On the day that marks eighty years since the end of World War II on European soil, the Barcelona International Documentary Film Festival ---known as DocsBarcelona--- has inaugurated its 28th edition, in which it explores Europe's past and present fragilities. An edition with a clear gaze towards Nazism, with Germany as the guest country, or Francoism, but also towards the conflicts that are emerging today in European territory, such as the war in Ukraine. The festival explores these wounds that, although they may seem distant and even closed, still fester today and become essential to understand the present of a Europe, marked by geopolitical instability, and even to understand the future of the continent.
Until Sunday, May 18, a total of 48 films will be screened, 11 of which will be world premieres and 13 Catalan productions, selected from more than 1,000 titles received, consolidating the event as an essential meeting point for non-fiction. The films can be seen at the CCCB, Renoir and Phenomena cinemas, the Filmoteca de Catalunya, Casa Montjuïc and Espai Texas. As a novelty, this year DocsBarcelona premieres a new official section, under the name of Visions, which seeks to blur the barriers between cinematographic genres, with five non-fiction titles that explore reality through an innovative language, with titles such as Unanimal, which will be screened on May 10 and 16 at the Renoir cinemas, and delves, with Isabella Rossellini's narration, into the complex relationship between humans and animals.
"DocsBarcelona explores the fragilities of Europe, focusing on the archive, to understand not only where we are today, but also where we want to go," summarized Maria Colomer, co-director of the festival. And it does so in the midst of a still unstable Europe, according to Colomer, where armed conflicts and hate speech persist. The inaugural film, Riefenstahl, by director Andres Veiel, served as a declaration of intent of the motives and issues that the documentary film festival will explore.
Projected in the Sala Phenomena, it explores the committed figure of Leni Riefenstahl, the official filmmaker of Nazi Germany. Through unreleased archive material, private films, letters, and photos spanning her one hundred and one years of life, Veiel offers a new portrait of the lights and shadows of this character. But Germany was not only present during the festival's inauguration, but it will be a leitmotif that will run through it, as in this edition, the Docs de Honor award will be presented to Heino Deckert, German producer and distributor, with a master class at the Filmoteca de Catalunya.
During the edition, two of Deckert's most emblematic works will also be screened: Rabbit à la Berlin (Saturday, May 10, at the Filmoteca de Catalunya), which tells the story of thousands of wild rabbits that lived in the strip of the Berlin Wall and who, since its fall, are learning to live in a world with freedom and without barriers. On Sunday, May 11, also at the Filmoteca, it will be the turn of Heimat is a space in time, which delves into the history of four generations of the same family between the 19th and 20th centuries, a story that becomes a raw portrait of a country and a century.
But DocsBarcelona will not only explore the consequences of Nazism, but also of Francoism, coinciding with this year also marking fifty years since the death of Francisco Franco. A historical period that will be revisited from new perspectives, such as the secrets and impunity of the Francoist dictatorship in the former Spanish Guinea in Negro Limbo (May 13 at the CCCB) or the dark silences of Edilia's grandmother before a granddaughter who wants answers in O Silencio Heredado, which premieres this Friday, May 9, at the Renoir cinema.
This documentary, by Lucía Dapena, is part of the Docs&Cat section, which aims to group the best documentaries produced in Catalonia, reaffirming the festival's commitment to local talent with thirteen titles. Among them, films dedicated to different professionals from the world of arts stand out, such as the winner of the National Music Award 2020, Raquel García-Tomas, in a documentary that follows the composer in her ideation process of the opera Alexina B. and is screened at the Renoir this Friday, May 9, or the film Miralles (May 13 at the CCCB), which portrays the architect Enric Miralles, evoking him through his most iconic spaces.
The festival not only revisits the past, but also the open wounds and conflicts that still beat in the heart of Europe today, some of which still respond to dynamics and ideologies of the Second World War. Thus, the twenty-eighth edition of the festival approaches the Russian-Ukrainian war, through films such as Facing War (May 11 and 12 at Renoir cinemas), which follows NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in his persistence to find support for Ukraine, or TimeStamp (May 10 and 12 at Renoir), which traces the attempt of students and teachers to keep schools open as a symbol of normality in the midst of the conflict.
The directors also share a decolonizing perspective, with titles such as Sunu Gaal (May 15 at Renoir and May 16 at Espai Texas), a Catalan production that follows a group of young women from Senegal who want to emigrate to Europe. "The purpose was to focus on one of the great tragedies of our times, since the Atlantic migratory route is the deadliest in the world, and to explore the reasons why many people want to risk their lives to reach our home," said its director, Josep T. París. Tickets for the screenings can be purchased from 9 euros, although there is also the possibility of buying a pass for three sessions ---with a price of 21 euros--- or one for six sessions, for an amount of 30 euros.
In addition to the screenings of the 48 documentaries, the festival also consolidates its central role in the European documentary industry. From May 12 to 16, DocsBarcelona will deploy its Industry section, a meeting point for professionals, hosting presentations and sessions of about sixty projects in an incipient phase, with accompanying, advisory and financing programs.