The Filmoteca to devote a cycle to the centenary of Roald Dahl
Though better known for his books for children and young adults, this Welsh writer was also a screenplay writer
The 13th of September is the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Welsh writer Roald Dahl and is the day chosen by Barcelona’s Filmoteca de Catalunya to begin a cycle featuring a number of films for which Dahl was the screenplay writer and which were based on his books. His best known novel is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was published in 1964 and which gave rise to two films, the first being Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (Mel Stuart, 1971), starring Gene Wilder, and the, perhaps better known, Tim Burton 2005 opus starring Johnny Depp. The latter film will be screened twice at the Filmoteca during the cycle, on the 17th and 24th of September.
The cycle is set to kick off on the 13th and 15th of September with You Only Live Twice by Lewis Gilbert, starring Sean Connery and Donald Pleasence. The Witches, directed by Nicolas Roeg, starring Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher, Jane Horrocks, Anne Lambton and Rowan Atkinson, is set to be screened on the 14th and 23rd of September. Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is yet another adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, though made using stop-motion animation techniques, can be seen on the 22nd and 24th of September. The last two sessions, on the 28th and 30th of September, are given over to Four Rooms, a comedy film consisting of sketches by different directors which ends with a Quentin Tarantino adaptation of Dahl’s short story Man from the South.
Ronald Dahl Centenary Cycle
Where: Filmoteca de Catalunya.
When: 13 to 30 September.
Price: €4 (€3 concessions).
Further information is available from the Filmoteca website.