Return of La Gran Pantalla, the film festival for the elderly

13/06/2023 - 15:23

Elderly people. The fifth edition is on from 4 to 9 July.

La Gran Pantalla, the Barcelona International Film Festival for the Elderly, reaches its fifth edition as an intergenerational film event to break down prejudices and stereotypes about elderly people through film. The programme offers thirty works, including a screening of ‘20,000 Species of Bees’, winner of the best leading performance at the Berlin Film Festival.

The festival is on at the Cinemes Girona from 4 to 9 July. The programme includes nine full-length films and eighteen short films, along with a series of dialogues, round tables and masterclasses with the teams from these productions discussing the topics addressed.

A few days before the start of La Gran Pantalla, the Filmoteca de Catalunya will be screening Cantant sota la pluja (1952). There’s also a concert with Son de la Rambla in Pl. Vila de Gràcia on 2 July, marking the fifth edition of the festival.

You can find the full programme for La Gran Pantalla on the website at lagranpantallafestival.com. All activities for the festival are free.

Homage to Teresa Gimpera

The festival includes a career award every year. Previous editions have seen this award given to artists such as Montserrat Carulla, Carme Elías and Carme Sansa. This year’s award goes to the actress and model Teresa Gimpera, a member of Gauche Divine with over a hundred works behind her and a living example of dismantling prejudices and stereotypes about the elderly.

Film as a tool for change and awareness

The Barcelona International Film Festival for the Elderly is a project by the organisation elParlante, in collaboration with the Councillor’s Office for Childhood, Youth, the Elderly and People with Disabilities, at Barcelona City Council. La Gran Pantalla aims to promote film as a tool for dialogue, reflection and social transformation relating to the conceptions that society perpetuates about elderly people.

The programme brings together different visions, with topics relating to love, care, loneliness, the digital divide, the climate emergency and intergenerational relationships.