As the 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival rolls out one of its most ambitious country focuses to date, Catalonia arrives at PÖFF not as a regional sidebar but as a consolidated European force.
As the 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival rolls out one of its most ambitious country focuses to date, Catalonia arrives at PÖFF not as a regional sidebar but as a consolidated European force. The Catalan Focus unites a record number of productions, minority co-productions, and industry delegations – more than 40 professionals – reflecting an ecosystem expanding faster than the Spanish average, increasingly outward-looking, and strategically positioned between Mediterranean creativity and European industrial logic.
In Tallinn, the message is loud and clear: Catalonia is no longer simply exporting auteurs; it is exporting an entire model.
A policy-backed boom: outpacing Spain’s national growth
For Mr. Edgar Garcia i Casellas, director of the Catalan Institute for Cultural Companies (ICEC), the region’s rapid expansion is not accidental but the result of “a long-term cultural policy that treats the audiovisual sector as both a creative and strategic industry”. He stresses that growth does not stem from production alone but from systemic continuity. “The Catalan Institute for Cultural Companies supports the entire value chain from development and training to production and exhibition ensuring continuity and stability.” What differentiates Catalonia from many neighbouring regions, he notes, is the “collaboration between public institutions and private stakeholders”, rooted in a shared process of defining priorities.
The numbers tell the story: qualified productions have climbed steadily, box-office performance is improving, and—perhaps most telling—medium-budget films (€3–5 million) have become Catalonia’s new sweet spot. Garcia i Casellas observes: “Producers must be able to afford to be ambitious, and the administration must support them”. This support is not merely financial. Talented filmmakers are staying longer, building slate-based companies rather than jumping project to project. “Most companies now operate with a project portfolio,” he says, leading to “an ecosystem that can provide employment for our professionals” and ensure resilience well beyond short-term cycles.
As Catalonia looks toward 2026–2027, Garcia i Casellas expects stability in volume and growth in diversity – of genres, leadership and narrative perspectives. “We aspire for our audiovisual content to become increasingly diverse… and I believe we can ensure that the special connection between our creators and the audience will continue”.
The co-production nation: a European hub by design
Co-production is not just a tool in Catalonia – it is the industry’s DNA. With more than 80% of output involving co-producers and 36% international, Catalonia has positioned itself as a European hub linking France, Italy, Latin America and, increasingly, the Baltic region.
Garcia i Casellas points to a turning point in 2020: “we made a clear strategic commitment to international co-production by creating a dedicated minority co-production fund. This initiative has been a true game-changer”. The scheme has enabled Catalan companies to work with filmmakers as diverse as Lav Diaz – whose Magellan screens at PÖFF – and teams across Northern and Eastern Europe.
For producers on the ground, these frameworks are not simply bureaucratic supports. They shape identity.
Cinema as a porous, border-crossing dialogue
Award-winning Catalan producer Alba Sotorra Clua says her own work is inseparable from this outward-facing tradition. “Most of our films have been international co-productions, so we feel very much aligned with this outward-facing identity”. Her creative philosophy combines deep local roots with global resonance: “what interests us is making films that are deeply rooted in the specificities of a territory…while speaking to universal concerns.”
She insists that co-productions are far more than financing structures: “They allow us to approach cinema as a dialogue between cultures rather than as a solitary act”. Collaborations expose her teams to “artistic languages, political contexts and methodologies” otherwise unreachable.
At the same time, she acknowledges systemic challenges. “Competition at the European level is extremely high, and the resources are limited in practice.” Political tensions can also influence how projects are perceived or prioritised. Yet these difficulties have only made Catalan producers more strategic, interconnected and resilient: “These obstacles have pushed us to be more strategic, more connected with international partners, and more inventive in shaping the financial architecture of each project”.
Scaling up without losing identity
Producer Carla Sospedra Salvadó of Edna Cinema frames co-production as a key to creative ambition: “it’s an opportunity to make ambitious and powerful work for an international market.” She stresses that Catalan producers have long embraced cooperative working methods internally; international co-production is simply the extension of that culture.
Her recent favourites – Jaume Claret Muxart’s Strange River (Catalonia/Germany), Belén Funes‘ The Exiles (Catalonia/Chile) and Carla Simón’s Romería (Catalonia/Germany) -reflect what she calls a “flexible and culturally open” ethos. Choosing partners is a mix of intuition, market logic and narrative truth: “it’s always a mix of three things: where the story lives, where the financing makes sense, and who brings real creative chemistry.”
Yet the mid-budget space worries her. “I feel it’s the most vulnerable of the three”, she says. Theatrical releases are harder, costs have inflated through the platform era, and competitiveness is shrinking. “It’s a model in danger we should be able to defend and preserve”.
