meandering through emotions and relationships, and in a beautifully understated way rewards the viewer with an intense emotional crescendo.
“A film where nothing (and yet everything) happens, with FICTION Cesc Gay made a grown-up film about grown-ups, and one that is intensely – and authentically – romantic.”
Full Take one review: https://takeonecinema.net/2014/fiction/
Each film can be viewed via the CFF at Home screening room. They have been carefully chosen so that film lovers continue to have an opportunity to watch interesting, unique and alternative cinema.
Alongside the Catalan screenings, the coming month also marks the second film submissions deadline on 22 July for the 2021 Festival in November. The Festival embraces new methods of filmmaking and emerging platforms of distribution. Through the open submissions process, it supports filmmakers from right across the world as well as locally, providing a platform for new talents to showcase their work. The pandemic has presented many challenges for the film industry, as such the Festival organisers are keen to continue supporting diverse filmmakers, helping them to bring their films to audiences and have their work celebrated. Further information about film submissions, can be viewed here.
Image: Black Bread (pa negre)
Cambridge Film Festival website: camfilmfest.com
CFF at Home is made possible by BFI’s Film Audience Network, with the support of The National Lottery.
Cambridge Film Festival’s Principal partners: TTP & Studio 24.
Cambridge Film Festival is presented by Cambridge Film Trust, a registered charity with a mission to foster and promote film culture and education for the benefit of people in Cambridge, the East of England and throughout the UK.
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