The fifth edition of dart- Documentary Film Festival on contemporary art will be held between November 25 and December 12 in a hybrid format: on-site in Barcelona and Madrid and online through the Filmin platform. With 25 titles (17 feature film and 8 shorts), dart- supports the necessary communion between art and documentary and is presented as a propitious opportunity to meet great figures such as Beuys, Duchamp, Aalto, Abramovich, Esther Ferrer or Plensa, among others.

Dart brings us closer to contemporary art through the documentary format. Faced with the overwhelming excess of information in everyday life, more and more importance is given to a choice that facilitates the encounter of users with culture. The selection made year after year by dart- is a good example of this; plural and quality proposals that combine audiovisual arts, architecture and design.

The heterogeneity of the content cannot be ignored: some films deal with the avant-garde of the early 20th century. Others deal with contemporary artists. With both national and international proposals and betting on both recognized institutional artists and those who follow an underground line.

The festival has five sections: National, International, Short Films, Showcase and Special. In Barcelona, the main venue is Cinemes Girona. From the program we highlight the documentary on the figure of Joseph Beuys, father of the performance and who found around 1966 in Manresa, a space where to leave impregnated his spirituality and particular vision on art. The screening will be accompanied by a presentation by Pilar Parcerisas, curator of the centenary of Beuys in Manresa, providing the context between the artist and the Catalan city.

On the other hand, it is important to highlight the need for a documentary on Alvar Aalto; emblematic Finnish architect and one of the most relevant figures of the profession in the twentieth century, architect of modernity and innovator in the conception of public buildings. A possible approach thanks to this documentary directed by the Finnish Virpi Suutari.

The same happens with Esther Ferrer, pioneer and one of the greatest exponents of performance art in Spain. The documentary Threads of time by J. Rekalde explores her experience with minimalists as John Cage, as well as her role as a woman artist during Franco’s regime and the arrival of democracy, with all that this entailed. A fundamental piece to understand the problems of gender and vocation in turbulent times.

The festival counts for the first time with the collaboration of MACBA, where the documentary Wojnarowicz: Fuck you faggot fucker by Chris McKim will be screened. The film is about the agitator artist and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz. The screening will take place on December 1, World AIDS Day. In addition, after the screening there will be a discussion with Diego Marchante, transfeminist activist, transmedia artist and teacher.

On its side, Madrid,, where the festival is being held for the first time, has three venues: La Casa Encendida, Cines Verdi Conde Duque and the Fundación Juan March. With a total of six documentaries, Renzo Martens’ The White Cube stands out. The artist and director proposes a social experiment set in a plantation in the Congo to show the correlation between colonialism, art and gentrification.

In addition, so that no one is left behind in the celebration of the festival, once again the entire cycle will be available on streaming through the platform Filmin, in its Festivals section.

All the information about the festival programa and tickets can be found on the festival’s website: dart-festival.com

(Cover photo: still from the film Beyond the Visible – Hilma af Klint, dir. Halina Dyrschka. Sweden, Germany. 2019)