The Beefeater In-Edit festival has finally returned to Barcelona for its ninth edition, opening our eyes and ears to the world of music documentaries between 27th October and 6th November. In the arena for the opening ceremony are both music heavyweights and the creator of the Music Documentary genre, Michael Nyman – all expected to pack a strong punch at the 2011 event.

In his most recent, unfinished work, Michael Nyman In Progress, the attention of the camera is reversed onto himself as a refreshing study of filmmaker as artist behind the showreel. In doing so, Nyman sets the tone for the 2011 edition by encouraging us to consider the exceptional skill required by directors to create films for this genre.

“First and foremost,” comments Luis Hidalgo, the Artistic Director of the festival, “we give importance to the way the stories are interpreted, as opposed to star value of the artist”. He means what he says – although one film by Ray Davies may have filled cinema seats, it simply didn’t meet the rigorous quality requirements this year. And with this year’s festival boasting 45 newcomers to the world of the music documentary, there is certainly an impressive roster of new talent and fresh perspectives at our disposition.

There is undoubtedly something for everyone here, with films including internationally renowned musicians David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Kings of Leon, Toots and the Maytals, Queen, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen on the silver screen for our enjoyment – not to mention the variety of other documentaries with the exploration of music at their core.

The full programme is available to view online, tickets must be reserved in advance and are only available to buy from the website or at the ticket office on C/ Muntaner 24. Check website for details.

Beefeater In-Edit Festival
C/ Rosselló 222, 1r 2a
Tel: 93 356 82 53
www.in-edit.beefeater.es

Upload Cinema is a film club that brings the best videos of the web to the big screen. Each month there’s is a new theme. The audience can submit films; an editorial team selects the best and compiles a ninety minutes program, which is screened at movie theatres and special venues.

In Barcelona the picked venue is Cinemes Girona.

Registering as a member makes all the difference as you get priority booking tickets and receive a newsletter updating you on what’s going on. Enthusiastic members are promised a chance to be invited to join the selection jury.
Screenings are held every 3rd Thursday of the month (20:30h)…

Upload Cinema
barcelona.uploadcinema.net/

Cinemes Girona
C/ Girona, 175
08037 Barcelona
Phone: 93 118 45 31
www.cinemesgirona.cat

You never know, you might get bored wondering through all that history, exploring the many galleries or original clothes shops; you might get tired of drinking cortados and watching the world and its weirdos and wonderfulos go by; you never know, it might even rain. Fear not, Barcelona has an alternative pastime, and fortunately, it’s an alternative to watching beautiful films on the big screen doblado-ed badly into Spanish. The city has VO (version original) cinemas to suit all tastes, and many languages (but mostly English).

For your big budget, Hollywood movies and some select foreign films, the best place is the Icaria-Yelmo Cineplex. With its 15 screens and films showing from 11am through to midnight, it’s always possible to turn up here unplanned and find something worth watching. The cinema is found near Vila Olimpica on the ground floor of a shopping centre with various restaurants and bars: a great option when sun-kissed and mellow after a day on the beach.

C/ Salvador Espriú, 61
www.yelmocineplex.es

Offering a perfect balance of big budget and quirky art-house and foreign films, the Renoir cinemas are another good option for the ‘turn up and take your pick’ type of cinema-going. The central Floridablanca has seven screens while Les Corts has six screens, with two to four screenings a day starting from 4pm. The Floridablanca is also good for late night (from 12:30am) showings on a Friday and Saturday night.

C/ Floridablanca 135

C/ Eugeni d’Ors, 12

www.cinesrenoir.com

There are two Verdi cinemas, one with five screens, the other four screens, located just around the corner from each other in Gracia. They show an excellent selection of quality Spanish and foreign films with three to four showings a day, starting from 4pm. They are also one of the rare and lovely cinemas that give screen space and time to short films.

C/ Verdi, 43

C/ Torrijos, 49

www.cines-verdi.com

Located in the 17^th century Palacio Maldá in the heart of the Barrio Gotico, this one-screen cinema is aimed at the art-house aficionado. Independent and underground films, documentaries, old classics, and Bollywood are among Maldá’s repertoire. It offers four screenings daily from 4.30pm. On Tuesdays, the last two sessions are given over to Cine Ambigú, the film club that presents, in 35mm, the best of the independent film festivals from Europe and the US.

C/ del Pi, 5

www.cinemalda.com

If you’re a true film buff looking for long-lost originals with Catalan subtitles, try the Filmoteca de Catalunya. Aside from its dedication to building regional identity through film, it offers a diverse programme of world classics and independent cinema. It selects a film of the month, documentary of the month and various film series, usually with seminars and discussions held alongside. There is also an impressive archive and library here, just in case you haven’t got lost enough in the alternative alleyways of Barcelona.

Avenida Sarrià, 33

http://cultura.gencat.net/filmo/

For five weeks only, Sala Montjuïc is the summer hit sensation for all film lovers. Set up in the lush green moat of the castle that overlooks the city on the top of Montjuïc, films are shown in the open-air, on a giant screen, in 35mm and in VO. Take a blanket, take a picnic, bring some friends, drink some wine and love it! Opens at 8.30pm, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from June 20th to August 1st.

C/ de Monjuïc

www.salamontjuic.com