Constel.lació Portabella (2024), screening and talk with Jordi Ballò and Claudio Zulian

Biographies

Pere Portabella. Spanish filmmaker: his films “No compteu amb els dits”, “Nocturn 29,” “Vampir-cuadecuc”, “Umbracle”, “Pont de Varsòvia” and “El silenci abans de Bach” have been fundamental references in an influential and alternative film culture. Portabella has also been a very important producer: we owe “El cochecito” by Marco Ferreri and “Viridiana” by Luis Buñuel to him. Likewise, he has been a very significant politician: he was elected a senator to the Spanish Constituent Cortes, and his signature is on the 1978 Spanish Constitution.

Jordi Ballò (Figueres, 1954) is a professor of Audiovisual Communication and director of the Master’s Degree in Creative Documentary at Pompeu Fabra University. He was director of exhibitions at the CCCB between 1998 and 2011, and curator of “El segle del cinema”, “Món TV”, “Hammershøi i Dreyer”, “‘Erice-Kiarostami” and “Pasolini Roma”. He was responsible for the advisory board of the “Cultura/s” supplement of La Vanguardia from its creation until 2014. He won the Ciutat de Barcelona Award and the National Film Award of the Generalitat de Catalunya. He is the author of “Imágenes del silencio”; together with Xavier Pérez, of “Yo ya he estado aquí”, “La semilla inmortal”, “El mundo, un escenario”; and, together with Mercè Oliva, of “La imagen incesante”.

Claudio Zulian (Campodarsego, Padua, 1965) was born in Italy in 1965 and currently resides in Barcelona. He holds a PhD in Aesthetics, Science and Technology of the Arts from the University of Paris-Saint Denis (France). He is the author of a multifaceted body of work that encompasses the visual and sound arts, cinema, television, music, theatre and literature. A significant part of his work is characterised by a sensitivity to social and political issues and the search for specificity in each medium in which he works. He has taught courses, workshops and lectures at various universities and cultural and artistic centres and writes regularly for magazines and newspapers. His feature films and documentaries have participated in and won awards at international festivals such as those in New York, Sydney, Singapore, Leipzig and Milan. He won the City of Barcelona Award and the National Award of Catalonia for “A través del Carmel” (2010), and his filmography includes works such as “Sin Miedo” (2017), “No nacimos refugiados” (2020), “La montaña mágica” (2023) and “Constelación Portabella” (2024), which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. He is currently preparing a new fiction film.