Barcelona-Sant Jordi International Film Festival (BCN Film Fest) in Spain has cancelled its screenings for the rest of today (Monday, April 28) f
Barcelona-Sant Jordi International Film Festival (BCN Film Fest) in Spain has cancelled its screenings for the rest of today (Monday, April 28) following mass power outages that have caused difficulties across Spain and Portugal.
The festival posted a message on its social media channels at around 16.45 CEST stating (translated from Catalan): “This afternoon’s Festival sessions have been cancelled.
“As soon as the electricity returns, we will resume the sessions. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
BCN Film Fest runs from April 24-May 2, at venues in and around Barcelona. It has been held annually since 2017.
The festival is scheduled to welcome Richard Gere as a special guest tomorrow (Tuesday 29) for the Spanish premiere of documentary Wisdom Of Happiness; and Ralph Fiennes, Angela Molina, and director Uberto Pasolini on Thursday, May 1 for the Spanish premiere of The Return. Fiennes will also receive an honorary award from the festival.
A festival representative has told Screen it still anticipates that Gere, Fiennes and other guests will attend, and plans to go ahead with all screenings as soon as the power returns.
The festival has sections including an Official Selection with competition and out-of-competition titles; Cinema Amb Gràcia (translation: Cinema With Grace); and Zona Oberta (open zone).
It opened on April 24 with the Catalan premiere of Tracie Laymon’s US comedy Bob Trevino Likes It; and presentation of the Screen International award for Catalan producer of the year to Tono Folguera.
The power cut has hit vast parts of mainland Spain and Portugal, shutting down transport networks including trains and air traffic, knocking out traffic lights, and removing power from most offices and workspaces.
Portuguese energy operator Rede Eletrica Nacional has said the outage is due to “extreme temperature variations in the interior of Spain” causing “anomalous oscillations in the very high voltage lines”. It has estimated that full restoration of power could take up to a week.
The outages have also reportedly had an effect in southern France, although there is no indication that they have affected Cannes, where Canneseries is on its penultimate day and ahead of the film festival starting there on Tuesday, May 13.
IndieLisboa Film Festival in Portugal is scheduled to start on Thursday, May 1; with DocsBarcelona in Spain on May 8.
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