Summer in Barcelona becomes much more enjoyable with the plans the city itself offers us. If a few days ago we told you about the Grec Festival and its enormous and varied proposal, now we bring you another plan to enjoy at sunset: open-air cinema.
This year, several facilities and corners bring us film series, so we are going to break down the most interesting aspects of each of them.
Cinema Lliure a la Platja
On Sant Sebastià beach, with the magical sound of the sea in the background, the series is organized, which this year celebrates its first ten years of life. During this decade, it has spread along the Catalan coast, towards the Llobregat and Maresme areas, making it one of the most enjoyed by the public. As every year, the selected films have previously passed through renowned international festivals and efforts have been made to ensure they cater to all audiences, including children. In addition, before each screening, short films from the Filmets festival will be shown, as well as the winning short film from the Nou Talent call, which selects the best project from Catalonia's film schools.
Due to covid-19, the 2021 exhibition moves from the beach sand to the esplanade next to CEM La Mar Bella, with limited capacity and prior reservation. To avoid crowds, the organization will assign time slots so that the public can access comfortably and find their seats. Screenings, as always, will begin at sunset, as summer progresses, between 9:30 PM and 10 PM.
The series opens with the Spanish film triumphant at the latest Goya awards, Las niñas by Pilar Palomero ---tickets for this first screening are already sold out---; followed by the Catalan production La mort de Guillem by Carlos Marqués-Marcet; Corpus Christi by Jan Komasa, a film nominated for an Oscar in 2019 for best international film; a family animation from Denmark, Mina y el mundo de los sueños by Kim Hagen Jensen, and the latest film by Chilean director Pablo Larraín called Ema. The closing session of the series will be chosen by the public, who will vote among four films, and will have the opportunity to participate in a final raffle.
Sala Montjuïc
In one of the most emblematic and also coolest spaces in the city ---why not say it--- open-air cinema is back, with a proposal of "powerful elixir to cure us of all ills." Following the line of previous years, its program is full of multi-award-winning and super appealing films, in addition to screening some of those included in the Grec Festival. In this case and as an incentive for the Montjuïc cycle, before each screening you can enjoy a concert to whet your appetite, as well as have a picnic. They also reserve a surprise film for the last screening of the cycle, but in this case, the organization decides, and they guarantee it will be suitable for all audiences.
They reserve a surprise film for the last screening of the cycle, but in this case, the organization decidesAdvance ticket sales will only be online and there will be no tickets at the box office, as a preventive measure. So it will be necessary to bring them printed or on your mobile. The option to reserve a sun lounger or not will still be valid, depending on how we want to be, and access to the venue will be from 8 PM to 9:45 PM, so we can enjoy the pre-concert.
Of the planned films, we announce that three of them have been sold out for days. They are Jean-Pierre Jeunet's dreamy Amélie; Chloé Zhao's Oscar-winning gem Nomadland, and Taika Waititi's fantastic Jojo Rabbit. Linked to the Grec Festival we will find Cesc Gay's Spanish film Sentimental; Fernando Meirelles' cult film City of God; the highest-grossing French comedy of recent times, Olivier Nakache's The Intouchables, and Clint Eastwood's classic Invictus. And it continues with more award-winning and critically acclaimed works such as Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; Todd Phillips' Joker; Matt Ross's Captain Fantastic; Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite; Rian Johnson's Knives Out; Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Greta Gerwig's Little Women. Special mention to the screening of the classic of classics Breakfast at Tiffany's by Blake Edwards and that beautiful Moon River that the audience will hum.
Summer nights at CaixaForum and CosmoNits
The two centers of the La Caixa Foundation bring cinematic proposals to liven up our summer nights, although each one stands out for the approach they have wanted to give it. Thus, at CosmoCaixa, they invite us to delve into science and fiction cinema, with a program that also aims to reach all possible audiences, while at CaixaForum they want to make us travel to different cultures through exciting and overwhelming stories.
The films screened at CaixaForum can be seen in two showings, one in July and the other in August, at 7 p.m., but those at CosmoCaixa are single showings on Thursdays at 10 p.m. In both cases, tickets can be purchased in advance on the center's website, with a 50% discount for CaixaBank customers.
At CosmoCaixa, they invite us to delve into science and fiction cinema, with a program that aims to reach all possible audiencesThe traveling program begins its journey in India with Sirof Rohena Gera; moves to England with Ken Loach and hisSorry We Missed You; crosses the ocean to Brazil withThe Song of the Jungleof Joao Salaviza; returns to our lands withThe Daughter of a Thieffrom Belén Funes; following the Silk Road, it arrives in Lulu Wang's China andThe Farewell; makes a leap to reach Iceland with The Woman of the Mountainby Benedikt Erlingsson; then takes us to Lebanon withCafarnaúmof Nadine Labaki, and finishes this trip around the world in Japan with Yôjirô Takita and his filmThe Cook of Last Wishes.
In the science fiction block, we will have classics like James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgment Day or J.J. Abrams' Super 8. We will feel a not-so-distant future with Spike Jones' Her; Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men, and Lorcan Finnegan's Vivarium. As animations, we will have Chris Williams and Don Hall's Big Hero 6, as well as Mamoru Hosoda's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. And we will feel the immensity of space with James Gray's Ad Astra or Ridley Scott's Prometheus.
Pantalla Barcelona
The ICUB programs the sixth edition of this open-air cinema series in some of the city's civic centers. Although the feature film proposal seems scarce, it is interesting to note that these will rotate through the different centers, giving us the possibility of not missing any. Furthermore, we cannot lose sight of the fact that all films are national.
The ICUB programs the sixth edition of this open-air cinema series in some of the city's civic centersIn this case, tickets will be free, but in compliance with current regulations, it will be necessary to reserve tickets in advance, as well as stagger access and use a mask.
The five films in this series are: Neús Ballús' El viaje de Marta (Staff Only); Icíar Bollaín's La boda de Rosa; Lluís Danés' La vampira de Barcelona; Dani de la Orden's Litus, and David Ilundain's Uno para todos.
Pantalla Pavelló
They say this series is the most beautiful in the world, because the films are projected directly onto the travertine of the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, thus leading the viewer to a reflection on their relationship with space, with coexistence, and in its maximum expression, with the city. In 2020, this series, like so many others, was canceled, so its return is a joy for everyone. Ticket sales will be exclusively online and with very limited capacity to avoid complications, and screenings will take place from 9:30 PM.
This summer's program, within the framework of the Spanish Architecture Biennial hosted by the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, is developed under its same title and theme Empty Spain, Full Spain. Strategies for Conciliation curated by Ana Bach, Eugeni Bach, and Óscar Miguel Ares. The two confirmed films are Arturo Dueñas' Tierras construidas and José Luís Guerin's En construcción. There is a third screening scheduled but its film is yet to be confirmed.
L'illa Diagonal and Maremagnum
Finally, we make a quick mention of the billboards that these two shopping centers have also prepared to liven up summer nights. In both cases, they have enabled one of their terraces to host the public in sun loungers and install cinema screens. It should be noted that in the case of Maremagnum, movie and popcorn are free, but to access both venues it is necessary to purchase a ticket.
Be that as it may, there are proposals for almost every corner of the city and every budget. So let's enjoy the cinematic dream of a summer night.