Willem Dafoe (Appleton, 1955), the star guest of the BCN Film Fest edition that kicks off this Thursday at Cines Verdi, attends to the group of journalists with a warm smile that illuminates his angular and expressive face, one of the most fascinating in world cinema. The Host, the film by Miguel Ángel Jiménez that he is presenting at the festival, is a Catalan co-production with an international cast and filmed in Greece in which the American actor plays a powerful Greek magnate with shady dealings who, in the mid-70s, gathers family and friends on his private island to lavishly celebrate his daughter's anniversary and plan her future, whether she wants it or not. “The problem with wanting to control everything is that it ends up destroying everything you love –the actor points out–. He always thinks about his past, surely because he has humble origins. But what defines him is, above all, power and the loss of his son”.

The Colombian filmmaker Simón Mesa Soto (Medellín, 1986) won the Palme d’Or for best short film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014 with his master’s final project at the London Film School, where Carla Simón was one of his classmates. A decade later, the difficulties in making his second film brought on doubts and fear. What if his initial success had been a mirage? Would he end up just being a professor, after his dream of cinema was forcibly put aside? These concerns eventually materialized in A Poet, a very funny and at the same time very bitter comedy that premieres this Friday and has a wonderful protagonist: Óscar Restrepo, a poet who won an important award at a very young age and who, now old and failed, wallows in his vital defeat in alcohol and self-pity, lives off the pension of an elderly and sick mother, and uses his literary aspirations (“I am a poet!”) as a trench to shelter himself from work. “What you are is unemployed,” his sister reasonably retorts, pushing him to accept a job as a literature teacher.

A list like the one from the survey on Catalan cinema among 200 experts, promoted by ARA, is not only useful for awarding or removing medals from films or directors, but also for studying and analyzing the image left by the votes. If we take the 25 most voted films as a representative sample, a first conclusion is that this canon of Catalan cinema is moving towards parity. There are nine films directed by women in the top 25 of the list, that is, 36%; but if we focus only on the films on this list produced in the last fifteen years, which are those of the great arrival of women in cinema, the percentage of female directors rises to 50%. It is worth noting that among the five most voted films there is only one directed by a woman, and among the ten most voted only three, but this imbalance at the top of the list is compensated, in part, by the significant first position ofEstiu 1993, directed by Carla Simón.

The first film as a director by actress Aina Clotet will premiere in May as part of the Semaine de la Critique, the prestigious French event that takes place parallel to the Cannes Film Festival and has been organized by the French Union of Cinema Critics since 1962. Viva, which is set in a near future marked by extreme drought, stars Clotet herself in the role of a woman who has just turned 40 and is recovering from cancer.

The first film as director by actress Aina Clotet will premiere in May as part of Critics' Week, the prestigious French event that takes place parallel to the Cannes Film Festival and has been organized by the French Union of Film Critics since 1962. Viva, which is set in the near future when Catalonia is suffering from an extreme drought, stars Clotet herself as a woman who has just turned 40 and is recovering from cancer.

To celebrate that Estiu 1993 has been chosen by 200 experts as the most important film in Catalan cinema of the 21st century, ARA brought together a few days ago, at Cines Verdi, two of its actors: David Verdaguer and Laia Artigas. She was the girl who still doesn't know how to manage her emotions after her parents' death, and he was the uncle who welcomed her into his family as one more daughter. The two actors share a manager, but they hadn't seen each other for a while. Artigas, who will soon turn 18, recalls with a smile the "special" relationship she had with Verdaguer. When Artigas watches Estiu 1993 –

One 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.

When the English director Kirk Jones met John Davidson to explain that he wanted to direct a film about his life, the first thing Davidson said was: “Fuck!”. But it wasn't a spontaneous invitation to fuck but one of the verbal tics that have marked his life since he was 14, when he developed Tourette's syndrome. In a matter of weeks, Davidson went from being a normal teenager with good grades and a group of friends to being marginalized at school, labeled as crazy, beaten by classmates, and on occasion, arrested by the police. His struggle to have a dignified life, relate to others, and find a job are the raw material for Incontrolable (I swear), the film inspired by Davidson, which premieres this Friday and is already one of the great successes of British cinema in the last decade, with more than a million viewers in cinemas in the United Kingdom and awards such as the Bafta for best actor for Robert Aramayo, who beat, among others, Leonardo DiCaprio and Timothée Chalamet.

Spanish cinema will make history at the next edition of the Cannes Film Festival, where it will have three films in the official competition: Amarga Navidad, by Pedro Almodóvar, La bola negra, by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, known as Los Javis, and El ser querido, by Rodrigo Sorogoyen. After last year's double win with films by Carla Simón and Oliver Laxe in competition, this historic trio confirms an unprecedented trend at a festival traditionally wary of Spanish cinema. Their rivals for the Palme d'Or will include, among others, new films by such established directors as Ryusuke Hamaguchi, László Nemes, Asghar Farhadi, Pawel Pawlikowski, and two directors who have already triumphed at Cannes: Hirokazu Kore-eda and Cristian Mungiu.

Spanish cinema will make history at the next edition of the Cannes Film Festival, where it will have three films in the official competition: Amarga Navidad, by Pedro Almodóvar; La bola negra, by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, known as Los Javis, and El ser querido, by Rodrigo Sorogoyen. After last year's double feature with films by Carla Simón and Oliver Laxe in competition, this historic trio confirms an unprecedented trend at a festival traditionally wary of Spanish cinema. Their rivals for the Palme d'Or will include, among others, new films by such established auteurs as Ryusuke Hamaguchi, László Nemes, Asghar Farhadi, Paweł Pawlikowski, and two directors who have already triumphed at Cannes: Hirokazu Kore-eda and Cristian Mungiu.

