The billboard has been filled with successes with a Catalan seal in recent years. From Carla Simón's Alcarràs to the blockbusters Casa en Flames and El 47, passing through the surprising Creatura and the acclaimed Polvo Serán or Segundo Premio, Catalonia's film sector is experiencing a prolific moment, marked by opportunities, but also by challenges.
To delve into the sector and its sweet moment, director and screenwriter Eva Vila and also director, screenwriter and actor Joel Joan will star in the next session of the Moments Estel·lars cycle, organized by The New Barcelona Post. The meeting was initially planned with director Dani de la Orden, who will finally not be able to attend for personal reasons.
Vila, who is also director of the Master in Creation Documentary at UPF Barcelona School of Management (UPF-BSM), and Joel Joan, who was the first president of the Acadèmia del Cinema Català, will share a conversation in which they will unravel the keys to the sector's success, which goes beyond the big screen and also sneaks into platforms, as evidenced by the film by Catalan Jaume Collet-Serra Equipaje de mano, produced in the United States and which has broken records on Netflix.
Vila and Joel Joan will act as guides in what the film sector represents, both what is seen and what remains behind the screen, in a meeting that will take place on June 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Casa Seat. Titled Una Barcelona de cine, the session will be led, as usual, by journalist and UPF-BSM professor Toni Aira, and is organized with the collaboration of Casa Seat, Barcelona Global and Must Media Group. To attend as an audience and be able to ask questions to the two speakers, free prior reservation is required.
The rise of films with a Catalan seal is not by chance. What are the causes that have generated the conditions for multiple films applauded by the public to emerge? Is it a fleeting success, or a lasting phase of a consolidated sector? What does Catalan cinema require from administrations to maintain this level? And from talent? All these and many other questions will be reviewed by the two professionals in the sector, who will provide diverse points of view from their different trajectories.
Joel Joan will do so drawing from his multifaceted career. Trained at the Institut del Teatre, he debuted in the world of acting precisely on stage. From Plats Bruts, with which he rose to fame in the early 2000s, he has given life to characters on the small and big screen, and also in theater ---until a few weeks ago, with Escape Room 2---.
But not only that. His artistic and professional career transcends acting, as he has worked as a director and screenwriter from the beginning ---also from his own production companies--- and was the first president of the Acadèmia del Cinema Català, from its foundation in 2008 until 2013.
Joel Joan will address the reality of Catalan cinema from his role as director, screenwriter, and actor; Eva Vila will also do so as a director and screenwriter and, in addition, as a teacher. The filmmaker, who signs feature films such as Penélope and Bajarí and documentaries such as the acclaimed B-Side, has been linked to CCCB projects and is the author of two books, which accompany her screen works: B-Side. La cara B de la música en Barcelona, and Bajarí, la Barcelona gitana.
Vila, who is a member of Dones Visuals and the Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media, co-founded Araki Films in 2010, and has been linked to the Master in Creative Documentary at UPF-BSM since 2003, where she is currently the director, senior lecturer and co-director of the Labed editing laboratory. With their respective backgrounds and perspectives, both professionals will delve into the Catalan cinematographic landscape, its challenges, and its opportunities.