"Cinema? I'm happy to speak to my children in Catalan"

Anna and her daughters, who are practically pre-teens, have decided to go to the movies to see Wonder Woman 1984, one of the few blockbusters available in cinemas these days, which work at half gas due to the coronavirus. They will see the film in Spanish because that is the language in which they offer it at the Bosque cinema, which is the theatre they usually choose because it is close to home. It is also true that if they wanted to see it in Catalan their adventure would become an impossible mission: no dubbed or subtitled copy in Catalan has been released in Catalonia. "I am happy to always speak to them in Catalan, always in Catalan", Anna says.

Looking at the listings, it is clear that parents who want their children to consume Catalan-language films have to make an extra tetris-like effort that includes squaring the film, the schedule and the room. "The truth is that it's very difficult to find content in Catalan", Anna says, who points out that she's from the Empordà and that people speak Catalan at home. She acknowledges that the offer in her mother tongue is practically non-existent in terms of audiovisual home entertainment. "There is TV3 and little else. I consider it lost, it's a little sad but it's what there is", she says with resignation.

During the weeks of the Christmas holidays, when children have more possibilities of going to the cinema, the billboard especially encouraged the consumption of films in Catalan. The offer that the younger ones had access to during the last week of December was two titles: Els croods: una nova era ('The Croods: A New Age') and El cavaller del drac ('Dragon Rider'). In Barcelona, the first one was in Catalan in four cinemas, some of which also programmed in Spanish with a more varied schedule. For example, in the Arenas cinema it could only be seen in Catalan in one session, the one at 3.30 pm, while in Spanish one could chose between 4 pm and 6 pm. The situation with El cavaller del drac was even worse: it was only available in Catalan in one cinema, Girona, which programmed it on Saturday, Wednesday and Thursday at 4 pm. Other children's films released during the Christmas season, such as Mi amigo Pony ('Poly') o Trolls 2: Gira mundial ('Trolls World Tour'), were only available in Spanish.

In January, the offer in Catalan was extended with the release of Els elfkins ('Die Heinzels') and Fritzi: un conte revolucionari ('Fritzi - Eine Wendewundergeschichte'). Once again, in Barcelona, the two films are part of the programme of the Girona cinema (Fritzi can also be seen in the Verdi, the Maldà and the Zumzeig). With these limited possibilities, parents who want their children to have access to culture in Catalan have to put aside practicality and make a conscious choice, even if this means a longer journey.

The Croods: A New Age, in Spanish, is the one Melqui Calzado and his daughters have decided to watch. "We were indifferent to going to see the film in one language or another. It is not a subject that worries us because at home we both speak it and we choose more because of the title, especially when we go with the children", Calzado explains, who stresses that comfort is the main reason behind the choice. The same occurs when they use streaming platforms at home when their daughters want to watch cartoons. "At home they don't consume much content in Catalan because of the lack of availability. We use platforms, like Disney, because they have a lot of content and a lot of variety, but it's true that there is no offer in Catalan", he acknowledges.

What about English?

Calzado admits that if parents want family entertainment in Catalan they have to make an effort because they have very few options. "I understand that behind [the little offer] there is an economic question. I'm sure that translating all films into Catalan must cost money. Today, as a father, I think there is little content availability", he explains. While many parents view with concern the imbalance between content in Catalan and Spanish, Calzado points out that for him it would be more important that his children to have access to products in English. "We have cousins who are from other European countries and there all content is in English, in the cinema and on television, and of course, they have a level that has nothing to do with what we have here. I think this would be a plus for the education of our children", he argues

The attitude of resigned acceptance can also be detected in Jordi Albert, another father who takes his son to see The Croods: A New Age in Spanish. As in the other two cases, the choice has been made by proximity, not by language, which he claims he is indifferent towards. "We came here because we live next door and if they did it in Catalan we would see it in that language. It is very difficult to access content in Catalan. If there were more options we would go more, why not", he says. Albert acknowledges that, although it is not a priority for the family to see pictures in Catalan and that they adapt to what is available, they usually find films in Spanish. "It's a good option to have the possibility of Catalan and Spanish, but here there are less and less in Catalan".

If his usual cinema offered films in Catalan, would he go? Albert has no doubt: "If we had come today and the film was in Catalan, we would have seen it in Catalan".