8 films and 8 debates to reflect on housing

"How do we want to live tomorrow?" This is the underlying question posed by the Col·legi de l’Arquitectura Tècnica de Barcelona (Cateb) with ARTEC, a film and debate series that, from October 5th to November 30th at Espai Texas, puts some of the greatest challenges of housing and cities on the table.

Eight films and eight debates will serve as a starting point to address issues ranging from the difficulties of accessing a rental or moving out to new housing models, immigration, digitalization, health, or the impact of climate change. The series combines a film that engages the public with a debate led by experts and moderated by a journalist from the newspaper ARA.

ARTEC is the new technical architecture festival that explores the challenges of housing and construction from multiple perspectives. The event connects knowledge, citizenship, and industry through cultural, educational, and professional experiences such as the film forum at the Texas cinemas, within the framework of Barcelona as the 2026 World Capital of Architecture. With the conviction that architecture is not built only with materials, but also takes shape through the decisions, conflicts, and visions of the future that condition our way of life, Cateb promotes the ARTEC Series, an invitation to discover and reflect on an issue that affects us all.

Prices do not stop rising and it is increasingly difficult to become independent or maintain a rental home. Behind this are factors such as tourist pressure, speculation, the lack of affordable housing, and a demand that competes for an increasingly reduced rental stock. A scenario that places access to housing at the center of the debate on what model of city we want to build.

The colloquia

The cycle kicks off tomorrow, October 5th, with the two films Sisè primeraand Gastos incluidos, which will serve as the culmination of the debate on the rental problem, moderated by Antoni Bassas. They will be followed by La furgo(October 14th), on housing as a right, necessity, or investment; Chavalas (October 19th), linked to housing access and emancipation; and Her (October 26th), which will serve to reflect on digitalization, coexistence, and housing.

In November, it will be the turn of Històries de la Vall Bona(November 9th), on immigration, reception, and housing; Kollektivet (The Commune) (November 16th), concerning new housing and living models; The Human Scale (November 23rd), on the relationship between housing and health, and Snowpiercer, which will close the cycle on November 30th with a debate on climate change and housing. The colloquium will be led by Esther Vera, director of the newspaper ARA.

The following colloquiums will be hosted by Carla Turró, deputy director of the newspaper ARA; Laura Casserres, head of housing information; Gerard Pruna, head of the Barcelona area; Natàlia Vila, journalist specializing in infrastructure and housing; Ignasi Aragay, deputy director of the newspaper, and Gemma Garrido, head of society and health expert. All sessions will feature the participation of experts in each of the subjects.

Access to housing, the first debate

The first session dedicated to housing access will bring together writer Llúcia Ramis, entrepreneur and member of the CAFBL governing board Joana Amat, and notary and member of the Cercle d’Economia Camino Quiroga. Moderated by ARA journalist Antoni Bassas, the debate will address one of the most urgent issues in the housing market: the growing shortage of rental apartments, the responsibilities behind it, and possible solutions.

Sisè primera is a short film about housing access featuring faces such as Emma Vilarasau, Vicky Luengo, Ángela Cervantes, or Marc Clotet. A candidate for the 2025 Goya Awards in the Best Fiction Short Film category, the film explains how Fina, the owner of an apartment building in Barcelona's Eixample district, lists one of her apartments for rent and has arranged a viewing with various potential tenants.

Gastos incluidos is set in Madrid and explains how a tenant agrees to ignore the existence of the other tenant living in their apartment, so that both inhabit the space as if it were for individual use. In 2021, it was nominated for the Goya Award for Best Short Film.