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The Filmoteca will guard the legacy of Pere Portabella
The film and documentary collection of the filmmaker from Figueres is already part of the public heritage of Catalonia.
The Filmoteca de Catalunya has taken a decisive step in preserving the country's film heritage by incorporating into its permanent collection the film and documentary legacy of Pere Portabella , one of the most unique filmmakers in our recent history and a key figure in understanding the intersections between cinema, art and politics. His work is a parallel narrative of 20th-century Catalonia and its collective turns, from the anti-Franco resistance to the creation of democratic institutions.
This recognition was formalized yesterday, April 15, in an institutional ceremony held at the Palau de la Generalitat, with the presence of President Salvador Illa , the Minister of Culture, Sònia Hernández Almodóvar , and the filmmaker's family. Also in attendance were the director of the ICEC, Edgar Garcia , and the director of the Filmoteca, Pablo La Parra Pérez . The ceremony served to formalize the signing of the donation agreement for the Portabella collection, which includes everything from complete films to unpublished materials and documentation related to his cultural and political activity. This deposit completes the collaboration that began in 2017, since from now on, the Filmoteca will not only guard the material, but also commit to preserving it, studying it and making it accessible.
In parallel, the Generalitat and the Ministry of Culture are already working together to commemorate the centenary of the filmmaker's birth, in 2027. The curator chosen for this project is Jordi Balló Fantova , a leading figure in contemporary film thinking, who will direct a special program planned between 2026 and 2027.
Portabella amb Brossa i Tàpies durant el rodatge de 'No compteu amb els dits'. / EPC
Pere Portabella (Figueres, 1927) founded Films 59, a production company with which he not only promoted his own projects, but also made possible the works of directors such as Carlos Saura , Marco Ferreri and Luis Buñuel . His debut as a director, No compteu amb els dits (1967), was a declaration of intent made in complicity with Joan Brossa . He has been recognized with the Creu de Sant Jordi (1999), the National Film Award (2009), the Gaudí d'Honor (2012) and the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts (2024).
However, cinema is only one of the dimensions of an author who fully experienced the effervescence of the avant-gardes —with close ties to Dau al Set— , who contributed to the modernization of cinematographic language in the sixties and who, in the seventies, made cinema a space of resistance. Elected senator in 1977, he was part of the Constitution Commission and was a key figure in the return of President Tarradellas, a moment that marked the institutional reestablishment of Catalonia.
His legacy, therefore, is not just a set of works, it is also a way of understanding culture as a tool for transformation. With the incorporation of his collection into the Filmoteca, Catalonia ensures the continuity of an essential voice.
Pere Portabella en un míting de l'Assemblea de Catalunya l'any 1976 celebrat al Palau d'Esports. / EPC
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