A SCOTS arts festival is preparing to make its debut to the virtual stage this year to highlight the importance of the cultural sector.
IberoDocs, Scotland’s Ibero-American Documentary Film Festival, will run from April 19 to May 2, screening online to the entire UK and beyond. Organisers said the eighth edition will focus on art in all its forms as a “necessary and faithful companion”, even in these dark times.
Festival director Mar Felices said: “We have seen how artists are among the most vulnerable communities affected by the pandemic For that reason we felt it was important that this year’s main programme would honour some of the best Ibero-American figures in all seven arts.
“From all the lessons learnt during this global crisis I would like to think that in both our brightest and darkest moments, art (in any of its forms) has become a necessary and faithful companion.”
The two-week showcase of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin-American filmmakers includes more than 20 documentaries, director Q&As, a virtual exhibition and a masterclass.
Although Covid-19 restrictions prevented the festival from going ahead in person, it did offer new opportunities, Felices added: “The online format of the festival has allowed the original team to be reunited, it will break geographical barriers like never before and introduce new accessibility measurements.”
The digital format is allowing the festival to reach an unprecedentedly large audience. Enthusiasts from across the UK and Ireland, as well as 22 Ibero-American countries will be able to virtually attend. This edition also promises to be the most accessible to date, with subtitles, audio descriptions, BSL and language interpretation, and a reader-friendly website.
“From the very beginning, one of our main goals was to highlight social inclusion and gender equality values across the programme,” Felices said. “These values are at the core of the team as it is formed mainly by immigrant women. We can relate to these values as we have experienced the struggle to fight cultural and social barriers.”
Many of the documentaries revolve around the work of creative people and society’s prejudice surrounding artists. “Our main programme challenges society’s stereotypes around artists,” Felices said. “Especially because of the pandemic, we wanted to remind people the arts are welcoming, they know no boundaries and everyone can be creative and artistic.”
The festival will open with the UK premiere of Maricarmen (2020), by Sergio Morkin. The documentary follows a Mexican cello player, music teacher, writer and marathon runner, as she navigates life as a blind person.
Free Color (2020), by Alberto Arvelo, focuses on the renowned Venezuelan kinetic artist, Carlos-Cruz Diez, as, at 94, he pushes the boundaries of arts and human imagination.
The line-up also includes a musical documentary biopic. Discovering Jose Padilla (2020), by Marta Figueras and Susana Guardiola, retraces the career of the man behind Chaplin’s City Lights, from his Spanish debut to international acclaim.
When You Listen (2020), by Sergi Cameron, tells the story of the visionary musician El Nino de Elche’s, as he travels from Catalonia to Bolivia on a quest to discover the origins of music.
IberoDocs will also feature the international premiere of Light Sensitive Ages (2019), by Pedro Sara and Violeta Pagan. It blurs the boundaries between documentary and fiction, as a group of film students shoots a movie that will reveal hidden aspects of their lives.
The festival will also offer a free screening of the world premiere of Dreamed and Lived (2020), by Ricardo Iscar. The documentary tells the director’s own experience of life in lockdown inside his house in Barcelona, through dreams, memories and humour.
Viewers will also be able to enjoy a selection of short films curated to commemorate the bicentennial of Peruvian independence. IberoDocs runs on the streaming platform Indy on Demand. Individual tickets are £5/£3 (concession); full access through a festival pass is £15/£10 (concession).
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here