World Film Locations: Barcelona (Book)

Barcelona is one of the world’s most beautiful cities. A permanent showcase of the work of acclaimed architect Antoni Gaudí, it also has a long and rich cinematic legacy. Great directors from all over the world – among them Woody Allen, Pedro Almodóvar and Michelangelo Antonioni – have set their films there. World Film Locations: Barcelona is the first book of its kind to explore the rich cinematic history of this seductive Catalonian city. 

The illuminating essays collected here cover essential themes of the city’s cinematic history, including the origins of cinema in Barcelona; the role of Ciutat Vella (old quarter) as a film set; the influential Barcelona School of the 1960s; the film presence of Gaudí and his work; changing attitudes and urban renewal before and after the 1992 Olympics; and the emergence of a new generation of female filmmakers that have made Barcelona the centre of their cinematic explorations. This book will be a welcome addition to the libraries of anyone enchanted by the beauty of Barcelona, whether in person on the big screen.

Edition

Barcelona is one of the world’s most beautiful cities. A permanent showcase of the work of acclaimed architect Antoni Gaudí, it also has a long and rich cinematic legacy. Great directors from all over the world – among them Woody Allen, Pedro Almodóvar and Michelangelo Antonioni – have set their films there. World Film Locations: Barcelona is the first book of its kind to explore the rich cinematic history of this seductive Catalonian city. 
 
The illuminating essays collected here cover essential themes of the city’s cinematic history, including the origins of cinema in Barcelona; the role of Ciutat Vella (old quarter) as a film set; the influential Barcelona School of the 1960s; the film presence of Gaudí and his work; changing attitudes and urban renewal before and after the 1992 Olympics; and the emergence of a new generation of female filmmakers that have made Barcelona the centre of their cinematic explorations. This book will be a welcome addition to the libraries of anyone enchanted by the beauty of Barcelona, whether in person on the big screen.

Helio San Miguel teaches film at the New School in New York and is the writer and director of the short film Blindness. He is the author of World Film Locations: Mumbai, also published by Intellect. Lorenzo J. Torres Hortelano is a senior lecturer in the Department of Communication Sciences I at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Spain. He is the author of Directory of World Cinema Spain, also published by Intellect.

Maps/Scenes

Scenes 1-8 – 1908–1963

Scenes 9-16 – 1963–1978

Scenes 17-24 – 1978–1995

Scenes 25-32 – 1996–2003

Scenes 33-29 – 2003–2008

Scenes 40-46 – 2009–2011

Essays

Barcelona: City of the Imagination – Helio San Miguel and Lorenzo J. Torres Hortelano

Barcelona at the Dawn of Silent Cinema – Joan M. Minguet Batllori

In the Beginning There Were the Taverns: From Barcelona's Old Town to the New Cinema – Javier Rioyo

The Barcelona School: A Mirror of Two Cities – Esteve Riambau

Love Letters to Barcelona: Antoni Gaudí in Film – Javier H. Estrada

The Olympic Effect: Barcelona through the Eyes of the American Beholder – John D. Sanderson

Contemporary Barcelona through the Female Eye – María Camí-Vela

Related Titles