The SomUdL call for entries launches this year with four submissions

The opening ceremony will take place on the 21st at the Cappont Campus Auditorium of the University of Lleida (UdL), featuring the screening of Ana Serret’s Notes for a Permitted Fiction

The Som Cinema festival arrives in Lleida this month with a programme of 57 films, 31 of which are in competition. The selection includes two world premieres: Marc Comabella’s feature-length fiction film Cos de Vidre and David Casals-Roma’s documentary Ángela. The 17th edition of the Catalan Audiovisual Festival will run from 21 to 25 October, maintaining its traditional official sections for Feature-Length and Short Fiction, Feature-Length and Short Documentaries, and Somos Secundaria (We Are Secondary School). The prize fund for the fiction category stands at €2,000. Films in the official selection will be shown at Screenbox Lleida, with additional free screenings scheduled at the Ilerna centre and the Rector’s Hall of the UdL.

During the presentation of Som Cinema, festival director Judith Vives emphasised the strong representation of productions from the Catalan Countries (Catalonia, Mallorca, the Valencian Community and Andorra), a fact that “highlights the linguistic and cultural differences of these territories”. She also noted the presence of six works with involvement from Lleida: the short films Antes de las 6 by Aline López, Gemma Morcillo and Kike Maillo; Sra. Antonia by Aline López; El túnel de Montclar by Daniel Serramona; and Irrelevante by Joel Munu; the documentary Ángela by David Casals-Roma; and the short film Ferides by Alba Cros (out of competition).

Vives also highlighted that half a dozen films with a social theme, a gender perspective, or subjects such as immigration and historical memory will be screened. She underscored the added value of the presence of directors, actors and producers from the featured films, who will participate in discussions with the audience.

Pilar Bosch, the Lleida City Council’s Councillor for Culture, stated that the festival is evidence that “the audiovisual industry in our city is being strongly promoted from the Lleida region”. She praised the efforts made by the Paeria (City Council) and the Lleida Film Commission to attract film productions to Lleida, adding that Som Cinema “puts Lleida on the map of Catalan audiovisuals”. Bosch also explained that the City Council encourages large local businesses to take advantage of the Patronage Law to support cultural projects, and that it is working with the Generalitat to consolidate the audiovisual production triangle in Catalonia, formed by Lleida, Barcelona and Girona.

Sandra Castro, Vice-President of the Lleida Provincial Council, stressed that the importance of Som Cinema, beyond promoting Catalan audiovisuals, lies in the fact that it “has managed to secure the collaboration of a whole network of people and cultural and social entities in the city, starting with educational centres”, adding that it reflects “the commitment of people’s vocation in the audiovisual field”.

Finally, Núria Casado, Vice-Rector of the UdL, highlighted that the festival, beyond generically promoting the film industry, plays an important social role by involving young people in the world of cinema and audiovisuals, and “offers alternatives to all kinds of proposals with a critical sensibility and social awareness”.

The opening ceremony will take place on the 21st at 7 pm at the Cappont Campus Auditorium of the UdL, with the screening of Notes for a Permitted Fiction, a singular film where the experience of uprooting and diaspora lies at the heart of this semi-autobiographical story, marking the director’s debut in feature-length cinema. Her alter ego, Lea Grand (played by Isabelle Stoffel, a regular collaborator of Jonás Trueba), is a Swiss actress living in the La Latina district who tries to find her place in a city that is not her own. The back-and-forth between Basel and Madrid marks the narrative structure of the film, accompanying Lea on a physical and identity journey through chapters, experiences and unexpected places. The ceremony will be attended by director Ana Serret, producer Francesc Cabot and actress Violeta Rodríguez, daughter of David Trueba and Ariadna Gil.

The closing ceremony will take place on the 25th at 12.30 pm at Screenbox Lleida, with the award ceremony, the screening of short films made by students of the Caparrella Institute in Lleida, and the screening of the short film Patrimoni emocional by Martina Simarro, winner of the Palma Produccions Pro 2026 competition.

The feature-length fiction section includes six works this year, the short fiction section 14, the feature-length documentary section six, and the short documentary section five. As for the Somos Secundaria section, seven short films will be screened (six corresponding to the Baccalaureate and Higher Vocational Training categories). In addition, the SomUdL call, a section opened this year for all UdL students and promoted by the Vice-Rectorate for Culture, launches with four works. The short film Ferides by Alba Cros has also been programmed in a special out-of-competition session. Finally, the programme includes seven short films from ILERNA, four from the Catalan School of Cinema and Television, the Som Cinema Experience work, and two short films to be made by students of the Caparrella Institute in Lleida.

Promoting Lleida’s audiovisual talent

Source: Paeria de Lleida press release.