Dart Festival 2021
A selection of documentaries that tell fascinating stories about contemporary art and its protagonists while inviting reflection on key ethical and political issues of our times.
The programme features three films selected at the fifth edition of the festival plus The Proposal, which won the Best International Documentary award at the 2020 edition.
The cycle begins with the Madrid premiere of The White Cube, the latest film by Dutch artist Renzo Martens which dissects the power relations between the western art system and the violence of the African plantation system.
Beijing Spring examines the first democratic movement in China and the struggle for freedom of speech. Featuring never-before-seen footage hidden from the authorities for thirty-five years, the film revolves around the Stars, a group of self-taught artists that includes a young Ai Weiwei.
The winning film of the 2020 festival, The Proposal, was made by American artist Jill Magid. Part thriller, part romance, it tells the story of Magid's complex operation to return to Mexico the archive of one of the greatest architects of the 20th century, Luis Barragán.
After World AIDS Day, we have another Madrid premiere: the documentary about David Wojnarowicz (1954-1992) Fuck You Faggot Fucker. Using extraordinary archive material and audio recordings made by Wojnarowicz himself, the film admirably captures the life and work of this queer artist and activist who became a victim of the AIDS crisis in the US during the 1980s and 90s.
Dart is a pioneering international festival in Spain and Latin America dedicated to documentary cinema on contemporary art. Its aim is to democratise culture and the knowledge of contemporary art by giving audiences the chance to see some of the most outstanding national and international productions of recent years. Held at iconic venues in Barcelona since 2017, for the last two years Dart Festival has also been available to audiences everywhere in Spain through the online platform Filmin.
