A Century of Cinema in Gràcia
Cinemes Verdi, a cultural landmark for the neighbourhood and the city, celebrates its first centenary by opening two new screens and announcing a documentary produced by Isabel Coixet and a book.
If you are collecting anniversaries for the upcoming year 2026, here is one that no cinema-loving resident of Barcelona will fail to celebrate: the centenary of Cinemes Verdi, a cultural reference not only for the Gràcia neighbourhood where it is located, but for the whole city. They are celebrating it in 2026 and, in addition to expanding the capacity of the theatres to 1,750 seats by adding two more screens, they are also announcing a book and a documentary.
The expansion work (next to the cinemas there is a supermarket where the new screens will be created) will last, if all goes well, from February to October 2026. It adds to the filming of a documentary by director Berta García Lacht, produced by Isabel Coixet. Through the perspective of two girls from the neighbourhood, the film will connect a wide range of testimonies: from Richard Gere to Albert Serra, passing through Jota Bayona.
The occasion, however, also called for the publication of a book that would show, in words and images, the history of the cinema. Plataforma Editorial will be responsible for it, publishing a volume with texts by Enric Pérez (programmer during the cinema’s golden years) and Josep Maria Contel, with a foreword by the Councillor for Culture Xavier Marcé and an afterword by Albert Serra.
A collection of titles selected by the cinema’s programmers on the 3Cat platform, cycles organised with Biblioteques de Barcelona, and special sessions at this year’s Barcelona Film Fest are part of the activities with which the Verdi will celebrate its first hundred years of life throughout 2026.
The cinemas hosted their first screening on 11 February 1926. At that time the venue opened as Salón Ateneo Cine, later becoming Cinema Trébol for a few years (1933), and, in 1935, adopting its current name—the same as the street where the main venue of the Barcelona Sant Jordi International Film Festival or Barcelona Film Fest is located (in the photograph).
If you want to celebrate the centenary of Cinemes Verdi, check the website in the coming weeks to stay informed about the scheduled activities.