Welcome to DocsBarcelona 2021
At a press conference today the DocsBarcelona programme was announced. In Barcelona. The Head of Programming – me – living in Copenhagen – was not there but I had in beforehand sent these welcoming words:
Here we go again… No, here we sit again, at home watching documentaries on our computers or i-pads or phones (!), or maybe some have purchased a small projector and created their own cinema with a bigger image? Whatever, the pandemic is here and DocsBarcelona goes online as in 2020.
Good, as last year showed a huge interest from viewers from all over Spain with one of the best attendance statistics among festivals in Europe. Nailing the fact that there is an audience for the documentary genre. And that many outside the “normal” documentary community were interested and joined the party. Reaching a new audience.
Bad, as documentaries are Films and Films should be seen in cinemas. Nothing compares to being seated in a big room full of people watching and listening: Perfect image, Perfect sound. Cross your fingers: Depending on the evolution of the pandemic several films will also be screened in cinemas in Barcelona.
The program committe has done its best to make a strong selection for you. We have watched hundreds of films. There are documentaries from all over the world and about the world we live in. Social, political, historical, personal. There are documentaries that challenge the mainstream way of telling stories – stories that can give you food for thought and make you share a tear. Of joy or sadness. A sow and its piglets, floating trees, lobster soup in Iceland, demonstrations in Hongkong, several films from the Middle East, colonialism in Mexico and Africa, a cuban dancer, Gorbachev, women’s rights, female volleyball players, artists, a kiosk in Paris… films for all tastes, but not for the bad!
We hope you will find time and energy to check out the list of films and find one or more that appeals to you. It’s up to you to make up your mind, what you want to see, we have done our best to offer you the best of the best.
Enjoy! www.docsbarcelona.com including “Gunda” by master Kossakovsky.
OBS! The programme of the festival films, are available solely for the audience in Spain. BUT for professionals there is a unique chance to get acquainted. Read the news I got from the HQ in Barcelona: This year all the accredited professionals will have access to the catalog of our Festival films and the films will be exclusively available for professionals until the end of this year 2021, so people accredited outside Spain not only have access to the activities of Industry but also to the films. early bird registration has a discount: 50 euros until 29th of April. https://docsbarcelona.com/en/industry/edition-2021-industry/accreditations#
An offer you can not refuse !