Toni Bestard (Bunyola, 1973) has about twenty audiovisual projects under his belt, including the series Norats and Fúria and feature films such as Pullman, I Am Your Father and El perfecto desconocido. In 2017 he directed the short documentary El somni efímer, a piece that now closes the exhibition Palma, ciutat de cines, dedicated to the old cinemas of the City, which can be seen at La Misericòrdia. On the occasion of this re-release, he talks with ARA Balears about cinema, memory and new projects.

Palma's cinemas haven't always been promoted with digitally printed posters or illuminated screens. For decades, large hand-painted posters announcing the week's new releases adorned the facades of many theaters. Behind many of those monumental images was the same name: Rafael Ruiz. Now, his work is being brought back to mind with the exhibition Palma, city of cinemaswhich can be seen at the Misericordia cultural center. Among other historical documents, the exhibition includes original material from the poster artist and the documentary The ephemeral dreamDirected by Toni Bestard.

Ibiza has two operating commercial cinemas: the family-owned Regio cinema in San Antonio de Portmany, and the one known as the 'multicines' in Vila, owned by Aficine, the largest and practically only cinema exhibitor in the Balearic Islands. It's a meager showing, in line with the reduction in screens and seating capacities that has been occurring in Spain for years. Both companies are struggling to withstand the current mediocrity of Hollywood and the pressure from platforms like Netflix. On the other hand, if you start counting film festivals, you'd think Ibizans were true cinephiles: Ibicine, Ibizacinefest, Ibiza Halloween Festival, Festival Dolor de Cabeza (Headache Festival), Muestra de cortos de las fiestas de San Bartolomé (Short Film Showcase of the San Bartolomé Festival)... not to mention other festivals originating outside the island, such as MECAL Air Ib MECAL.

The 'Inca has memory' series hosts the screening of The barbarian invasionFrom director Vicent Monsonís, an anti-Francoist film that intertwines past and present to reflect on repression and the need for redress. This is the first time the film has been shown in Mallorca.

Cinemas in the Balearic Islands screened only 16 of the 114 films and documentaries shot, dubbed, or subtitled in Catalan that premiered in the commercial circuit during 2025. This figure represents 14% of the total and places the Balearic Islands as the Catalan-speaking territory with the least presence of Catalan-language films, according to a report by Plataforma per la Lle. The study, based on data from the Department of Linguistic Policy of the Generalitat of Catalonia and information provided by distributors and exhibitors, confirms that 85% of Catalan-language releases in 2025 could not be seen in the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, or Andorra. All of the Catalan-language films reached cinemas in Catalonia, but only 20 were screened in the Valencian Community (17.5%). 17 in Andorra (14.9%), and 16 in the Balearic Islands. Only two titles, Wolfgang and Sea and skyThe films could be seen in all four territories, though not always simultaneously. The report reveals a "very uneven" distribution of Catalan-language cinema and an "extremely limited" offering outside of Catalonia. In the Balearic Islands, almost all premieres were concentrated in Palma, mainly at CineCiutat, with a negligible presence on the other islands. Regarding the version, ten of the 16 films screened in the Balearic Islands were shown in their original Catalan. Dubbing is very uncommon, which, according to Plataforma per la Llengua (Platform for the Language), limits the accessibility of Catalan-language cinema to a wider audience. The organization points out that even when films are dubbed or subtitled, theaters tend to schedule few screenings, at off-peak times, for only a few days, and without significant promotion. This makes it difficult for audiences to become aware of the available films and establish a habit of going to Catalan-language cinemas.

Palma is revisiting the memory of the cinemas that, for decades, shaped the city's cultural and social life. The 'Palma, City of Cinemas' project, promoted by the Consell de Mallorca and developed entirely by the Mallorca Sound and Image Archive (ASIM), combines an immersive exhibition and a publication that reconstruct the history of the theaters that transformed cinema into a collective ritual. The exhibition can be visited in the Chapel of Mercy and on the first floor of the Entrepatis building, within the cultural center, from February 6 to April 11, 2026. The tour offers a journey through the evolution of Palma's cinemas and their social role through emblematic pieces, such as the iconic Metropolitan poster, vintage projectors, handbills, and materials by poster artist Rafael Ruiz.

The music played loudly and reached every room of the house: from Raimon and Maria del Mar Bonet in Los Suaves, to Metallica and Scorpions. "It must be because we had music playing all the time that he's picked up our musical tastes, especially his father's," says Antònia Artigues, mother of film director Jaume Carrió (Esporles, 1983). "When he was 12 or 13, we went to see Los Suaves and he burst into tears during the concert. He's a very sensitive child. He also cries at the movies. Even today, if we go to see a film together and he gets emotional and I don't, he looks at me and says: Fuck"Mom."

The Inca and Region Film Club (ACIC) resumes its program on Thursday, January 8, with the screening of the film Force MajeureDirected by Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund, a two-time winner of the Cannes Palme d'Or and recipient of European awards for several feature films.

