46th edition: from 16th to 25th october 2020
The 46th edition of the FILMETS Badalona Film Festival will take place in a hybrid format from the 16th to the 25th of October.
The festival will feature audience-attended theatre sessions in Badalona and Barcelona, and all the films in the Official Section can be viewed on the FILMETS website www.festivalfilmets.cat
The motto for this year’s ambitious programme of 297 shorts is ‘We’ll always have FILMETS’
This year, FILMETS has doubled the prize money for the 2020 Best Film award from € 2,500 to € 5,000
Despite the current uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the FILMETS Badalona Film Festival is on schedule for its annual October meeting with short film fans. However, there’s a significant development for this year’s event, which takes place between the 16th and 25th of October.
The 46th edition of FILMETS will have a hybrid format with three audience-attended screening sessions at the Teatre Zorrilla in Badalona and two at the Institut Français in Barcelona. This year, however, film fans will also be able to view all 297 films in the Official Section on the festival’s website www.festivalfilmets.cat
Both the theatre sessions and those on the digital platform will be, as always, free of charge and open to all, but you will need to register in advance.
‘We’ll always have FILMETS’
The festival’s 2020 edition takes place against the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis and its ensuing repercussions at all levels. With that in mind, this year’s slogan was chosen to convey self-affirmation and empathy with audiences and filmmakers. Thus, In a deliberate paraphrase of Rick’s famous words to Ilsa in Casablanca, ‘We’ll always have Paris’, the motto for the 2020 edition of the festival is ‘We’ll always have FILMETS’.
The Best Film prize has been increased from € 2,500 to € 5,000
We’re pleased to announce an exciting development for the 2020 edition of FILMETS. The festival’s star award, Best Film, has had its cash prize doubled from € 2,500 to € 5,000. The increased prize money allocated to this award means that FILMETS is now one of the highest-paying short-film festivals in the whole of Spain.
A prestigious Opening Session
The FILMETS Opening Session will take place at the Teatre Zorrilla at 7.30 pm on Friday the 16th of October and feature two première screenings in Catalonia.
Catalan director and recent winner of the Catalan National Culture Prize, Carla Simón, will present the Catalan première of her latest short film Correspondència, which was co-directed by Dominga Sotomayor.
Carla Simón is currently filming in the Canary Islands and despite having participated in several editions of FILMETS, will be unable to attend this year. However, the stars of the film, her aunts, will be attending on her behalf.
The screening of Correspondència will be followed by Èpica. El llegat de La Fura dels Baus (Epic. The Legacy of La Fura dels Baus), a co-production from La Fura dels Baus and Badalona Comunicació.
40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic, one of the jewels of FILMETS
This year FILMETS is delighted to present a unique documentary: 40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic can be viewed in session 30 of the festival. The FILMETS screening of this film is its première screening in Spain.
The film, directed by Derek Wayne Johnson, is narrated by Sylvester Stallone himself. Far from being just a straightforward documentary commemorating the shooting of the legendary film four decades ago, this documentary is entirely is composed of archive footage shot by the director of the first Rocky film, John G. Avildsen. The archive footage is complemented by current-day narration from Sylvester Stallone himself, who recalls anecdotes, personal stories, and the experience of shooting the film.
FILMETS serves as Catalonia’s gateway to the BAFTA awards
Once again, FILMETS will serve as Catalonia’s gateway to the prestigious UK BAFTA film and television awards. The BAFTA screening will be an audience-attended session at the Teatre Zorrilla on Saturday the 17th of October, at 7 pm. The programme can also be viewed in Session 1 on the FILMETS website. The evening’s screening will include the winner of the BAFTA Best Short Fiction Film category (which also won an Oscar for Best Short Documentary), and the winner of the Best Short Animation category. The other BAFTA-nominated short films will also be screened.
Best Short Produced and Filmed in Confinement: A new FILMETS award for 2020
FILMETS 2020 takes place against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent confinements issued worldwide last spring. In recognition of these unprecedented circumstances, the festival’s organisers decided to create a special award for Best Short Film Produced and Filmed in Confinement. More than 200 shorts were entered in the new FILMETS category, 35 of which can be seen in sessions 10 and 11 and will be eligible for a Venus.
FILMETS introduces a competitive International Session with LGBTI-themed shorts
For the first time, FILMETS will offer a competitive International Session made up entirely of LGBTI-themed short films. All the shorts can be viewed in session 8 of the festival.
FILMETS Pro, three online sessions aimed at professionals
This year, FILMETS Pro will once again offer three sessions aimed at industry professionals. The three sessions can be viewed live online, although they will subsequently be posted on the festival’s website as well.
The 2020 Pro sessions are:
- ‘The Most Innovative Formats on World Television Today’, Tuesday the 20th at 10 am. Organised in conjunction with the Audiovisual Cluster of Catalonia and featuring Miquel Garcia and Manel Raya from the Catalan Media Corporation’s (CCMA) Formats laboratory.
- A ‘Masterclass’ with Juanjo Sáenz, Thursday the 22nd at 11 am. Juanjo Sáenz is a cartoonist and storyteller. He was one of the creators of the cult TV3 series Arròs covat.
- ‘Move your Short’, Friday 23rd at 6 pm with various European film festival directors.
The Night of the Venuses closing ceremony
The traditional Night of the Venuses FILMETS closing ceremony will take place at the Teatre Zorrilla, on Saturday the 24th of October at 9 pm. During the ceremony, the festival’s Roman Venuses of Baetulo awards will be handed out. The show will be presented by Lídia Heredia and Queco Novell and can be viewed on all televisions receiving a signal from the Televisió de Badalona local TV network.
