If you are mad about movies, documentaries or tv shows, keep reading because we made a list of the film festivals in Barcelona that you can’t miss. Indoors and outdoors, documentaries, horror short films, independent cinema… This city hosts a bunch of film festivals to suit all tastes ;-)
Americana Film Festival
Definitely one of our favorite film festivals in Barcelona ;-) Not only North American movies are screened but also some of its directors attend the festival to join #directortalks about the movies they are presenting. And we love that combination of watching a movie and having that colloquium afterwards.
Mecal (Festival Internacional de Curtmetratges i Animació de Barcelona)
The last time we attended Mecal was at Ocaña (a mythic bar located in Plaça Reial), since this short film festival is celebrated in diverse locations around the city. For us one of the special things about this festival is that it is such a perfect plan for a Saturday evening with friends: watching short films while having some drinks. The short films screened in a session are usually from a specific topic and most of the time have that point of transgression that leaves you thinking afterwards. And we love when a movie or a short film does that to your mind.
DocsBarcelona (Festival Internacional de Documentals)
Documentary is one of our favourite genres, so it is no surprise that we have also included this documentary festival on the list of the best film festivals in Barcelona. As they say, the ideal film festival in Barcelona for those who project “restless looks” and are keen to reflect on the most social and cultural realities.
Sitges Film Festival, the most terrific film festival in Barcelona
One of the most famous film festivals near Barcelona, in Sitges, where even the city gets specially dressed for this special date. We attend this festival almost every year, because it is kind of a ritual: we choose the “marató de curtmetratges” session, which is a special horror short films session usually scheduled in the morning during the weekend. After that we go to have lunch in one of the bars or restaurants by the sea and then we walk the beautiful Sitges streets while eating ice-cream. Sounds like a plan, huh? ;-)
Serielizados Fest
The name of this festival says it all. To all of those who can’t live without series (the newest and the most iconic of all times): this is your fest! Besides screenings, there are also interesting colloquiums about diverse topics related to the tv shows industry and also social and cultural aspects (for instance, one of last year’s talks was: How will our behavior be at consuming series in 2030?). One of the best film festivals in Barcelona (or series festival).
In-edit Festival
Indie music lovers (and music nostalgics): this might be one of your favorite film festivals in Barcelona! In-edit is a documentary film festival which focuses on music. Music biopics, stories from music legends but also documentaries about bands and singers from today’s indie music scene.
BONUS: Summer film festivals in Barcelona
Sala Montjuic
It is not a drive-in cinema in Barcelona but at Sala Montjuïc film festival you can also enjoy great movies outdoors laying in a “gandula” (a Catalan word to describe that amazing hybrid of a chair and a sofa) at Castell de Montjuic. The main drawback is that actually it can get really crowded.
And other Summer film festivals that you might like are also Cinema a la platja and Gandules at CCCB. Barcelona, summer, friends and outdoor cinemas, what else do we need?
Oh yeah, popcorn ;-)
Header image: Betevé