19/04/2023 - European filmmakers François Ozon and Wim Wenders, along with actors Susan Sarandon, Penelope Wilton and Omar Sy, are just some of the most prominent attendees at this year’s edition

The Barcelona-Sant Jordi International Film Festival (BCN Film Fest) is set to unspool from 20-28 April and includes 70 titles scattered throughout its eight sections, which pay particular attention to literature, history and biographies in a cinematic format. Its seventh edition will boast prominent international names, such as actress Susan Sarandon, who will attend the screening of the legendary Thelma & Louise, and French filmmaker François Ozon, who will be there to present The Crime Is Mine [+see also:
film review
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interview: François Ozon
film profile], his latest film, which will have the honour of opening the gathering.

Other visitors to Barcelona in the coming days include French actor Omar Sy with Father & Soldier [+see also:
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film profile], a movie about family ties and forgotten heroes; UK actress Penelope Wilton with The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry [+see also:
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film profile], an adaptation of the bestseller by Rachel Joyce; and German genius Wim Wenders, to whom the festival will pay tribute with its poster (featuring an image from his Paris, Texas) and through a retrospective. This grand film event will be brought to a close with a screening of Sica [+see also:
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film profile] by Carla Subirana, a drama set in Galicia, starring Núria Prims and young actress Thais García Blanco.

The official section is made up of A Bit of Light, a UK film directed by Stephen Moyer, toplined by Anna Paquin, Ray Winstone and Youssef Kerkour; Alma & Oskar [+see also:
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film profile], an Austrian production helmed by Dieter Berner; the Italian flick The Hummingbird [+see also:
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interview: Benedetta Porcaroli
film profile] by Francesca Archibugi; another Italian title in the guise of The First Day of My Life [+see also:
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film profile] by Paolo Genovese; the aforementioned The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (UK) by Hettie Macdonald, starring Penelope Wilton and Jim Broadbent; and The Kiss [+see also:
interview: Bille August
film profile] by Danish maestro Bille August.

This section also comprises the Argentinian title La uruguaya by Ana García Blaya, Le voyage de Talia [+see also:
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interview: Christophe Rolin
film profile] (Belgium) by Christophe Rolin and The Colors of Fire [+see also:
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film profile] (France) by Clovis Cornillac. Also hailing from this neighbouring country is Father & Soldier by Mathieu Vadepied, starring Omar Sy, as mentioned above, while French producers teamed up with Belgium and Luxembourg to stage Rebel [+see also:
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interview: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fal…
film profile] by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. The UK will bring along The Lost King [+see also:
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film profile] by Stephen Frears. Lastly, Spain is represented in the official competition by Un cel de plom, a historical drama by Miquel Romans, toplined by Nausicaa Bonnín, Rachel Lascar and Iria del Río, which will have its world premiere.

Still in the official section, but out of competition, we find the Spanish features Alguien que cuide de mí [+see also:
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film profile] by Elvira Lindo and Daniela Fejerman, which stars Aura Garrido, Emma Suárez and Magüi Mira in the leading roles; La desconocida [+see also:
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interview: Pablo Maqueda
film profile], an adaptation of a stage play helmed by Pablo Maqueda, starring Manolo Solo in a rather compromising role; La manzana de oro [+see also:
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film profile] by the tireless Jaime Chávarri, with Sergi López, Marta Nieto and Adrián Lastra forming part of its ensemble cast; Las buenas compañías [+see also:
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film profile], directed by actress Silvia Munt, which broaches the topic of illegal abortions and forbidden love in the Basque Country in the 1970s; and Unzué. L'últim equip del Juancar, a documentary directed by a trio consisting of Xavi Torres, Santi Padró and Jesús Muñoz. The Padilla Affair by Cuba’s Pavel Giroud and No Bears by Iran’s Jafar Panahi round off this sidebar.

(Translated from Spanish)