THE FESTIVAL REINVENTS ITSELF FROM 12 TO 20 JUNE WITH LIMITED SEATING ON-SITE SHOWINGS, NUMEROUS ONLINE CINEMA ACTIVITIES AND A DRIVE-IN THEATRE
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF MARCELINE, THE BEST CLOWN IN THE WORLD WILL OPEN AN EDITION THAT PAYS TRIBUTE TO ISABEL COIXET, ANNA CASTILLO AND CATEDRA BERGMAN
HUESCA WILL BE THE FIRST FESTIVAL OPENING ON-SITE MOVIE THEATRES TO AUDIENCES AFTER CONFINEMENT
OFFICIAL WEBSITE (WWW.HUESCA-FILMFESTIVAL.COM) WILL HOST ALL DIGITAL CONTENTS FREE OF CHARGE
Huesca International Film Festival kicks off its 48th edition next Friday 12 June. A meeting that presents in 2020 an ‘extraordinary’ programme based on three main spheres: an online area free of charge that includes several sections and cinema activities, on-site showings of competing short films at Olimpia Teatre (with limited seating and strict health measures) and a drive-in theatre for nearly 200 cars. Thus, the Upper Aragonese festival becomes one of the first cultural events that is going to be held on-site and in its original dates. ‘It is a proposal ambitious and engaged with the audience, as well as with the industry. It took months of hard work to produce this reshaping that is going to be displayed to the world keeping its essence, while at the same time it gives back to the city the magnificence of the Seventh Art’ declares Rubén Moreno, director of the festival.
Over one hundred short films, including its three contests and the parallel sections, will shine the international spotlight on the festival, somewhere to see ‘a snapshot of the sector’, in Moreno’s words. A total of 80 productions coming from 30 countries are eligible for some of the highest prizes, the Danzante Award opens the doors to the shortlist of the Oscar Awards and also qualifies to the Goya Awards. 29 world and international premieres, 21 debut works and 15 works coming from film schools are some of the figures of this selection soon to be displayed at the Olimpia Theatre in two daily showings as well as online. Works will be available free of charge on the festival website from 13 to 20 June, but with a maximum of displays generating something similar to a ‘virtual seating’; half thousand people will be able to exclusively enjoy each short film of the official section.
The world premiere of Marceline, the Best Clown in the World, directed by Germán Roda featuring Pepe Viyuela, will be screened at the opening (June 12, 22h). A documentary focused on the figure of this Jaca-born artist that became a world star and a model to Charles Chaplin or Buster Keaton, to later fall into oblivion until a few years ago, when a newspaper article rediscovered his thrilling story. This feature film, together with the season dedicated to filmmaker Jose Luis Cuerda (Amanece que no es poco and Some Time After), Gracia Querejeta’s Invisibles and Isabel Coixet’s Learning to Drive, will be the films available to be enjoyed at the drive-in theatre, an outdoors location of 16,000 square meters with a 12 x 6,75 meters screen.
Isabel Coixet herself (Luis Buñuel Award) will be one of the outstanding names of 2020, as well as Cátedra Bergman (Pepe Escriche Award) and Anna Castillo (Carlos Saura City of Huesca Award). All of them will be honoured online at ‘The (cyber) nights out of the Festival’; exclusive audio-visual documents where they will be awarded and which will explore their careers. This program will be culminated on Thursday 18 June with the world premiere of En el volcán. Manrique: Jameos del agua / Casa Tahíche, a video-essay by Orencio Boix from Huesca on the work of the Spanish painter, sculptor and artist César Manrique.
Projects and future premieres will also have their space at the programme through activities such as ‘Vermouth with…’ which will be held via live streaming on the festival official Instagram account (@FestivalHuesca) this year. Meetings where the audience will be able to interact with Goya-winning filmmaker Gaizka Urresti, who will be presenting the documentary on José Antonio Labordeta (Un hombre sin más); Aragonese filmmaker Martín Gutiérrez will be speaking about his project Amateur; or director Pilar Palomero who after attending Berlin Festival with her first work (Schoolgirls) is expected to be awarded along next season.
The programme is completed by a social dimension consisting of private screenings at residences for senior citizens (‘Elderly to the Festival’), reserved showings for audio-visual literacy (‘Children to the festival’) and the ‘Solidarity Festival’ that expects to collect food previously to on-site screenings. Alongside this, the partnership with CADIS through Diversario Festival that will provide protection masks for all crew members of Huesca Festival and the showcase contest that under the slogan ‘Nothing is what it seems’ doubles budget.
ALL ONLINE CONTENTS ACCESSIBLE ON THE FESTIVAL WEBSITE
In an edition where online activities are given a stronger prominence within the programme, the festival displays a new format on its website (www.huesca-filmfestival.com) for everyone wishing to easily access the whole online programme. A re-design inspired by video-on-demand platforms that will be working 24 hours a day until the festival closure next June 20.
The audience will thus gain access in a simple and intuitive way to all the exclusive contents of the festival as official contests, parallel sections, (Cyber) nights out of the Festival and Vermouths with…, while at the same time a live agenda continuously updates what is going on on-site as well as online in the festival.
Huesca International Film Festival is sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, Aragon Government, Provincial Government of Huesca, the City Council of Huesca, Anselmo Pié Foundation and the collaboration of Obra Social “la Caixa”, TUHUESCA and Women Institute of Aragon. The festival is also supported by Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) through its Spanish Culture Internationalization Program (PICE).
