Sala Montjuïc 2014
The 12th edition of the open-air film cycle presents 16 films on a state-of-the-art screen between the 6th of July and the 8th of August in the moat of the Castell de Montjuïc
Sala Montjuïc, Barcelona’s favourite open-air film series, begins its 12th edition with an eclectic programme which, for 16 evenings, will present a fusion of classic films with some of the best in recent independent cinema. Each session between the 6th of July and the 8th of August includes a pre-screening concert, a short film, and a digital, high-definition film in original version with subtitles. The new screen is 15% bigger than previous editions and is one of the biggest in the country.
The starry skies over the Castell de Montjuïc moat will provide the perfect backdrop for the inaugural film, Gravity, by Alfonso Cuarón, on the 6th of July. The overpowering film, one of last season’s biggest hits and the winner of seven Academy Awards, will be preceded by a jazz concert featuring the WOM Trio and an aerial dance performance entitled IN-SITU that has been especially designed for the occasion by the dance company Delrevés.
The session on the 18th will feature a special film-concert of the Fritz Lang classic Metropolis accompanied by a soundtrack composed and performed by an orchestra led by North American trumpet player Thad Wilson.
The 21st has been reserved for a special American Night with a private screening of Short Term 12 before its official local release. The film won the Audience Award at the latest edition of the Americana Film Fest, the American Independent Film Festival of Barcelona.
Coinciding with the French national holiday on the 14th of July, the programme will feature In the House (Dans la maison), by François Ozon, preceded by a musical session devoted to chanson française at the hands of Gastmans.
Among the more recent films on the programme, the Sala Montjuïc will offer a choice selection that includes Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine (7th July), winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for Cate Blanchett, Django Unchained (11th July), Quentin Tarantino’s tribute to the Western genre, the surprising documentary Searching for Sugar Man (28th July) about singer-songwriter Sixto Rodríguez, Shame (23rd July), a brave and devastating tale of sex addiction, Blue is the Warmest Colour, the winner at Cannes 2013, The Hunt (30th July) Thomas Vinterberg’s story packed with tension and narrative intensity, the delightful adolescent chronicle, Submarine (4th August) or the latest animated film by Japanese film maker Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises (6th August).
The classic section will include, aside from the aforementioned Metropolis, Francis Ford Coppola’a The Godfather (1st August), the musical Grease (16th July) and Breakfast at Tiffany’s (9th July) starring Audrey Hepburn. The festival will close on the 8th of August with a surprise screening.
For each of the sessions, the venue will open at 8.30 pm, the concerts will kick off at 8.45 pm and the screening of the short and feature films will begin at 10 pm. Tickets are priced at 6 euros and may be purchased in advance or at the box office on the evening in question. Hammocks may be rented for a 3-euro supplement. This year’s novelty also includes the possibility, for 10 euros, of acquiring an all-in deal that includes a guided tour of the castle and tickets to the open-air cinema. The tours will take place every Wednesday beginning at 7 pm.