May the Maldà Cinema last forever

Among all the authentic Barcelona institutions that still withstand the onslaught of time, the Cinema Maldà is undoubtedly one of the essentials. Its mere existence is, in itself, a small miracle. In the heart of Ciutat Vella, at number 5 Carrer del Pi, it stands like an indestructible monolith against the inexorable swings of gentrification, runaway tourism, and the destruction of the neighborhood. The only cinema in the nerve center of Barcelona. It is easy to say. The Comèdia closed a couple of years ago, and the Aribau and the Renoir Floridablanca are the only ones that accompany it in its radius of influence. And the Filmoteca, of course, but it plays in a different league.

Xavi Escrivà is its manager and programmer. He started working there thirty-eight years ago and loves the old walls of the Palau Maldà as if they were his own home. With him, we visit the theater, the box office, and the projection booth, today 100% digitized but still with a certain aroma of old cinema, of a neighborhood theater, with the old 35-millimeter projector preserved as if it were a small museum. In fact, it is the only cinema in the city that offers continuous sessions, that is, the option of paying for one ticket to see the four different films it screens. The memory of the older generation surely goes back to the double and triple features that neighborhood cinemas used to show in the years of their childhood. These cinemas no longer exist; they are now just a memory.

A more than reasonable queue lines up the iconic stone staircase that you have to climb to access the theater from the street. They are Tuesday spectators, the day of the Senior Cinema initiative where those over 65 pay two euros. One more of the numerous loyalty strategies that Maldà has adopted to establish its own profile, so that it wouldn't be devoured by the multiplexes: "We are just one screen, but we offer such a wide range of films that we seem like a multiplex," explains Xavi. In fact, they combine second runs – films that get a second chance at the Maldà weeks after their premiere – with absolute premieres of auteur films that, for lack of space, do not find a place in the programming of cinemas like the Verdi or the Renoir. Now they are eagerly waiting to be able to screen El ser querido and La bola negra, two of the phenomena of the moment.

The history of the Maldà is long and fruitful. It was born in 1945 and during the seventies and eighties it specialized in art-house cinema. Integrated into the much-remembered Cercle A – founded among others by Jaume Figueras – it gained a great personality and much popular esteem. A hit premiere? Well, for example, Ocaña, retrat intermitent, by Ventura Pons. Xavi started working there very young, tearing tickets; then he began to participate in the programming, and until today. The journey has been long, with a lot of sacrifice, a lot of hard work, and tons of enthusiasm.

Between 2004 and 2007 it was closed due to some long –and very arduous– renovations: room adaptation, elevator, emergency exit... An Indian businessman took charge of it to show Bollywood films, but the idea did not take off and the Vilallonga brothers, owners of the building, contacted Xavi again to restart the project. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since that young man who worked at the neighboring Mobles Maldà and fell in love with the different cinema that was programmed in that temple of cinephilia.

Today they schedule a good fifteen titles weekly and also make room for festivals and contests that enrich its personality as a cultural agent, promoter of new trends, of youth, of risk. They have the fundamental support of Europa Cinemas, the Media program, the cinema patrons and, above all, the loyal audience that comes from all over the city and also from the surrounding areas. “Every year, in the end, we assess whether we continue or not,” explains Xavi. But they always find reasons to continue. What luck and what a privilege for Barcelona to have the Maldà. How lucky we cinephiles are to have it as a travel companion. May it last forever.