The Revela't festival consolidates with a strong international pull

11 years ago, a group of friends from Vilassar de Dalt, all of them obsessed with analog photography, wanted to meet the prestigious photographer Quinn Jacobson. They did not expect the American artist to agree to cross the pond and visit them, nor that what started as a workshop would end up becoming the Revela't Festival over the years. That same year, other photographers joined to set up more workshops and even an exhibition, confirming that there were more amateurs and professionals than they thought who felt orphaned by such a gathering. And that was just the beginning, with countless emails entering the inbox asking for a second edition once it ended.

Nor did they see the current boom that analog photography is experiencing, after having lost the battle, first, against digital photography and, then, spectacularly, against the thousand and one snapshots taken by mobile phones. Now, that idea that Mínguez and his colleagues had of reclaiming traditional film and developing finds an increasingly larger audience that thinks the same, giving new life to a tradition that is now exploding, even causing problems to find rolls in stores.

"The resurgence is spearheaded by young people, demonstrating that it is something modern, not nostalgic, and proving us right with what we have always said: analog photography is the photography of the present," explains the festival coordinator, Anna Gallart.

In its eleventh edition, from Saturday, June 3 to Sunday, June 18, Revela't will program more than twenty exhibitions by national and international artists, some of them in the streets of Vilassar de Dalt, showing that it is no longer just a plan for a group of friends. "We like to think that we have contributed a grain of sand, however small, to the new boom of analog photography," the organizers maintain.

The old Cal Gabart factory will be the main nucleus of the festival, but "the whole town will breathe photography," emphasizes Gallart, with activities also planned in venues such as Estrella, Rajolers, Can Baylach, or Massa. "It's a unique opportunity just 20 minutes from Barcelona," the coordinator reminds, with the direct 803 bus that leaves from the Catalan capital dropping off very close to Cal Gabart.

With a budget of around 180,000 euros, mostly supported by public aid, the festival expects to attract between 10,000 and 12,000 visitors. It hopes to maintain a similar attendance figure to previous years despite the fact that there will no longer be sub-venues in Barcelona and Madrid, but they expect this to be offset by the fact that conferences will become free. The general admission price is 15 euros, with a reduced admission of 8 euros. They also offer an admission with a guided tour of all exhibitions for 22 euros.

The most prominent exhibition of the 2023 edition will be Visit Spain, featuring snapshots from the 50s and 60s with which Ramón Masats portrayed a poor country after a war and in the midst of a dictatorship, always from an ironic and modern perspective. In addition, the Catalan photographer will attend the festival to be honored. Another local author protagonist will be Manuel Outumuro with Orography of the road, in charge of premiering fashion photography at Revela't. The Barcelona artist will show all stages of a creative process that has allowed him to portray stars such as Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Juliette Binoche, Nicole Kidman, and Ryan Reynolds. Also participating in the International Contemporary Analog Photography Festival will be artists such as Americans Mike Brodie, known as Polaroid Kidd, Barbara Bosworth, the performer Eleanor Antin, and Jim Goldberg.

This year, Revela't has received more than 500 projects to exhibit in Vilassar de Dalt during the 15 days of the event. All of them came from a total of 51 countries. "We have been doing this for 11 years and we notice how we are valued, not only locally, but also internationally," remarks Gallart. In addition, about 110 authors have submitted to the portfolio viewing, an express mentorship, with only 49 being Spanish; and almost 150 photographers have wanted to be part of the festival's creative residency, with participants from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany outnumbering those from Spain.

Beyond the exhibitions, Revela't will once again organize its photographic market in the Plaza de la Vila, from 10 in the morning to 9 at night. About twenty brands and manufacturers will participate, offering their photographic material products, such as Foto R3, Enric Vilella, Amigou Lab, Ran-el Cabrera, 36 instants, Fotocarrete, Toby Whitfeld, Pasquier Michele, Fotosaurio, Sales de Plata + Ropa tendida, Carmencita FotoLab, Wonder Photo Shop, Rainworld Archive, Sagrada Película and Cameras et Voilà.

In the photographic market, there will also be a prominent section for photobooks, with the participation of 16 publishers, including Artèria, Can Grapes, Umedo Colectivo Ediciones Posibles, Editorial Blume, Handbali Magazine, La Mirada Creadora, Xavi Carrión and Valentina Lovera. For those who want to check if their analog camera is in good condition, a free check-up service will be offered.