From 22 March to 22 April 2021, Mecal Pro | 23rd Barcelona International Short and Animation Film Festival (Mecal) takes place. This year’s edition of the long-running Barcelona-based short film festival takes place entirely online and features a huge selection of films across genres and themes. Animation, International, Fiction and Documentary all feature in the 300+ film Mecal programme.

For its documentary programme (find information on the entire programme – HERE), #Mecal has selected its competition slate, which features 5 individual sections. There will also be a special parallel section featuring the works of German #erotic experimental filmmaker #Jan Soldat#, under the name «Sex addictions: Jan Soldat retrospective». Soldat’s unique take on experimental filmmaking has given us a series of shorts between documentary and pornography, and only for those most open-minded.

The 2021 documentary programme will also feature several special events and masterclasses on various topics related to contemporary documentaries:

• Masterclass: Record in times of pandemic – 8 April
  Directors Mayte Carrasco and Marcel Mettelsiefen will explain how they have managed to continue recording, overcoming some of the great obstacles posed by this global pandemic.
• How to shoot your documentary with old lenses – 9 April
  In this masterclass cinematographer/filmmaker Marc M Sarrado will explain to us how to achieve a cinematic look for our documentary by shooting with a modern camera and old lenses.
• Documental Day: International Funding – 10 April
  Formed by 3 conferences, brings together relevant guests in the field of the documentary genre with the aim of providing attendees with the necessary tools to be able to finance their documentary project internationally.
• Coaching Pitching for documentary projects – 10 April
  This activity aims to bring the pitch closer to documentary creators, who will be advised by industry professionals to improve their communication skills, make their projects attractive and be able to present them successfully.

Tickets are now available for the 23rd edition of Mecal Pro | Barcelona International Short and Animation Film Festival for 12€ (Season Ticket) and 2,5€ (One Session). Film students are able to attend for free.