A touching tribute from one illustrator to another, this award-winning debut feature film by Le Monde cartoonist Aurel tells a painful and forgotten chapter of Spanish and French history through the story of Catalonian artist Josep Bartolí (1910–1995). In February 1939, in the midst of the Spanish Civil War, nearly half a million Spanish civilians and soldiers fled Franco's dictatorship to France. With them was Bartolí, an anti-Franco activist who made the arduous journey across the Pyrenees in hopes of finding freedom across the French border. Upon arrival, however, Bartolí and his fellow refugees were apprehended by French police and held in a series of government-built concentration camps. Drawing on Bartolí's evocative sketches, Aurel paints an impressionistic and sensitive portrait of the artist in stark contrast to life within the brutal camps, as well as the redeeming humanity of a sympathetic gendarme who helped him escape. (Note adapted from FIAF Animation First Film Festival.) Winner, Best European Animated Feature Film, 2020 European Film Awards; Winner, Best Director, 2020 Valladolid International Film Festival; Winner, Audience Award and Best Screenplay, 2020 Athens International Film Festival; Winner, Best Animated Film, 2021 César Awards; Winner, Best Animated Feature Film, 2021 Días de Cine Awards. Official Selection, 2020 Annecy, Cannes and Tallinn Black Nights film festivals; 2021 FIAF Animation First Film Festival.
***This film is available to viewers in Maryland, DC and Virginia only.***
Spanish Cinema Now
June 4–20
AFI Silver Theatre and SPAIN arts & culture are proud to co-present an all-virtual edition of Spanish Cinema Now, an annual festival of outstanding new films that reflect the breadth of styles and talents at work in Spain today.
Explore this year's Spanish Cinema Now lineup with a series pass for just $70 – valued at more than $100! With the pass, you will have access to all nine films in the lineup.
- Year2020
- Runtime74 minutes
- LanguageFrench, Catalan, Spanish, English
- CountryFrance, Spain
- RatingNOT RATED
- NoteWith English subtitles.
- DirectorAurel
- ScreenwriterJean-Louis Milesi
- ProducerSerge Lalou, Jordi B. Oliva
A touching tribute from one illustrator to another, this award-winning debut feature film by Le Monde cartoonist Aurel tells a painful and forgotten chapter of Spanish and French history through the story of Catalonian artist Josep Bartolí (1910–1995). In February 1939, in the midst of the Spanish Civil War, nearly half a million Spanish civilians and soldiers fled Franco's dictatorship to France. With them was Bartolí, an anti-Franco activist who made the arduous journey across the Pyrenees in hopes of finding freedom across the French border. Upon arrival, however, Bartolí and his fellow refugees were apprehended by French police and held in a series of government-built concentration camps. Drawing on Bartolí's evocative sketches, Aurel paints an impressionistic and sensitive portrait of the artist in stark contrast to life within the brutal camps, as well as the redeeming humanity of a sympathetic gendarme who helped him escape. (Note adapted from FIAF Animation First Film Festival.) Winner, Best European Animated Feature Film, 2020 European Film Awards; Winner, Best Director, 2020 Valladolid International Film Festival; Winner, Audience Award and Best Screenplay, 2020 Athens International Film Festival; Winner, Best Animated Film, 2021 César Awards; Winner, Best Animated Feature Film, 2021 Días de Cine Awards. Official Selection, 2020 Annecy, Cannes and Tallinn Black Nights film festivals; 2021 FIAF Animation First Film Festival.
***This film is available to viewers in Maryland, DC and Virginia only.***
Spanish Cinema Now
June 4–20
AFI Silver Theatre and SPAIN arts & culture are proud to co-present an all-virtual edition of Spanish Cinema Now, an annual festival of outstanding new films that reflect the breadth of styles and talents at work in Spain today.
Explore this year's Spanish Cinema Now lineup with a series pass for just $70 – valued at more than $100! With the pass, you will have access to all nine films in the lineup.
- Year2020
- Runtime74 minutes
- LanguageFrench, Catalan, Spanish, English
- CountryFrance, Spain
- RatingNOT RATED
- NoteWith English subtitles.
- DirectorAurel
- ScreenwriterJean-Louis Milesi
- ProducerSerge Lalou, Jordi B. Oliva