There was a time when you held the cinema in your hands and relied on recommendations from others, because algorithms didn't exist, nor were they expected. Leaving home, going to the video store, and renting a film is a habit that seems to have died out with the 20th century, but there are those who resist, in this case for the love of cinema. In Sant Antoni de Portmany, they have this privilege thanks to the Torres video store, run by five brothers since 1982, next to an electronics shop and the Regio cinema, which their godfather opened in 1931.

The culture produced in the Balearic Islands over the last hundred years has often addressed the transformation of the territory. This has frequently been a conscious endeavor, as in the case of numerous authors and musicians, from Guillem Frontera to Joana Gomila, including some of the artists who gathered around the Taller Llunàtic. For others, however, establishing this conversation about the changes the islands' landscape has undergone requires the intervention of attentive and engaged observers, as has been the case with researchers and professors at the University of the Balearic Islands, Magdalena Brotons and Maria Sebastián. Since 2020, they have dedicated themselves to uncovering the Mallorcan locations that served as film sets throughout the 20th century, a task that has culminated in the publication of the digital book Mallorca filmed, the transformation of the territory through cinema (Leonario Muntaner, Editor).

The 'Cinema Libre Talks' are here, and for the first time, they're being held in person. The team from Free Cinema This unique opportunity offers the chance to enjoy and discuss film with industry professionals. The format includes the screening of one or more films followed by a discussion with their creators. This third edition of 'Talks' will feature the following feature films: The Imminent Age, with the Vigilia Collective and its lead actor, and Hail Marywith editor Aina Calleja, and the short films The Farce, Fallow and Catalina and MagalufWith Guillem Miró, Josep Alorda, and Maria Pujalte.

The 'Women's Eyes' film series, organized by the Estudi General Lul·lià, begins its second edition next Monday, November 17th, and runs until Thursday the 20th. This edition focuses on how teenagers experience their emotional and sexual relationships.

MajorDocs, the Major Documentary Film Festival of Mallorca, presented the full program for its seventh edition this Monday. The festival will take place from November 25th to 29th in Palma, with sound as its central theme. Renowned British filmmaker Ben Rivers will be the festival's guest of honor. Festival director Miguel Eek emphasized that this edition invites viewers to pause and listen amidst the noise of the contemporary world. According to the press release, MajorDocs explores how sound can narrate what images do not show and give form to the invisible. Rivers, a leading figure in European avant-garde cinema, will open the festival with a screening of his film. The sky trembles and the world is afraid and the two eyes are not brothers and will give a masterclass about his creative process. Sound designer Philippe Ciompi will also participate, offering a masterclass and a sound performance during the opening ceremony.

The organizers of OUT! The Balearic Islands' LGBT+ Film Festival have announced their decision to "take an indefinite break" after eight editions marked by "constant uncertainty" due to "the difficulty of securing funding year after year, the lack of stability, and accumulated exhaustion." In a statement released this Wednesday, the organizers assured that this "is not a bitter farewell or a complaint," but rather an "honest and conscious pause." "We have screened hundreds of feature films, documentaries, and short films from around the world, giving visibility to stories about identity, love, resistance, and freedom," they stated. The organizers also highlighted the parallel activities organized to promote reflection, such as roundtables, meetings with filmmakers, presentations, debates, and storytelling sessions for children.

When someone recounts how a baby cried for three months after birth, it's impossible not to think, "Oh, poor thing." And surely, it's equally inevitable that the parent telling the story will chime in with, "Poor little thing, the baby? We, her parents, were the poor ones!" Tomeu Obrador, the father of the "weeping baby," says he was so sleepy through life that he almost bought an entire encyclopedia from a vendor. During our conversation with him, we'll discover if the baby, now a film director and owner of the Call Vermell bookstore in Felanitx, Antonina Obrador, inherited her father's sense of humor.

The 16th Palma Mountain Film Festival (MCMP) concluded this Tuesday with a day combining film, experience, and reflection at the Teatro Principal in Inca. The closing event served as the premiere of the latest documentary by Mallorcan filmmaker and mountaineer Tomeu Rubí. Breaking new ground. Diary of the 1st graduating class of the Balearic Islands mountaineering training groupA film that follows the opening of a new route, the Directísima Mallorquina, on the 5,800-meter Santa Cruz Chico in Peru's Cordillera Blanca. Rubí, along with Cati Lladó, Pep Roig, and the young climbers featured in the film, participated in a discussion afterward, sharing anecdotes from the expedition and reflections on the future of mountaineering in the Canary Islands. "We want to move away from the economic aspect that is overcrowding the mountains and creating a lot of problems," emphasized Rubí, who has been combining her passion for film and mountaineering for over 25 years. The second part of the day featured Sílvia Vidal, one of the most prominent climbers on the international scene, who spoke with Hugo Biarge about her career and her outlook on life. Vidal captivated the audience with accounts of his solo expeditions and reflections on human limits, solitude, and mental fortitude. "When they tell me it can't be done, I say: let's try it," he stated.