Perilla the current cultural project of Cinema Truffaut

BarcelonaOne of the most exemplary cultural projects on the Catalan film scene could come to an end on Sunday, April 19th. After 25 years, the Girona Critics Collective is about to lose the management of Cinema Truffaut, a municipal facility that will be managed by the company of exhibitor Toni Badimon, who programs the Rambla de l'Art cinemas in Cambrils. The reason for the change is the public tender called by the Girona City Council, in which Badimon's project has prevailed thanks to a higher score for the economic offer, 4,000 euros lower than that of the Critics Collective. The members of the collective have not yet made any statement, awaiting an emergency meeting with the Girona council scheduled for this Monday evening.

The probable change in the cinema's management has been met with surprise and concern by many cinema users and by film lovers in general. The Catalan Federation of Cineclubs has published a statement of support for the Critics Collective and has praised the project's "criterion and public service vocation." For the writer Josep M. Fonalleras, the Truffaut is "a Girona state structure" that "cannot be lost." Íngrid Guardiola, essayist and former director of the Bòlit art center, as well as a former member of the Critics Collective, has recalled that the association is "an act of unprecedented generosity and cinephilia" and that "if the loss is confirmed, the servitude of protocols is what remains." Reference film critics such as Carlos Losilla – "If confirmed, it will be a disaster for Catalan film culture" –, Alejandro G. Calvo – "The Truffaut was a basic part of film resistance" – and the director of the magazine Caimán, Carlos Heredero – "A demented disaster... Very much in line with the capitalist mentality with which institutions manage culture in this country."

The Col·lectiu de Crítics is not only the creator of the project that has made the Truffaut a benchmark for independent and auteur cinema programming in its original version in Catalonia, but it is also a non-profit cultural association. Its members do not charge for programming tasks and, if there are profits at the end of the year, they are returned to the Girona City Council. Only a few months ago, on November 17 last year, the project's 25 years of existence were celebrated at an event attended by cultural figures, such as singer Gerard Quintana, actor Sergi López and filmmaker Marc Recha, as well as politicians, such as the current mayor Lluc Salellas, the Councilor for Culture Quim Ayats and the former mayor Joaquim Nadal.

At a get-together with militants and officials from the CUP and Guanyem, Salellas stated on Saturday that the awarding of the Truffaut was not yet final and highlighted the "good work" that the Col·lectiu de Crítics has done over the last 25 years, remarking that he was "convinced that they will be able to continue doing it for many more years." The uncertainty about the future of the Truffaut comes just as the cinema is experiencing a sweet moment: after inaugurating a second screen in 2022, public attendance broke records in 2023 and, again, in 2024, with nearly 44,000 spectators annually.