Tickets to enjoy Ridley Scott’s film, which premiered in theaters in 2000, at 6:00 p.m. are already sold out.
Gladiator will be shown alongside the fourth day’s program: at 7:00 p.m. in the Patio de la Infanta, the documentary Portugal ’74 will be screened, and at 9:00 p.m. in the Cervantes cinema, the feature film Primavera de Seúl (Seoul Spring) will be presented by actress Maite Uzal.
Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe, was released in 2000 and has since become a classic of historical cinema. The film tells the story of Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Spanish-Roman general whose life changes radically after the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. To commemorate its 25th anniversary, the Saraqusta Film Festival will screen the film on the big screen in the Plaza del Pilar, in the Government Delegation area, this Wednesday, April 30, at 6:00 p.m.
The outdoor movie screening is sold out, as all available tickets have been reserved. “With this screening, the festival fulfills its objective of bringing cinema to the public in public spaces such as the Plaza del Pilar. Saraqusta is a city project based on culture, and our aim is to make this festival an event open to the public, inviting them to reflect on history through the activities we have programmed,” explained José Ángel Delgado, director of the festival.
The screening of ‘Gladiator’ coincides with the activity scheduled for the fourth day of competition at this fifth edition of the Saraqusta Film Festival. At a press conference this morning at the Roman Theater Museum in Caesaraugusta, the French documentary team competing with ‘Porgutal ’74’ was introduced. Directors Paul Le Grouyer and Bruno Lorvão and producer Fatma Tarhouni presented this audiovisual work, which recounts how in the early 1970s, when Portugal was still under the authoritarian regime of Europe’s longest-lasting dictatorship, a group of military officers decided to risk everything to try to liberate their country. In the shadow of the regime, they devised an unprecedented coup d’état that led to the Carnation Revolution.
The directors emphasized that “for the Portuguese, year zero is April 25, 1974. We must talk about this event and the military personnel who believed in democracy. This historic event brings a message of hope and belief in humanity and working together.” They also pointed out that foreign media outlets were the main source of documentation for this audiovisual project. Thanks to them, color footage was obtained 50 years after the Carnation Revolution.
Director Gaizka Urresti also attended the press conference to talk about “The First Hundred Years”, a documentary he directed that can be seen at 5:00 p.m. at the Ibercaja Patio de la Infanta Foundation as part of Panorama Saraqusta. This audiovisual, which is not in competition, tells the story of the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Santurtzi throughout its hundred years of existence, highlighting human experiences, achievements, adversities, and the effort to improve the lives of patients.
For Urresti, making this documentary has been “a pleasure, because one of the tasks we filmmakers have is to show that behind every institution there is a story. The documentary reflects the evolution of healthcare. I have been particularly interested in the medical role when the patient cannot be saved and all that remains is to care for and support them. In this respect, San Juan de Dios is a national and international benchmark.”
At 12:00 noon, also at the Roman Theater Museum in Caesaraugusta, attendees enjoyed the Aragonese documentary ‘Manolo Kabezabolo‘, directed by José Alberto Andrés Lacasta. The film explores the childhood and youth of Manuel Méndez Lozano, known as “Manolo Kabezabolo,” a musician from Zaragoza and icon of the national punk scene with a career spanning more than 40 years.
These stages of his life were marked by key events that defined his career: a troubled relationship with his father that led him to a brief military career, followed by his embrace of anti-militarism; an early diagnosis of mental illness that fueled urban legends and stigmas; and his addiction to drugs as a survival mechanism.
“Manolo is what you see. His way of facing life has to do with his own personal and artistic essence. Punk came to see him, but he was already practicing it. The experiences he has lived through have shaped what he later became, all weighed down by his illness. We are lucky to be in Saraqusta with this documentary. I spoke with Manolo a moment ago and he is very excited about the screening,” said the director, José Alberto Andrés.
The round table discussion took place at 12:30 p.m. and was entitled “Rock Stars and Classics”. It analyzed how the audiovisual industry has portrayed the gods of music, led by director Pablo Aragüés; Álvaro Aragüés, composer of music for film, TV, and video games; and Irene Martínez, who shares film and music content on social media.
This afternoon-evening, in addition to the aforementioned screenings (‘The First Hundred Years’, ‘Gladiator’ and ‘Portugal ’74’), the South Korean feature film ‘Seoul Spring’ will also be shown. Actress Maite Uzal will host this film directed by Kim Sung-su. It is a political drama based on the real events that took place in South Korea in 1979 after the assassination of President Park and the conflict that arose among military leaders after the attempted coup.
Saraqusta Film Festival is co-organized by the Zaragoza City Council and Cosmos Fan, with the support of the Government of Aragon as an institutional partner, the Ibercaja Foundation as the main partner, and Ibercaja, Carné Joven de Aragón, Aragón Alimentos, and Arafilmfest as collaborators.
THURSDAY 1 AGENDA
The final day of this edition’s competition screenings is here. The following will be present at the press conference (10:00 a.m., Caesaraugusta Roman Theater Museum): Erik Salvador, director of the Aragonese documentary ‘Los ojos que vieron’ (The Eyes That Saw); the team behind the documentary in competition ‘Kut Al Amara’: Koray Demir (director), Alimrhan Demir (actor), and Aynel Hayat (producer); and the co-star of the feature film in competition ‘Campo de batalla’ (Battlefield), Gabriel Montesi.
At 12:00 p.m., the museum will screen Erik Salvador’s ‘Los ojos que vieron’, which recounts the experiences of ten residents of Azuara (Zaragoza) who, as children, were direct witnesses to the Spanish Civil War. This will be followed at 12:30 p.m. by a round table discussion on Ridley Scott’s historical cinema, which will be analyzed by the team from the podcast El sótano de Bruce.
At 5:00 p.m., as part of the Panorama Saraqusta section, at the Fundación Ibercaja Patio de la Infanta will screen ‘Arqueomanía, los elegidos de Atón’ (Archeomania, the chosen ones of Aten). ‘Arqueomanía’ is a series of archaeological and anthropological research documentaries that showcase the archaeological heritage of different places. The episode that will be shown at Saraqusta focuses on the Egyptians. And at 7:00 p.m. at the Patio de la Infanta, you can see the documentary in competition ‘Kut Al Amara’, by Koray Demir, about the siege of Kut al-Amara, an important episode of World War I between the British Empire and the Ottoman Empire in 1916.
At 9:00 p.m., the Cervantes cinema will screen Campo de batalla (Battlefield), the last feature film in competition. It will be presented by actor Rafa Maza. This Italian production, directed by Gianni Amelio, tells the story of two army doctors, friends since childhood, who work in the same military hospital during World War I, where seriously wounded soldiers arrive every day from the front.
Tickets for Saraqusta Film Festival screenings and the closing gala are available through the festival’s official website, saraqustafilmfestival.com