Fernando Esteso and the cinema of "cowboys and Indians".
B-Retina, the Festival de Cinema Sèrie B de Cornellà presented last June 16 at the Castell de Cornellà the program of its eighth edition, which will be held from September 12 to 17 at the Castell de Cornellà. Auditori Sant Ildefons (Plaça Carles Navales S/N), with a selection of the best “cowboys and Indians” films, with the presence of actor Fernando Esteso (“Los Bingueros“, “Yo Hice A Roque III“), who will receive the Golden Ticket award in recognition of his career.
In an amusing play on words, the main theme of the event will be “cowboys and Indians” cinema, but not in the classic conception of the genre, as explained by Sabina Pujol and David Bravo, responsible for programming and communication, respectively. And the fact is that “the Indians who will be part of the contest are not the kind of people who wear feathers and fight the Seventh Cavalry, but come directly from India”.
In this way, the public will be able to enjoy a “surreal cocktail” of B series wésterns together with big hits from industries such as Bollywood or Tollywood -both from India-, with films as important as “Krack”, one of the highest-grossing blockbusters of 2021 in its country of origin. The film will be shown thanks to the collaboration of the Nits de Cinema Oriental de Vic festival and will be presented by Quim Crusellas, director of the festival.
The aforementioned cocktail of genres will reach its maximum expression with the screening of “For A Fistful Of Rupees”. (1990), an Indian production set in the Wild West, which includes traditional musical numbers and stars the superstar Megastar Chiranjeevi, an actor of such popularity in his country that he even became Minister of Culture and Tourism from 2012 to 2014. Chiranjeevi plays an outlaw who has to recover the treasures hidden by his father, fighting against a group of bandits, to free his mother from jail.
The main protagonist of the 8th edition of B-Retina will be Fernando Esteso, an actor with a long career who, in addition to receiving the Golden Ticket, will attend the screening of one of the funniest and most unusual films of Spanish cinema, “Al Este Del Oeste” (East of the West).” (1984). One of the most famous works of Mariano Ozores and that parodies the wéstern genre, with absurd musical numbers and hilarious songs.
The event also reflects the current good health of independent B-movies shot in Spain.
In this sense, one of the most relevant films will be the action epic “Bullets and Katanas”.” (2023), filmed by world martial arts champion Nacho Serapio, will open the festival on Tuesday, September 12 at 7:00 pm. The session will benefit from the assistance of Serapio himself and other members of the film crew.
Another noteworthy Spanish production that will be shown is “Son Of Man Chased By A UFO” (2020), a belated sequel to the low-budget classic “The Man Pursued By A UFO“(1976) and filmed by the same author of the original, Juan Carlos Olaria, who at 80 years of age is still encouraged to film.
Likewise, “Delirio Profundo” (2021) by director Marta Montes, a surrealist feature film that won the Audience Award at the last edition of the CUTRECON International Festival in Madrid, will also be screened.
In the wéstern genre, “Algo más que morir” stands out.” (2014), a film shot in the Basque Country by Oier Martínez De Santos and José Luis Murga. He won the special award Almería Collection in the fourth edition of the Almería Western Film Festival which, together with the Nits de Cinema Oriental, is one of the invited festivals.
But Spanish cinema is not the only thing B-RetinaThe competition section will also include national premieres of eagerly awaited foreign titles, such as the American horror film “The New York Times”.Malum” Anthony DiBlasi’s ” -and which is a bigger-budget remake of “The Last Shift“. also shot by DiBlasi – or the Canadian “Enter The Drag Dragon“, the new film by Lee Demarbre, author of the cult film “Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter” (2001).
During the presentation, which included a dance and music show “Kirwani Express” -in charge of Shreyashee Nag Dance Company-, The final poster of the festival, created by Krea / Illustration & Tattoos, was also shown, as well as the official spot, produced by the organizing team itself and focused on the theme of “cowboys and Indians”.
CONSOLIDATED PLATFORM FOR THE DIFFUSION OF THE B-SERIES
“B-Retinawhich was born as a tribute to the disappeared neighborhood cinemas, is a unique festival in Catalonia, which has established itself nationally as a platform for the diffusion of a type of cinema with little visibility within the Spanish territory”, explained those responsible during the presentation. They also celebrated the fact that the event has “made a place in the hearts of the public that shuns the clichés of Serie A, who want to be able to share their passion on the big screen with other fans of a genre that is experiencing its second golden age”.
Since 2015, the year of the first edition, the number of spectators has not stopped increasing, demonstrating that B-Retina is a prestigious event both in the city of Barcelona and throughout the country, being one of the benchmarks in its genre. As a result, it has been extended to 6 days as of 2022.
B-Retina, as a member of TAC (Terror Arreu de Catalunya), also participates in the programming of the Sitges Film Festival, the Cardoterror Film Festival and the FantBoi of Sant Boi de Llobregat.. It should be noted that since 2018, B-Retina is a member of the Catalunya Film Festival and organizes different activities during the year related to the genre, such as the participation in the last edition of the Saló del Cinema i de les Sèries.
SEASON TICKETS NOW ON SALE
Season tickets for the eighth edition of B-Retina, to be held from September 12 to 17 in Cornellà de Llobregat, will go on sale from June 17 through the links provided on the official website www.b-retina.cat.. There are also packs available that, in addition to the full festival ticket, include a T-shirt and official festival totebag, for 36 euros.
DETAILED PROGRAMMING
- “Bullets and Katanas” (Nacho Serapio, 2023), September 12 at 7:00 pm.
- “For a Fistful of Rupees” (K. Muralimohana Rao, 1990), September 13 at 5:30 p.m.
- “The Revenge of the Sacred Monkey” (Krishna Vamsi, 2004) with live commentary by the Cinemasacre collective, September 13 at 8:30 pm.
- Live Podcast “La Guarida Del Titán” + Surprise Movie, September 14 at 6:00 p.m.
- “Algo Más Que Morir” (Oier Martínez De Santos, José Luis Murga, 2014), September 15 at 4:30 pm.
- “The Full Moon Fathers” (Sean Cranston, 2022), September 15 at 6:00 p.m.
- “Spaghettiman” (Mark Potts, 2016), September 15 at 7:30 pm.
- Bollywood Sitare” show, September 15 at 9:00 p.m.
- “Krack” (Gopichand Malineni, 2021), September 15 at 10:00 pm.
- “Goodbye Ringo” (Pere Marzo, 2018) + masterclass, September 16 at 11:30 am.
- “The Son Of Man Pursued By A UFO” (Juan Carlos Olaria, 2020), September 16 at 4:00 pm.
- “Delirio Profundo” (Marta Montes, 2021), September 16 at 6:00 pm.
- “Malum” (Anthony DiBlasi, 2023), September 16 at 7:30 pm.
- Free theremin concert with the Spaghetti Western music duo “Django and Sartana”, September 16 at 9:00 pm.
- “Al Este Del Oeste” (Mariano Ozores, 1984), September 16 at 10:00 p.m.
- “Aquí Llega Condemor, El Pecador De La Pradera” (Álvaro Sáenz De Heredia, 1996), September 17 at 12:30 pm.
- “Enter The Drag Dragon” (Lee Demarbre, 2023), Sept. 17 at 4 p.m.
- Short Film Competition, September 17 at 6:00 p.m.
B-Retina is supported by the following entities: Mundoplus TV -medio oficial-, Estrella Galicia, FILMIN, IBERIA, RENFE/RODALIES, TMB (Metro de Barcelona), Hotel Campanile and Editorial Applehead.
