The Berlinale is just the start of a big 2025 for Catalan films, filmmakers and companies. Several high-profile Catalan buzz titles are currently shooting or in post-production and are slated to debut later in the year, while others are presently kicking off promising festival runs.
Former Berlin Golden Bear winner Carla Simon (“Alcarràs”) will debut “Romería,” currently in post, about a woman’s journey to meet her biological father’s family after he dies of AIDS. It’s a hugely personal project as the disease took both of Simon’s parents’ lives when she was just six years old.
In commercial terms, especially domestically, few films have more box office potential than Borja Cobeaga’s “Los Aitas,” an all-ages comedy about a group of middle-aged dads accompanying their daughters on an international gymnastics trip.
Miguel Ángel Jiménez’s brutally stylish 1970s-set dark comedy “The Birthday Party” stars Willem Dafoe alongside an ensemble of top Spanish talent. Bankside Films is selling internationally.
Backed by Movistar+, Pedro Almodovar’s El Deseo, Filmes Da Ermida, Uri Films and 4A4 Productions, Oliver Laxe’s upcoming thriller Morrocco desert-set thriller “Sirat” is a sure-fire festival hit.
Catalonia will get its first-ever stop-motion feature this year, “Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake.” Directed by Irene Iborra Rizo, it turned heads during an Annecy Work in Progress presentation last summer.
“Uncle Boonmee” producer Lluis Miñarro, a celebrated director in his own right, will debut the buzzy genre feature “Emergency Exit” later this year. The film sees a cast of characters stuck on a bus ride from which they cannot escape that takes them across a series of fantastic landscapes.
“Jokes and Cigarettes” director David Trueba returns in 2025 to produce and helm “Siempre es invierno,” the feature adaptation of his novel “Blitz.” Produced by Atresmedia Cine, Ikiru Films, La Terraza Films and Wrong Men, the film is distributed by BTeam Pictures.
Up-and-comer Jaume Claret Muxart’s feature debut “Strange River,” backed by leading Catalan producer Alba Sotorra, offers a coming-of-age story about a teenager’s perhaps final bike vacation with his parents.
A 2023 Berlin Talents honoree, Júlia de Paz will bow her highly anticipated “Fed Up,” currently in post-production. Produced by Astra Pictures, Avalon and Krater Films, Beta Cinema is handling sales.
BTeam co-produces and will domestically distribute Goya-winning director Guillermo García Lopez’s “Sleepless City,” a social issue drama about a Romani boy living in an illegal settlement.
Lucía Aleñar Iglesias’ upcoming debut “Forestera” is a Spain-Italy-Sweden co-production about a girl who witnesses her grandmother’s violent death and develops a coping mechanism that doesn’t sit well with everyone in the family.
“Join Me for Breakfast,” the debut feature of accomplished Catalan actor Iván Morales, features related stories of characters looking for a second chance in a crowded city. Filmax is selling.
“Girl Unknown” director Pablo Maqueda returns with the documentary “Caro nanni,” produced by Girona-based Colose Producciones, and former San Sebastian New Directors winner Celia Rico (“Journey to a Mother’s Room”) will launch her next, “La buena letra,” produced by Arcadia, Misent Producciones and Mod Producciones.
Several 2025 Catalan films are hosting EFM market screenings this year, courting global distribution partners for the coming months. Among them are Javier Ruiz Caldera’s feelgood comedy “Wolfgang,” about fatherhood and autism, and Robin Petré’s “Only on Earth,” which documents the balance of man and nature in fire-prone Galicia.
Among Catalan films that have already premiered but are just hitting the festival circuit are Avelina Prat’s “The Portuguese House,” produced by Distinto Films, O Som e a Fúria, Jaibo Films and Almendros Blancos; Gemma Blasco’s “Fury,” recently selected for this year’s SXSW Global program; Gerard Oms’ Spain-Netherlands co-production “Away”; and Eva Libertad’s “Deaf,” which is world premiering in this year’s Berlinale Panorama section.
