Catalan Studies in Liverpool organises a film screening of 'Alcarràs', one of the most successful Catalan films ever. We are going to meet at 3.30 PM to watch the film, followed by a discussion.
The film, by Carla Simón, won the Golden Bear, the top prize at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival. It is set on a peach farm, in a rural Catalonia, where children and adults spend the summer together.
As Jonathan Romney wrote in the Guardian: “Above all, Alcarràs is about rural communities’ struggle for survival, inspired by Simón’s own upbringing in a farming family. “The idea came to me when my grandfather died. It made me think, as a family we share this space and we take it for granted, but what would happen if one day it didn’t exist? Many people are abandoning their land because this way of doing agriculture in small family groups is not sustainable any more. The big companies get the land, and it’s a problem. Because when you want to leave the land to your children and grandchildren, you take care of it. But if you’re a big company, you exploit the land, and if it doesn’t work, you leave it.”, explained Simón.
You can read the Guardian's review here.