After the milestone that was its fifth anniversary in 2018, IberoDocs – the Ibero-American Documentary Film Festival in Scotland – is about to deliver its sixth edition. For the first time, the festival has expanded in time as it will take place over six weeks starting from April 11th until May 19th. Once again, it will embrace both Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Each year, the festival strives to bring its audience a diverse and rich programme touching several themes and issues. This year, IberoDocs will focus on both memory and identity as it will bring forth a selection of films enriched by testimonies, archive, and confessions to succeed in the quest highlighted by Claudia Gonçalves, Co-Founder of the Edinburgh Shamanic Centre – who is going to introduce the opening film Ex-Shaman – “it is only when we begin to remember who we truly are that the healing begins and the power returns to our lives”.
In this year’s programme, there will be two important focus to explore two areas of the world where political changes are affecting the rights of several communities, which are still fighting to see their identities acknowledged: Brazil and Andalusia. Some of the films featured in the Brazilian focus (sponsored by Boteco Do Brasil) are Ex-Shaman presented at the Berlinale in 2018; Yorimatã, voted one of the best films in 2015 by Brazilian critics and audiences; and Brasilia, Life after Design, which world-premiered at the Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival in 2017. As part of the Andalusian focus, relevant films such as The Legend of Time, 23 Shots, and Camarón, Flamenco and Revolution will be screened. Of the 23 documentary films featured in the programme, 17 will be Scottish premieres.
The sixth edition of the festival will also be an edition of first times, both in terms of collaborations and venues. Together with the Edinburgh Short Film Festival, IberoDocs will present a selection of award-winning short films, while other meaningful titles will be screened in collaboration with Glasgow-based Document Film Festival, SEDA (Scottish Ecological Design Association), and Fundacion AVA (Andalusian Audiovisual Foundation). Also, an institution such as the Rose Theatre will be a new addition to our usual venues being home to some of the festival’s events. To name just another first time, IberoDocs has added to its offers a concert with one of the most prominent figure in the Spanish music scene, the artist Kiko Veneno.
As per its previous editions, IberoDocs aims to offer a vast array of events to meet as many tastes as possible. As such, this year’s festival will see one masterclass with filmmaker Jorge Laplace, eight debates with different guests, two dance workshops of Capoeira and Forro, and a sherry wine tasting. IberoDocs invites you to get lost in a myriad of different stories from various corners of the Ibero-American world while having the pleasure to experience a tiny bit of their rich cultures.
IberoDocs website: www.iberodocs.org
