Spanish films at the International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA)

8 Spanish film participate in this annual Festival devoted to the promotion and presentation of the world’s finest productions on art and media art.

Beatus: The Spanish Apocalypse

USA / Spain, 2014, 90 minutes, English. Directed by Murray Grigor.
On March 22 at 4 pm. Séance 66 at Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal - Auditorium Maxwell-Cummings.
On March 27 at 1:30 pm. Séance 117 at Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal - Auditorium Maxwell-Cummings.

The history and the cultural ramifications of one of Spain’s most precious treasures, the illuminated and illustrated medieval manuscripts based on the Commentary on the Apocalypse, written in about 776 by the monk Saint Beatus of Liébana, in the Cantabria mountains. Professor John Williams, a medieval scholar, takes viewers on a journey across Spain and into the past in order to establish the historical, cultural, religious and artistic context in which the monks lived from the eighth to the seventeenth century.

Silo 468

Spain / Finland, 2014, 35 minutes. In English and Finish with English subtitles. Directed by Antti Seppänen.
On March 21 at 4 pm. Séance 25 at Centre Canadien d’Architecture, Théâtre Paul-Desmarais.
On March 25 at 6:30 pm. Séance 93 at Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Salle Beverley Webster Rolph.

Silo 468 recounts how a remnant of the industrial past, an oil silo by the sea near Helsinki, was turned into a permanent interactive light installation by the Madrid based Lighting Design Collective. The walls were perforated with 2,012 holes, in reference to Helsinki’s designation as World Design Capital in 2012. The natural light, wind and movement of light on the water are the variables in the lighting concept. During the day, the holes in the steel structure allow the natural light to enter the bright red interior, creating undulating motifs. At night, the computer-controlled LED domes react to the weather.

Children of Flamenco

Czech Republic / Spain, 2013, 66 minutes. In Spanish with English subtitles. Directed by Katerina Hager.
On March 21 at 9 pm. Séance 45 at Cinémathèque québécoise, Salle Fernand-Seguin.
On March 25 at 1:30 pm. Séance 59 at Musée McCord, Théâtre J. Armand Bombardier.

Amós, a guitar virtuoso from Salamanca who performs around the world and composes his own music, and Abraham, a singer from Madrid’s gypsy community who has stayed in his family circle, are both child prodigies on the contemporary Spanish flamenco scene. They each understand this culture differently. One is on a quest for perfection, and the other is cultivating tradition and the philosophy of life associated with it. The film tells the story of two different paths to acquiring virtuosity and of the passing of music and culture from father to son.

The Competition

Spain, 2013, 99 minutes. In English. Directed by Ángel Borrego Cubero.
On March 22 at 4 pm. Séance 63 at Centre Canadien d’Architecture, Théâtre Paul-Desmarais.
On March 29 at 6:30 pm. Séance 183 at Centre Canadien d’Architecture, Théâtre Paul-Desmarais.

Sleepless nights, last-minute changes: competitions are a source of great stress for architects. Even big international firms are not immune to the anxiety they generate. Five star architects (Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel, Frank Gehry, Dominique Perrault and Norman Foster) are filmed in their day-to-day lives as they prepare to enter an architectural competition for the National Museum of Andorra. What ensues is a fascinating and often merciless account, as they toil, struggle and strategize to beat the fierce competition.

The Indian Queen

France / Spain, 2013, 180 minutes. In French. Directed by Peter Sellars.
On March 22 at 1:30 pm. Séance 56 at Cinémathèque québécoise, Salle Fernand-Seguin.
On March 29 at 1:30 pm. Séance 172 at Place des Arts, Cinquième Salle.

The Indian Queen is the last opera composed by Henry Purcell, which he left unfinished at his death in 1695. Strongly attracted to Purcell’s music, which is rarely heard today, Peter Sellars imagined a new version of the masterpiece, incorporating other famous works by the composer. He also modified the original libretto by John Dryden, using texts from contemporary Nicaraguan novelist Rosario Aguilar. The theme is thus more political, depicting the first contact between the Europeans and the Mayas: a choral narration of the Conquista through the lives of two women who created a new culture.

J. L. Sert, un rêve nomade

Spain / USA, 2013, 72 minutes. In Spanish with French subtitles. Directed by Pablo Bujosa.
On March 20 at 6:30 pm. Séance 3 at Centre Canadien d’Architecture, Théâtre Paul-Desmarais.
On March 21 at 9 pm. Séance 52 at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM), Salle Jean-Claude-Lauzon.
On March 27 at 4 pm. Séance 118 at Centre Canadien d’Architecture, Théâtre Paul-Desmarais.

Despite being a member of a well-known aristocratic family, Catalan architect Josep Lluís Sert (1902-1983) was a prominent member of the republican intellectual circles, a man who dared to be an avant- garde architect in a country ruled by absolute conservatism. A disciple of Le Corbusier and friend of Calder, Miró and the Surrealists, he melded his Catalan heritage with the modernist movement. This film presents his finest creations, including the Fondation Maeght in Vence, Miró’s studio in Mallorca, Zao Wou-ki’s house/studio in Ibiza, and the École des beaux-arts in Besançon.

Revealing Dalí

Spain, 2014, 56 minutes. In Spanish with French subtitles. Directed by Carlos del Amor.
On March 21 at 4 pm. Séance 27 at Grande Bibliothèque de BAnQ, Auditorium.
On March 24 at 1:30 pm. Séance 82 at Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, Auditorium Maxwell-Cummings.

From Cadaqués to New York, Madrid to Paris and Figueres –the Catalonian city of his birth and death where the Dalí Museum is located– this film revisits the places that Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) lived and worked, that inspired his creations or were vital stages in his artistic trajectory. Along the way, we meet some of his neighbours, friends and acquaintances, who reveal little-known aspects of this one-of-a-kind artist. The film seeks to remove the mask of this mythical and controversial figure of 20th century art, thereby revealing the true nature of his genius.

Fridge

Spain, 2014, 9 minutes. No dialog. Directed by Pepe Botias.
On March 22 at 6:30 pm. Séance 72 at Cinémathèque québécoise, Salle Fernand-Seguin.
On March 25 at 9 pm. Séance 102 at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM), Salle Jean-Claude-Lauzon.
On March 29 at 1:30 pm. Séance 168 at Cinémathèque québécoise, Salle Claude-Jutra.

The cycle of a relationship seen from the inside of a fridge.