This 40th edition of the Festival International du Film sur l’Art (FIFA) features 5 Spanish films to enjoy both in cinemas and online.

Carbón

• On Friday, March 18, 2022 at 5 pm. At Centre Canadien d’Architecture, 1920 Baile St, Montreal, Quebec H3H 2S6.
• Also available online from March 16.
• Directed by Cesc Mulet and Francesc Capdevila, Spain, 2021, 18 minutes.
• Without dialogues. Watch trailer.

This is a journey into the world of famous Spanish illustrator Francesc Capdevila (Max). A burning match, a cardboard theatre, the grinding of the needle on vinyl, the murmur of scrolling pages of a book, the running shadows, the painting full of diagrams… Between documentary and fiction, the artist takes us into his creative process, punctuated by the characters and symbols that inhabit his imagination.

Film, mémoire vivante de notre temps

• On Friday, March 25 at 8 pm. At Cinéma du Musée, 1379-A Rue Sherbrooke O, Montréal, QC H3G 1K3.
• Also available online from March 16.
• Directed by Inés Toharia, Canada / Spain, 2021, 1 hour 59 minutes.
• In French, English and Spanish with French subtitles. Watch trailer.

In the era of digitization, it’s essential to save and archive our images, and yet our cinematic heritage is far from being fully preserved. Many films and much film history are already lost forever. Yet thanks to the often-overlooked work of archivists, curators, technicians, and filmmakers around the world, we are still able to see films that are over 125 years old. This documentary pays tribute to the work, skill, and know-how of these artisans who find pieces to restore and preserve. If any of these films, old or recent, can transform even one life, then these artisans will have fulfilled their mission.

Mies on Scene. Barcelona en dos actos

• On Sunday, March 27 at 8 pm. At Centre Canadien d’Architecture, 1920 Baile St, Montreal, Quebec H3H 2S6.
• Also available online from March 16.
• Directed by Pep Martín and Xavi Camprecios, Spain, 2018, 58 minutes.
• In English, German, Spanish and Catalan with English subtitles. Watch trailer.

The Barcelona Pavilion, the masterpiece with which Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich staged their revolutionary ideas in 1929, changed the History of architecture forever. It only existed for eight months but paradoxically its image was always alive in the minds of generations of architects around the world, becoming one of his greatest influences. The Pavilion is still surrounded by myths and mysteries that this documentary addresses, framing the building into a portrait in two acts of the Barcelona that made possible its construction in 1929 and its reconstruction in 1986. We immerse ourselves in a reflection on the transformative capacity of art, the emotional perception of space and the concept of masterpiece.

Picapedrers

• On Sunday, March 27 at 8 pm. At Centre Canadien d’Architecture, 1920 Baile St, Montreal, Quebec H3H 2S6.
• Also available online from March 16.
• Directed by Kike Barberà, Oscar Blasco and Sergi Carulla, Spain, 2019, 21 minutes.
• In Catalan with English subtitles. Watch trailer.

During the development of the project for the rehabilitation of an old town, the architects Oscar Blasco and Sergi Carulla found in Castellfollit de la Roca (Catalonia) the last active basalt quarry in Spain. The documentary Picapedrers is a journey through these stone landscapes and the people who inhabit it. But deep down, it talks about the origin of the materials that build our cities.

The photographer and his shadow

• Watch online from March 16.
• Directed by Pablo García Conde, Spain / Armenia, 35 minutes.
• In Spanish and Armenian with English subtitles. Watch trailer.

After spending much of his life photographing the most important moments in his country’s recent history, Armenian artist Gagik Harutyunyan lost his passion for photography. Yet, his images of Armenia gaining independence from the Soviet Union and the war with Azerbaijan have contributed to revitalizing art photography in this communist country. Through exclusive interviews, archival footage, and reflections on photography, this film offers a moving portrait of an artist who helped trace the complex cultural and emotional aspects of a nation and its citizens.