In its seventh edition, the Brain Film Fest proposes the ages of the brain as the guiding thread of a programme that will give voice to filmmakers and professionals in neuroscience, psychology and artificial intelligence, among other disciplines. It will be held at the Centre for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB), from 13 to 17 March. Cristina Maragall, president of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation that promotes the Brain Film Fest, and Albert Solé;, filmmaker and artistic director of the event, highlights the wide variety of themes and perspectives present in this edition, with around forty screenings and activities on mental health, emotional resilience, Alzheimer's and innovation linked to the brain.

Claudia Pinto and Carme Elias
With “La distancia más larga”, Claudia Pinto achieved recognition from festivals, the industry and the public. Her first film was nominated for the Goya for Best Ibero-American Film in 2015 and won the Platinum Award for Best Fiction First Film. At the San Sebastian Festival she premiered “Mientras seas tú, el aquí y ahora de Carme Elias”, a documentary that portrays the Catalan actress after her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, for which she received the Goya and the Gaudí 2024.
Presenting “As long as you are here and now” by Carme Elias
Saturday, March 16, 10:30 a.m.

Maria Laura Berch
Casting director and acting coach, with more than two hundred projects since 2002, she has worked on international films such as "La sociedad de la nieve" and "Distancia de rescate", as well as on series such as Netflix's "El Eternauta" and "Coppola". In 2023, she directed her first film alongside Laura Chiabrando, starring Natalia Oreiro and produced by Tarea Fina, currently in post-production. In addition, she was nominated for the Cóndor de Plata in Casting Direction in 2023 for "Sublime" and "El suplente".
Participate in The emotional management of actors in “The Snow Society”
Friday, March 15, 12:30 p.m.

Santiago Vaca Narvaja
Born in Unquillo, Córdoba, Argentina, he grew up in a lower-middle class family immersed in the arts, guided by his parents, Gonzalo Vaca Narvaja (writer and editor) and Laura Sosa Loyola (visual artist). Santiago, a graduate in Audiovisual Production from the National University of Córdoba, combined acting and technical roles in several projects, such as short films, commercials and theater productions. Recent notable work experiences include roles in the musical “El Musical”, the short film “La vida es sueño” and the feature films “Ciudad Universitaria” and “La sociedad de la nieve”, directed by Juan Antonio Bayona.
Participate in The emotional management of actors in “The Snow Society”
Friday, March 15, 12:30

Nir Sa'ar
Nir Sa'ar is the screenwriter of Brain Film Fest 2024's closing film, The Longest Goodbye, a fascinating and original documentary directed by Ido Mizrahy that takes a close look at the mental health challenges experienced by astronauts during their missions to Mars. A creative producer and veteran storyteller, Sa'ar is drawn to the potent intersection of technology and human drama, present in titles such as Water and Love It Was Not. An award-winning filmmaker and creator of immersive experiences, his technologically innovative films and works have premiered at Sundance, Cannes, Venice and Busan IFF.
Presents "The Longest Goodbye"
Saturday, March 16, 8:30 p.m.

Alvaro Longoria
Álvaro is one of the founders of Morena Films (1999). His filmography as a producer includes “Campeonex” (Javier Fesser), the highest-grossing film of 2023. As a documentary director, Álvaro Longoria has produced and directed titles such as “Hiños de las nubes” (2012), for which he won the Goya Award for Best Documentary, and “Dos Cataluñas” (2018). At the Brain Film Fest he presents the documentary feature film “La vida de Brianeitor” (2023), which premiered in the Made in Spain section of the 71st edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Presents the school session of «The Life of Brianeitor»
Friday, March 15, 9:30 a.m.

Marta Romero
Graduate in Audiovisual Communication from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Her most personal projects stand out, such as «Facunda» (Allegra Films) - a documentary short film premiered at IDFA 2022 and nominated for the 2022 Gaudí Awards and «Toda una vida» (Distinto Films), recognized with two awards in the Mentoría de la Alternativa and the Deluxe award in the First Test of the REC Festival in Tarragona.
Presents the school session of “A Whole Life”
Thursday, March 14, 9:30 a.m.

Lydia Zimmerman
She has written and directed fiction films, TV movies, documentaries, video art and film installations for museums and galleries, and has created the project 'Metacíclicas', under which a group of Catalan actresses have joined together to break the stigma of menopause. She has participated in the creation of Cine Institute, a school for young Haitian filmmakers (2011-2015), taught media workshops at the Gambidi acting school in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (2017-2018), and supported the creation of the indigenous collective Ñambi Rimai (2018-2021). She lives between Zurich and Barcelona and is currently writing her next fiction film, a co-production between Eddie Saeta (Spain) and Artisan Films (Switzerland).
Participate in the round table Does brain aging have a gender?
Saturday, March 16, 18:30

Anna Freixas
Distinguished feminist writer and retired university professor. Graduated and PhD in Psychology from the University of Barcelona, she began her teaching career there and then continued at the University of Córdoba. Her work focuses on ageing, coeducation and feminism, exploring the transformation of research and teaching in Psychology from a gender perspective.
Take part in the roundtable discussion Ageism: prejudices about age have consequences
Saturday, March 16, 1:00 p.m.

Pau Garcia
He is the founder of Domestic Data Streamers, where he has been developing research and communication projects on data for institutions such as the United Nations, the California Academy of Sciences and Citizen Lab since 2013. Pau is co-director of the Master in Data and Design at ELISAVA, and has taught at the Hong Kong Design Institute, the School of Visual Arts in New York and the University of Berkeley. He is the founder of HeyHuman!, an artist residency programme that combines music, journalism, artistic data research and social justice.
He gives the lecture Synthetic memories. Amplifying memory through AI
Thursday, March 14, 12:30
Participate in the roundtable Artificial Intelligence for well-being: perspectives and challenges
Thursday, March 14, 19:35

Natalia Vilor Teixidor
Dr. Natàlia Vilor Teixidor is the leader of the Genetic Neuroepidemiology and Biostatistics team with a Ramón y Cajal contract at the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center, a center affiliated with the Pasqual Maragall Foundation. She coordinates international projects on diversity, neurodegeneration and genetics within the UNITED Consortium, and co-directs the research area of the PRISMA association with the aim of implementing equitable measures of affective-sexual and gender diversity in science, technology and innovation.
Participate in the round table Does brain aging have a gender?
Saturday, March 16, 18:30

Juan Domingo Gispert
He is a telecommunications and biomedical engineer, with a PhD in electronic engineering. Since 2011, he has led the Neuroimaging Research Group at the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC) of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation. As of 2021, he is the principal investigator of the Neuroimaging Research Group for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Healthy Aging at the Municipal Institute for Medical Research (IMIM), and acts as a Neuroimaging consultant at the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) in Madrid.
Moderates the roundtable Artificial Intelligence for well-being: perspectives and challenges
Thursday, March 14, 19:35