A few images from the Feria…
Feria 2011
Category: festival
La Feria de Abril
Today’s post is by guest contributor Kim from Becoming Sevillana
During my year and a half in Seville, I have been trying to find out what it means to be Sevillana. Some aspects of my British roots are ingrained in me, such as the incessant need to apologise and give thanks unnecessarily, but like most Sevillanos I long for the festive season, for Semana Santa (Holy Week), and most importantly, la feria de abril.
As its name indicates, it is normally held in April, two weeks after Easter, which is later this year, making it fall in May (2nd-8th). It is a week-long celebration revolving around friends, family, eating and drinking. It is a sensory overload – of colour: women sporting their vibrant trajes de flamenca and funnily-named pinstriped casetas lining the streets – and music: the constant melody of sevillanas will definitely be an earworm by the end of the week.
Feria takes place in the Los Remedios area, to the west of the city. The real (feria site) is an impressive 450,000m², a vast space that sits empty for the remaining 51 weeks of the year. The land is divided into 15 streets named after bullfighting greats, and accommodates 1048 casetas – temporary marquee style establishments, where people meet, eat, get merry and of course dance sevillanas.
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Seville European Film Festival
Beginning back in 2001 as the Festival de Cine y Deportes de Sevilla the latest edition of the European Film Festival kicks off in Seville tomorrow with the opening ceremonies and a screening of Stephen Frear’s latest film, Tamara Drewe. Stephen Frears will receive an honorary award this year and his fabulous first film The Hit (1983) – set in Spain – is also being shown throughout the duration of the festival.
The basic objective of the Seville European Film Festival is to promote European film culture, with particular attention to emerging European cinema, and to help incorporate new support for film expression. At the same time, it will foster works by new directors and also by established artists, making it possible to present a broad perspective of the most recent, significant productions at an international level. The Festival also provides an annual meeting place for the European film industry.
The programming is structured around competitive sections and special non-competitive ones.
Below are links to the Festival de Sevilla home page for the daily agenda and to an A-Z list of the films being shown. Screenings will take place at the Lope de Vega theatre and the Nervion Plaza cinema.
Seville Festival daily programme
A – Z film list
Seville European Film Festival
5-13 November, 2010
XVI bienal de flamenco
The world-renowned Bienal de Flamenco in Sevilla has taken place every two years since it was first established in 1980 and features performances from the world’s most respected baile (dance), toque (guitar) and cante (singing) artists, taking place in various venues around Sevilla. I’m still hoping to get to the closing concert if anyone has a spare ticket….
XVI Bienal de Flamenco
15th September – 9th October 2010
Programme 2010