Longing for Light

The sun has a central role to play in almost every shot of this analogue cinematic declaration of love to Barcelona, the adopted home of filmmaker Alba Cros Pellisé. Barcelona is where she met other lesbian women for the first time, where she found lovers, and where the members of her chosen family live. She films them at their homes and on the streets, where sunlight illuminates the cobblestones and walls, as well as people’s faces. Cros complements her journal-style voice-over with title cards, jazzy music and the familiar, nostalgic sound of film running through the camera.

The affectionate shots of lovers, mothers with a young child, and girlfriends at an outdoor café are rhythmically intercut with scenes of sunbeams in cloudy skies, interplays of light and shadows, and glistening sunlight on water. While she acknowledges that it’s difficult to find your own place in the world if you’re “different,” the filmmaker makes it clear that this is not a political film. Rather, it is a personal, intimate and warm portrait of the city where she found love. In these sunlit streets there is no place for darkness—at least for now.