Xcèntric (Barcelona)
The cinema of CCCB
Address: Montalegre 5 / 08001 Barcelona / Spain
Tel: +34/93 306 41 00 / Fax: +34/93 306 41 01
Email: clopez at cccb.org
Contact: Carolina López Caballero (director)
www.cccb.org/xcentric
1 screen, 190 seats
Tech: 16mm, 35mm, s-8, video various formats (Betacam SP Pal, Digi Beta, HD, blue ray, DVcam, HDV cam)
History: Created in 2002 as the Center of Contemporary Culture wanted its own steady audiovusual program. It was an initiative of the audiovisual department of the CCCB, directed by Àngela Martínez, who accepted a proposal of José Ángel Alcalde and set out on this adventure with Andrés Hispano, Andy Davies and Carolina López, all external programmers. This initial team laid the bases that set Xcentric on the path to experimental and avant-garde film, and decided on the name of the activity and its image.
Organisational structure: CCCB it’s a consortium of various local authorities as citty council (Ajuntament de) the province council (Diputació de Barcelona) and the local government (Generalitat de Catalunya)
Editorial Line: Our programmes are subjective; they are not intended to deal comprehensively with a filmmaker, movement, etc., or to present a history of the cinema. The programme is put together independently of current fashions, according to the criteria of a group of specialists who chose titles and cycles every two months for a period of 8 months a year.
We believe in the figure of the film curator and film programmaer and we have created a team of (now) professionals that further to their knowledge know how to make the best of putting toguether a program and other activities related to it.
Because we believe that the best cinematographic experience still involves a dark cinema, a large screen and showing each film in its original format. We love new technologies and we actually have an archive of digitalized film for which a special programme and interface were created, but we think that digital consultations cannot replace the cinematographic experience.
Regularity:Thursdays and Sundays from November (o December) until June.
Other stuff:Yes, we have a few. They have been growing ‘organically’ as we got demand over the years.
– We’re specially proud of our unique archive ARXIU XCÈNTRIC for experimental films open all year . Is set in a comfortable space with more than 700 digitaliced films for the free consultation.
– For education we have Aula xcèntric Once a year, a seminar-workshop
Artists and film specialists presentations.
– In 2005 we setted down a large exhibition on experimental cinema entitled THAT’S NOT ENTERTAINMENT That’s not entertainment! Cinema begets Cinema, curated by Andrés Hispano and Antoni Pinent. When the cinema became a great entertainment factory, an industry that recruits creators and homogenizes tastes, it produced some small big reactions: subversive, ironic, abstract, alternative and minimalist. Producing film could no longer be the same for a generation formed emotionally and intellectually in front of cinema and television screens. Film answers film.with works by Gustav Deutsch, Peter Kubelka, Stan Brakhage, Jonas Mekas, Kenneth Anger, Kurt Kren, Jean Genet, Guy Debord, Frank Mouris, Jean-Luc Godard, Kevin Brownlow, Chantal Akerman, Carles Santos, Mathias Müller and Martin Arnold. It was within this exhibition (as a part of it) that Xcèntric Archive was born. Once the exhibition ended, we kept the archive and made it grow over the years.
– We have a couple of touring programs:
CINEMA THINKS ON ART, an international program touring Spain in cinemathèques, art centers and museums.
FROM ECSTASI TO RAPTURE, 50 years of the other Spanis Cinema. An ambitious project we’ve been working for a 2 year period involving research, film curatorshup, location and restauration of ‘invisible’ Spanish films.6 programs of our most unknown cinematography that will tour the world. We have edited a 2 disc+booklet pack with a selection of experimental films on this program.
– Xcèntric has also edited the book: Xcèntric 45 films against the grain with a selection of 45 oustanding films shown in our screen for a 5 year period.
Publicity: With 4 printed brouchures each season, a web page (we are renewing it at the moment), a newsletter and press notes.
Audience: All filmgoers who are curious and want to discover singular ways to see and understand tghe world on a contemporary scene that is saturated with images. It depends on the program but basically people on their 20-30’s. It depends on the program we range from full house to just 10-20 people.
Funding: Being the film program of the Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona we are fully financed by them. The CCCB gets local authorities funding and a little form the box office. For single projecs we might find funding from other institutions.