What?! Never heard of Festibérico?? Ok, clearly you don't live in Delft or The Hague or, if you do, you certainly do not socialize with the right people!
Festibérico is a biannual Portuguese and Spanish film festival organised with a lot of love for about 12 years now from dear friends of mine and it's the best opportunity for all of us living in this part of the world to enjoy films from the Iberian peninsula that otherwise we wouldn't even know about. Not only that, but we also very often have the chance to meet the creators of these films, talk to them, get to know what was in their minds when making the films!
But, ok, enough with the official presentation, Festibérico for me is about familiarity... It's about getting together with good friends, enjoying films that speak to our hearts and then afterwards having a drink and a chat about them! And it is about this feeling of how close to me is the culture and the life of the Iberians, how familiar it is to see a film about Portuguese immigrants, their lives having so much in common with mine, and how warming is this sense of sharing a view point and the love for wine and olive oil!
I will never forget some years ago when I saw a Portuguese documentary about disappearing train connections in the Portuguese country side and I could not stop crying... it was so much like looking at Greece, it was uncanny! And that's just one example, my list of beautiful experiences during the festival is long and will keep growing over the years I hope!
Films can take us to amazing journeys around the world, combine that with good company, a relaxed, cosy environment and long, pleasant conversations afterwards and you have Festibérico! And it is surely better than shoes!
Ps. Festibérico just started, see you there ;)
Festibérico is a biannual Portuguese and Spanish film festival organised with a lot of love for about 12 years now from dear friends of mine and it's the best opportunity for all of us living in this part of the world to enjoy films from the Iberian peninsula that otherwise we wouldn't even know about. Not only that, but we also very often have the chance to meet the creators of these films, talk to them, get to know what was in their minds when making the films!
But, ok, enough with the official presentation, Festibérico for me is about familiarity... It's about getting together with good friends, enjoying films that speak to our hearts and then afterwards having a drink and a chat about them! And it is about this feeling of how close to me is the culture and the life of the Iberians, how familiar it is to see a film about Portuguese immigrants, their lives having so much in common with mine, and how warming is this sense of sharing a view point and the love for wine and olive oil!
I will never forget some years ago when I saw a Portuguese documentary about disappearing train connections in the Portuguese country side and I could not stop crying... it was so much like looking at Greece, it was uncanny! And that's just one example, my list of beautiful experiences during the festival is long and will keep growing over the years I hope!
Films can take us to amazing journeys around the world, combine that with good company, a relaxed, cosy environment and long, pleasant conversations afterwards and you have Festibérico! And it is surely better than shoes!
Ps. Festibérico just started, see you there ;)
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