Iberodocs is a festival offering a selected programme of the latest documentaries from Spain, Portugal and Latin America. It features six feature-length documentaries from Argentina, Brazil, Cape Verde, Panama, Portugal, and Spain along with two short films made by Scotland-based filmmakers and will feature several in-person and Zoom Q&As with international filmmakers.
Each feature film will screen once in each city and, with the exception of the stop motion short I Miss Hugs, the screenings will represent the Scottish premiere of all films and includes two UK premieres with One Day Lobo Lopez; For Your Peace, Build Your Own Museum and one international premiere with Infinities.
In Edinburgh on 1st March, Miúcha, the Voice of Bossa Nova will be followed by an in-person Q&A with its Brazilian filmmakers as well as a performance by the Edinburgh-based bossa nova band Fingertraps. Daniel Zarvos, who is the cousin of Miúcha, and has had access to intimate archive footage of the star will, with his co-director, Liliane Mutti, be joined by Miguel Gonçalves Mendes for Behind the Lens: Crafting Intimate Portraits, an in-person panel discussion produced in partnership with the Scottish Documentary Institute. Fans of Portuguese literature will enjoy José and Pilar, a portrait of the relationship between the Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago and his wife, Pilar del Rio, featuring footage of Gael García Bernal and Gabriel García Márquez. Both screenings will be BSL interpreted.
The director will join the Edinburgh event at McDonald Road Library for a conversation with IberoDocs when audiences will be invited to browse a selection of works by the author, all available to borrow. Short film pairings invite filmmakers from across the world to explore the relationships between their films. The UK premiere of For Your Own Peace, Make Your Own Museum will screen alongside the international premiere of Infinities, a short film by Lucas Melián Batista, an Edinburgh-based filmmaker from the Canary Islands. In Glasgow, The Castle will be paired with I Miss Hugs , a stop motion short from Glasgow-based filmmaker, Ana Songel.
Founder/Director Mar Felices said “IberoDocs is about bringing people together. It gives us all a chance to look at the world through another person’s eyes – even visit another part of the world. But even better, it lets us connect with so many unique people in our own communities as we come together to appreciate these rich cultures. We are all so excited to bring the festival back to Edinburgh and Glasgow for its tenth edition this year.”
The festival closes with the UK premiere of One Day Lobo Lopez, the story of Kiko Veneno’s hit album, ‘Échate un cantecito’, at Lost in Leith and the event will continue until 1am as a dance party with live music.
Winner of the Indie Lisboa Audience Award 2022, Cesária Évora features unseen footage of the Cape Verdean morna singer for whom it is named and screenings in both cities will be accompanied by live singing performances from Giulia Drummond
Festival Venues: Various see
IberoDocs – IberoDocs | Ibero-American Documentary Film Festival
Festival Dates: 21st February – 2nd March 2024
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 