Still, she believes Catalan producers think globally while remaining anchored in their culture. “Catalan stories travel best when they’re told with confidence, and more and more, in our own language, in Catalan. That’s a shift to celebrate”.
Catalan cinema at PÖFF: diversity as definition
At Tallinn, curator Xavier García Puerto – also head programmer of PÖFF’s Rebels With A Cause section and director of REC Tarragona – has shaped the Catalan Focus around one guiding principle: diversity.
“What I try to capture is the wide range of perspectives and the diversity of topics and styles in Catalan cinema,” he explains. A few years ago, the international spotlight fell on a wave of female directors – Carla Simón, Clara Roquet, Neus Ballús. “That’s still there”, he says, “but now we also have the established masters… and all the genre films”. Diversity of tone, form and background is what defines the current moment.
For García Puerto, the minority co-production scheme has been crucial in expanding this horizon. It has allowed Catalan companies “to go abroad and work with major filmmakers.” The result is sometimes surprising even for industry insiders, particularly when Catalan films are shot abroad, in other languages, or with non-Catalan casts – like Isabel Coixet’s Rome-set Three Goodbyes, screening in Tallinn. “And still, of course, it’s a Catalan film, because Isabel Coixet directed it”.
What matters, he argues, is normalisation: “Just telling stories naturally… from normality,” without stereotypes or exoticism. This naturalism is allowing Catalan cinema to project an image abroad that goes beyond clichés, inviting audiences to engage with unexpected perspectives.
Besides, this year’s edition reflects a growing synergy between two small, dynamic ecosystems. “We have two projects in International Works-in-Progress, and they’ve been very well received”, García Puerto notes. Undergraun Film Producer Montse Triola’s recent collaborations with Latvia are a sign of what he sees as shared qualities: agility, institutional support, and internationally-minded professionals.
With more than 40 Catalan professionals attending, he describes the presence as “quite a robust” and symbolic investment in ongoing Baltic partnerships.
Language, exhibition, and the fight for visibility
Despite industrial growth, Catalan-language cinema still faces structural hurdles. Only 2–3% of screenings in Catalonia are in Catalan – a long-term challenge in a region where language is both cultural heritage and political fault line.
Distributor Alfred Sesma Siuraneta of Pack Magic offers a unique vantage point. His outfit specialises in European arthouse films for children and families, and he stresses the importance of showing Catalan-language works abroad: “it’s always nice to be able to share the joy of existing, and Catalan culture exists… and in places like Tallinn we can explain it to the world”.
Pack Magic distributes 100% in Catalan, supported by **a robust non-theatrical circuit **– school networks, community centres, and alternative venues. For him, the distinction between mass and niche markets is simple: niche audiences “don’t care about the language and are especially sensitive to the richness of difference.”
Animation, in particular, plays a key role. Catalonia has long been recognised as a major European hub for animation production, and its presence at PÖFF’s retrospectives underscores this cultural wealth. “The Catalan language is a language with which you can do all the things that can be done with a language”, Sesma says. For children, the use of Catalan is not symbolic – it is foundational.
On subtitling and dubbing, he reminds us that animated cinema is its own ecosystem: “in animated cinema, the simple idea of talking about an original version is still paradoxical.” What matters is accessibility—subtitles that help children learn to read, integrate newcomers, or support kids with hearing difficulties. “The difference in languages is not a problem, it is a fun challenge”.
As for exhibitors reluctant to offer prime-time slots to Catalan-language films, he is blunt: “The key lies in institutions and political will”.
A distinct creative identity
Garcia i Casellas believes the international perception of Catalan cinema has fundamentally changed: “the Catalan brand has evolved into a distinct European creative identity… capable of combining cultural authenticity with innovation and risk-taking”.
Sotorra Clua sees a similar shift: internationally, Catalan cinema is known for “high-quality, intimate auteur films”, but that image is now too limited. LGBTQ+ voices, migrant creators, people of colour, and working-class filmmakers are expanding the narrative of what Catalan cinema is – and who it represents.
For García Puerto, the lesson for other regions is simple: “Believe in the talent and the energy. Don’t be afraid of what young or emerging filmmakers can do. Just help them rise – or shine”.
Forward strategy instead of regional focus
With a booming mid-budget segment, a thriving co-production culture, expanding global partnerships, and a new generation of diverse voices, Catalonia’s presence at Tallinn is not celebratory – it is strategic.
The country focus consolidates years of investment, showcases a cinema comfortable in its own identity, and positions Catalonia as a consistent European partner.
Or, as Sospedra puts it: “the industry is learning to be both proudly local and naturally global.”
The article was created in co-operation with Dmovies.org.