NATIONAL PANORAMA
The life and musical journey—told without filters—of singer-songwriter Joan Porta, known as El Gitano de Balaguer. Artist and individual merge as he speaks openly about mental health, addiction, and the profound turn his life has taken. A poet both urban and rural from western Catalonia, his everyday tales confront harsh, marginalized realities with humor and a childlike innocence. This tender, empathetic portrait—featuring voices connected to the early punk and squatter movements in Balaguer (Lleida)—turns his voice into a collective cry against silence and stigma, teaching us how to “breathe through the wound.”
Cast: Joan Porta, David Esterri, Toni Trash, Manolo Kabezabolo, Maki, Ramón Solsona, Victoria Moreno, Niko Barrilado, Oriol Morelló, Lara Costa, Núria Morelló, Lluís Roca
Screening:
31 October, 7 p.m.
With El Gitano de Balaguer and the film’s director, David Fernández, in attendance and with musical performance by Joan Porta as a closing.