The Awakening will be open at Barcelona Funeral Home until 12 noon, as the city bids farewell to a filmmaker who shaped Catalan cinema. A funeral service will follow tomorrow, Wednesday, to honor the memory of the Barcelona-born director, producer and screenwriter whose work left a lasting imprint on local and international audiences.
Filmoteca de Catalunya announced that it paid tribute to the late director by highlighting his contributions to cinema. The documentary Ocaña, spaced portrait was cited as a standout work that reflects the breadth of his storytelling. In addition, the Catalan Cinema Academy, which awarded Pons the Gaudí Honor Award in 2015, has indicated plans to honor him again at the upcoming edition of the Gaudí Awards gala, ensuring his legacy remains a central point of reflection for the industry.
Leaders from culture and politics have underscored Ventura Pons’s importance within Catalan cinema. The Generalitat president, Pere Aragonès, described the filmmaker as unique, original, extreme when needed and determined, recognizing him as a major advocate for cinema in Catalan. His work, said Aragonès, helped bring the Catalan language and its cinematic stories to audiences far beyond the region, amplifying their reach and significance.
Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun commented that Pons depicted Barcelona with a singular vision and that many of his films traveled from Catalonia to major international festivals. Urtasun also highlighted Pons’s steadfast commitment to auteur cinema, a form that prioritizes the author’s distinctive voice and creative signature while engaging viewers in meaningful, character-driven narratives.
In recent hours, a broad array of institutions has joined the recognition. The Spanish Film Academy, the Spanish Film Library, Òmnium Culture, and SGAE have all expressed admiration for Pons’s career. The Film and Television platform has also added its voice to the chorus of tributes, acknowledging the filmmaker’s impact on the media landscape and his role in elevating Catalan storytelling on both national and global stages.
Ventura Pons’s body of work stands as a testament to a filmmaker who pursued artistic integrity and a deep connection with his environment. His films often explored the interplay between place, memory and identity, drawing audiences into intimate portraits of people and communities. Beyond his creative achievements, Pons served as a guiding figure for colleagues and emerging filmmakers, encouraging experimentation, collaboration, and a fearless approach to storytelling. The outpouring of respect from peers reflects a career marked by consistency, curiosity, and a willingness to challenge conventional norms in pursuit of authentic cinema.
As the city continues to reflect on his legacy, the quiet rituals of the funeral and the public tributes together form a comprehensive remembrance of a filmmaker whose work helped define a generation of Catalan cinema. The conversations sparked by his films will likely linger in classrooms, festival discussions, and retrospectives, where new audiences can discover the qualities that made Pons a distinctive voice within the broader European film tradition. In the days ahead, screenings and conversations will offer opportunities to revisit his milestones, while institutions honor his memory by keeping alive the conversations he valued most: the power of language, the importance of place, and the enduring ability of cinema to connect people across time and culture.