Why are there suddenly two mythological film festivals in Pallars Sobirà?

BarcelonaThe Catalan film festival scene is one of the richest and most powerful in Europe, so much so that it includes up to 140 exhibitions of a richness and variety unheard of anywhere in the world. However, when the creation of a festival dedicated to the mythological cinema of the Pyrenees, the Cardós Film Fest, was announced a few months ago in Vall de Cardós, many were left in suspense. And not because of the uniqueness of the theme, but because last year a mythological film festival from the Pyrenees, the Tabaca Film Fest, was successfully held in this municipality, which this year has moved to Gerri de la Sal, another village in Pallars Sobirà, 35 kilometers away. Both festivals, moreover, will be held in September.

The story of this apparent coincidence begins in 2021 with a meeting between a tourism technician from Sort and two actresses (Ivana Miño and Cristina Vidal) in which the idea of creating a festival to highlight the legends and folklore of Pallars and around the world arose. Following that meeting, Miño and Vidal began working on the project with fellow actress Gisela Arnao. "At Tabaca we understand the mythological cinema in a broad sense, from an ancestral tale to Greek mythology, a superstition or a reinterpreted legend -says Miño-. And mythology encompasses the great narrative archetypes that have accompanied us throughout history: the hero's journey, sacrifice, the fight between good and evil..."

In 2023, the tourism technician (Yolanda Mas) put them in contact with her son, Joel Baró, who had been elected mythology. They presented the project to him and signed a collaboration agreement to host the festival in the town. In September 2024, they held a first edition in which twenty-one short films were screened and various parallel activities were held, such as a concert by Xarim Aresté, a guided tour of the mysterious places of Vall de Cardós, a drawing workshop with children... The main prize went to Although it is night, by Guillermo Galoe, who this year released his debut at Critics' Week in Cannes, City without sleep.

Everyone agrees that the first edition of Tabaca, which attracted a thousand attendees, was a success, although this was also when the story began to unravel due to tensions and disagreements between the festival organizers and the Vall de Cardós City Council. The split became concrete when, in November, the council informed the Gat Negre association that they would receive a smaller subsidy than agreed for the previous edition. Disappointed, Miño, Vidal, and Arnau decided to move the festival forward in a new location, which they found in Gerri de la Sal. But in February, without warning, Vall de Cardós announced the celebration of the Cardós Film Fest, the Mythological Film and Literature Festival of the Pyrenees, from September 26 to 28, organized by the City Council and the Cultural, Civic, and Sports Association of the Cardós Valleys.

The story of the divorce between the festival and the City Council varies depending on the interlocutor. From the Cardós Film Fest, Jordi Torner speaks of a "split" in the organization and compares the situation to that of a "musical group" in which the members "don't understand each other and some go one way and others another." They also claim in a statement that the City Council "co-organized" its first edition. Tabaca, on the other hand, categorically denies this story and asserts that the Gat Negre Association was the sole organizer of the first edition, and that the City Council limited itself to hosting the festival and performing some communication tasks. According to ARA, this is stated in the agreement between the City Council and the Gat Negre Association, in the report of the first edition, and in reports published in the press.

A similar case

Joaquim Roqué, director of the Transhumante Festival and president of the Catalunya Film Festivals sector network—a label to which none of these festivals belong, because at least three editions are required—points out that "diversity always favors the cultural offering of a region" and believes that we should avoid creating "two identical projects," because that "not only harms both entities." However, he is not surprised by the situation. He himself experienced a similar situation as the driving force and first director of the Gollut Festival in Ribes de Freser. "The City Council said they didn't want to continue doing it, and I set up another festival, Terra Gollut. When we had that set up, they decided to continue with Gollut in the same location," he explains. Roqué ended up converting Terra Gollut into Transhumante "so as not to confuse people," but he recalls that it was all "very unpleasant."

It's not a pleasant situation for those in charge of Tabaca, which is preparing its second edition at the new Gerri de la Sal venue, to be held from September 11 to 14. On Monday, they will present the program at the Lleida Provincial Council, with new features such as the project Myth, camera... action!, which will recover the oral memory of the myths of Pallars through film, and the Farrera Scholarship, which offers a residency at Pallars Sobirà for professionals with a script in a mythological key Meanwhile, the Cardós Film Fest has made public the rules of the short film competition and the intention of programming activities related to literature, a theme for which there was no festival in Europe has now had two, both at Pallars Sobirà and in September. Tabaca). From Tabaca they assure that they would prefer to avoid controversy.