Berlinale Spotlights Diverse Catalan Productions

Catalonia's audiovisual sector is making a significant impact at the Berlinale film festival with a wide variety of selections. This includes a feature film debut, a series addressing Barcelona's gentrification, and shorts, all supported by the Catalan government's cultural agency, ICEC.

This year's presence highlights a decade of development in Catalonia's film industry. While previous years focused on arthouse cinema, the current selections show a shift towards diverse formats and broader international appeal, reflecting a varied production slate.

Notable selections include the Panorama feature "Iván & Hadoum," a co-production that received an award at the Berlinale Co-Production Market. The ICEC's Shortcat program, now in its 19th year, continues to nurture talent, with alumni achieving festival success and moving into feature film development.

The Max series "Ravalear: Not For Sale" is a key highlight, being the first Catalan series in Berlinale Special Series. It explores themes of gentrification and neighborhood identity in Barcelona, supported by a significant regional fund for high-end TV production.

Catalan productions are also achieving success at the Spanish box office. Films like "El 47" and "A House on Fire" have become major earners, with "El 47" becoming the highest-grossing Catalan film in 40 years and the first Catalan-language film to top the Spanish box office.

While the region excels in supporting mid-range productions, scaling up to compete with large international studio fare remains a challenge. However, the broad spectrum of Catalan projects at Berlinale underscores the ecosystem's robust activity across features, series, shorts, and co-productions.