La Guarimba in Madrid was a project organised by the La Guarimba Cultural Organization, part of the ‘On Tour’ programme, which takes films from the festival’s competition around the world. The aim of the programme was to introduce our selection to new audiences and enrich the cultural programmes of the spaces that hosted us.
From 2023, the Sin Tarima library regularly hosted guarimbere screenings. The idea was born one Saturday night in the centre of Madrid. Two guarimberos and their favourite bookseller drank and ate together discussing literature, cinema, life. Boom: the project was born.
Why not share with our neighbours the vast repertoire of short films that La Guarimba International Film Festival had in store in the intimate and historical basement of Sin Tarima, a former shelter for the Spanish Civil War?
Instead of curating the best short films of a particular year —as a film festival usually does— the idea was to articulate films around topics, thus providing them with new meanings, connections and dimensions for the sake of controversy, provocation, and broad-mindedness.
A collective act of culture and neighborhood, where a theme-based projection showcasing the work of worldwide filmmakers was followed by an open discussion. Spectators, organizers, and booksellers shared thoughts and doubts, references and recommendations, built bonds and expanded their gaze, while afterwards ending up all together in a secular procession around local bars.
