Institut Ramon LLull

Catalan Cinema to be the Guest of Honour at Raindance 2023

Cinema.  24/05/2023

From the 25th of October to the 4th of November the UK’s largest independent film festival will offer a selection of the best independent film proposals from Catalonia presented by the Department of Culture though Catalan Films, the brand for internationalisation of the Catalan film industry of the Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC) and the Institut Ramon Llull (IRL).




The 31st iteration of the Raindance Film Festival, which will take place in London from the 25th of October to the 4th of November 2023, will showcase a selection of the best independent film proposals from Catalonia, presented by the Department of Culture through Catalan Films, the brand for internationalisation of the Catalan film industry of the Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC) and the Institut Ramon Llull (IRL).

Catalonia’s participation in the festival includes a carefully chosen selection of cinematic debuts in the United Kingdom, with both a programme of short films and projects in development and a programme of discussions and conferences in which key professionals of the Catalan film industry will participate. What’s more, there will also be various meetings with international professionals.

The Raindance Film Festival has announced this special focus on Catalan cinema as part of the presentation of the Cannes Film Festival 2023, accompanied by various representatives from Catalan Films, part of the ICEC. The organisers of the Raindance festival have placed great value in the growing global interest in cinema made in Catalonia and have highlighted how being guest of honour of this year’s festival will help build bridges between filmmakers, producers and distributors in the United Kingdom and Catalonia.

The Raindance Film Festival is the largest independent film festival in the United Kingdom. During its existence, which goes back more than thirty years, it has hosted the British releases of films as emblematic as Pulp Fiction, The Blair Witch Project and Memento. It is one of the film industry events that qualifies for the Oscars®, the BAFTAS (the British Academy Film Awards) and the BIFA (the British Independent Film Awards). Variety magazine have included Raindance in their list of ‘50 unmissable film festivals’.

The Importance of the Catalan Film Industry

For the past few years, Catalan cinema has been leaving an important mark throughout Europe. Productions of non-fiction films, animations and documentaries play a very relevant role in festivals everywhere, receive international prizes and debut on screens throughout the world. Recognition of Catalan cinema, both from critics and from the public, is unanimous, and the prestige of Catalan film professionals is a sign of a very powerful industry with undeniable talent and expertise.

For the current government, the film industry is one of the main pillars of the Department of Culture because of its size, its potential as a strategic sector and its capacity for internationalisation. One of the department’s priorities is to promote it as a sector that creates points of reference, that makes our language, culture and landscapes known and that dynamizes the economy.

In 2022, the Department of Culture invested 40 million euros into the film industry. This is the highest amount granted to audio-visual companies and film professionals in recent years, and the same amount is to be granted again in 2023. The funding lines managed by the ICEC cover the entire value chain of the film industry, with funding being assigned to development and co-productions, for example. This support has helped to draw attention to some of the strong points that make Catalan film stand out: the talent of its professionals, the existence of training centres of international renown, the work and engagement of a potent film industry with years of tradition behind it that generates an enormous variety of productions, and the notably large number of festivals that put the country on the map.

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