In 1952, the English magazine Sight & Sound asked 85 critics from around the world for their 10 favorite films in the history of cinema. 63 responded to the call and with the lists they sent, a first possible canon of cinema history was compiled, led with 25 votes by Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves. The Sight & Sound poll, repeated and expanded every ten years, has demonstrated the power of lists to create opinion, promote debate, and celebrate excellence in cinema. With this same aim, ARA has asked 200 experts what are the best Catalan films of the 21st century. The objective is to celebrate Catalan cinema of the last 25 years, but, above all, to think and debate our cinema with a playful and critical spirit.

A leading German filmmaker of recent decades, Christian Petzold (Hilden, 1960) has visited Barcelona for the retrospective dedicated to him by the D'A Film Festival, a program that includes his latest film, which will be released in cinemas on April 10. In Espejos n. 3, a depressed piano student and sole survivor of a fatal car accident recovers at the home of a woman she has just met. Tenderness and unexpected connections in a film that functions as a compendium of the virtues and obsessions of one of the most in-form European directors of the moment.

In 2020, a 14-page comic biography of Caritat del Río made Pep Brocal (Terrassa, 1967) the first winner of the Premi ARA de Còmic. A few years later, the cartoonist revisits and expands that project in the form of a graphic novel – published by Garbuix in Catalan and Spanish – to continue exploring the chiaroscuro of one of the most mysterious figures of the 20th century, a spy in the service of communism who pulled the strings of history.

The cinematic universe ofThe Lord of the Rings It's being renewed. The presenter of late night Stephen Colbert has announced he is writing a new movie aboutThe Lord of the RingsThe original title of the project is Lord of the rings: shadows of the past The story is set 14 years after the death of Frodo Baggins. Here is the official synopsis: "Sam, Merry, and Pippin decide to continue their adventure. Meanwhile, Sam's daughter, Elanor, discovers a long-hidden secret and is determined to find out why the War of the Ring was almost lost before it even began."

Challenge met. For the third year in a row, the performing arts sector in Catalonia has celebrated Theatre Day, which this Saturday managed to fill 81,513 seats out of the more than 92,000 available in the 261 theatres participating in the campaign. Empty Seat Capewhich offered 305 shows and 347 performances. The final audience figure, announced at nightfall at an event held at the Old Damm Factory, represents a 14.09% increase compared to the previous edition, which drew 71,441 spectators to 217 theaters across the country, and a 48.05% increase compared to the first edition, which featured 145 theaters. "It has been a wonderful day, unlike anything else in the world: an entire country dedicated to breaking a record by attending the theater," celebrated Isabel Vidal, president of the Association of Theater Companies of Catalonia (Adetca), which promotes the campaign.

Working with Pedro Almodóvar for the first time is always a milestone for any actor, a turning point that can define a career. Some experience it as a trial by fire, perhaps recalling Jorge Sanz's ordeal, who was fired from Tremulous flesh (1997) after a week of filming because he didn't get along with the man from La Mancha, who replaced him with Liberto Rabal. Victoria LuengoThe first contact with the director was in The room next doorIt was a good experience, she explains, but only two days of filming and a very small role. "You feel a mixture of nerves, excitement, fear, and responsibility... But in such a short time it's difficult, because you don't yet know the crew or the tone of the film, and besides, it was a role in English."

American actor Nicholas Brendon, who played one of the main characters in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Nicholas Brendon, who starred in the series for seven seasons (from 1997 to 2003), died at the age of 54 from "natural causes," his family announced Saturday in a statement. "It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our brother and son, Nicholas Brendon. He died of natural causes in his sleep. Many people knew him for his work as an actor and the characters he brought to life. In recent years, he had found his passion in painting and art. (...) It is no secret that Nicholas had struggled in the past, but he was on medication and undergoing treatment for his diagnosis and, at the time of his passing, remained optimistic about the future. Our family asks for privacy during this time of loss and mourning to celebrate the life of a man who lived with intensity, imagination, and heart."

Chuck Norris, an enduring hero of film and television for more than five decades, died this Friday in Hawaii, where he had been hospitalized the day before. Norris, a martial arts champion and karate instructor, was one of the first actors to shape the archetype of the action hero in modern cinema with films such as Delta Force, Missing in action and The Fury of the Dragonin which he faced off against Bruce Lee. On television, his most popular role was in the series Walker, Texas RangerNorris's family announced his death with a statement: "He lived his life with faith, purpose, and an unbreakable commitment to the people he loved. Through his work, discipline, and kindness, he inspired millions of people around the world and left a lasting impact on many lives."

A motion passed this Thursday in the Catalan Parliament has called on the Catalan Government to "reach a consensus" with the Catalan Film Academy "on the necessary strategies to define a specific category for films spoken entirely in Catalan within the Gaudí Awards." The motion, which included various items related to cultural policies, was presented by the Junts parliamentary group and approved with the votes of Junts, ERC, Comuns, CUP, and Aliança Catalana. In statements to ARA, the president of the Film Academy, Judith Colell, expressed her "great surprise" at the Parliament's demand. "The Gaudí Awards have had, since their first edition, a category dedicated exclusively to films in their original Catalan version, and it is the awards' flagship category," Colell pointed out. "And we didn't invent the original Catalan version. We abide by the regulations set by the Generalitat (Catalan Government)." The criteria that determine what is considered the original Catalan version stem from the Film Law that the Parliament of Catalonia approved in 2010 and which was drafted by the Ministry of Culture, then headed by Joan Manuel Tresserras.