12/11/2019 - The 26th edition of the festival kicked off on 11 November and will unspool until the 17th, boasting a whole week full of uncompromising films with no limits to their creativity

L’Alternativa – Barcelona Independent Film Festival has reached its 26^th edition and proudly continues to offer audiences and professionals alike “the opportunity to enjoy screenings and activities that champion auteurs’ creative independence, diversity, innovation, freedom, commitment and reflection”, according to the introduction on the gathering’s website. With three competitive sections – encompassing national titles, short films and international features – another one that rotates a number of tributes (enabling attendees to discover new creators and film industries) and a third focused on family films, it looks likely to fulfil its promise of bringing a varied array of surprises to the Catalonian city. In addition, it will offer master classes, debates, round-tables, symposia, creative workshops for both children and adults, and film-school seminars. The event’s crowning glory will be the tenth Professional Days and the Mentoring Projects.

The seventh edition of Mentoring Projects is a space that the L’Alternativa professional strand devotes to fostering projects currently in development, taking advantage of the festival’s clout as a platform to increase the visibility of indie film in general. On this occasion, 18 projects have been selected from among the 137 that were received, and they are at different stages of development (ranging from the very first version of the screenplay or even the treatment, right up to post-production) and take in various genres. The company Antaviana Films will hand out its award to the most original and viable project – this prize is worth €2,500 and consists of the DCP digital mastering of the winning work. For an overview of the projects selected, please click here.

As for the programme of the 26^th L’Alternativa, it’s worth noting that the official competitive section contains European-produced features such as that little gem called Zumiriki [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Oskar Alegría
film profile], directed by Navarre-born artist Oskar Alegría; Mittelmeer [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (France), a film about the Mediterranean by Jean-Marc Chapoulie; Our Defeats [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by French helmer Jean-Gabriel Périot; Earth [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nikolaus Geyrhalter
film profile] (Austria), a chronicle of how we have been exploiting our long-suffering planet, directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter; Campo [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Portugal’s Tiago Hespanha, shot on the premises of the largest army base in Europe, located not far from Lisbon; Bait [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mark Jenkin
film profile] (UK) by Mark Jenkin, a movie shot on 16 mm in a Cornish fishing town; and 4 Years in 10 Minutes [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Serbia) by Mladen Kovacevic, which portrays a heroic mountain climber and his estrangement from reality.

The Spanish features that are competing in the official National section are: Andrómedas [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the feature debut by Clara Sanz, made as a French co-production; The Fourth Kingdom [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Adán Aliaga and Álex Lora, which was shot in New York, is about to go on general release (on 22 November) and won an award at the most recent DocumentaMadrid; Hasta que las nubes nos unan, Guardiola-Diola (Spain/Senegal) by Lluís Escartín Lara, a portrait of deepest Africa; the documentary Jordi’s Letters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maider Fernández Iriarte
film profile] by Maider Fernández Iriarte, which was first presented at the most recent San Sebastián Film Festival; Inland [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], a sensory journey through an empty Spain, helmed by Juan Palacios; and To War [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Spain/Portugal/Panama/Argentina), which Francisco Marise filmed in Cuba, using a former internationalist solider as his protagonist.

You can find out more about all of the sections and activities being organised at L’Alternativa 2019 by clicking here.

(Translated from Spanish)