Spring 2026

UK premiere: The Invasion of the Barbarians

Join us for the exclusive UK premiere of a major Valencian film from 2025 — a gripping historical drama that bridges past and present.

València, 1939.
Esperanza, an art conservator, is responsible for safeguarding the masterpieces of the Museo del Prado that were transferred to Valencia during the war to protect them from fascist bombings. When the war ends, she is arrested and interrogated by a Francoist lieutenant about a missing painting from the Prado collection: The Invasion of the Barbarians.

Eighty years later,

Aurora confronts the mayor of a town near Valencia over the exhumation of a mass grave from the Franco era discovered within the municipality. As past and present collide, buried truths demand to be uncovered.The screening will be followed by a special Q&A with the film’s director, Vicent Monsonís, offering audiences the opportunity to delve deeper into the film’s themes of memory, justice, and historical legacy.

 March 16th, 6:15 pm
 Arts One, Queen Mary University of London
 Original version (catalan) with English subtitles
 Followed by Q&A with the director and drinks reception

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience a powerful story of art, memory, and resistance — and to engage directly with the filmmaker behind it.

Autumn 2025

2025 Joanot Martorell Lecture: Translation or transcreation? Authors in English, Catalan translators and publishers

Save the date! 🗓️
November 18th, 6.30 pm
ArtsOne 1.36, Queen Mary University of London

Join us for the Joanot Martorell Lecture, presented in collaboration with Instituto Cervantes London. 🎓✨
This year, Emeritus Professor Jacqueline Hurtley will explore “Translation or transcreation? English-language authors, Catalan translators and publishers, 1920–1938.”

🎟️ Free admission, but booking is required via Eventbrite:

Followed by a reception.

👉 eventbrite.co.uk/e/joanot-martorell-annual-conference-2025-tickets-1542218058729

A fascinating evening of literature, language, and cultural exchange awaits — don’t miss it! 🌍💬
#JoanotMartorellConference #QueenMaryUniversity #InstitutoCervantesLondon #CatalanStudies #Translation #Literature #GeorgeEliot #JosephConrad #VirginiaWoolf

QM Catalan Book Club: Dead Lands / Terres mortes

Tuesday 16 September, 6.30pm (UK time)

Register via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/queen-mary-catalan-book-club-dead-lands-terres-mortes-tickets-1473110215309

Join us online for a new session of the Queen Mary Catalan Book Club. On this occasion we will be discussing Dead Lands / Terres mortes, with Catalan author Núria Bendicho and translator Maruxa Relaño. Read the Catalan original or the English translation and join the discussion!

The publishers 3TimesRebel have kindly sent the Queen Mary Catalan Book Club some copies. So, we are giving away copies of the English translation to the first five people who sign up for the session on Eventbrite!

A violent death unleashes the story of a cursed lineage. Jon was shot in the back, in an isolated house where the only other occupants were his family. Who pulled the trigger?

Thirteen characters. Thirteen different points of view.

Dead Lands is a kaleidoscopic narrative that unfurls an atavistic universe where characters are burdened by brutal origins, two deaths, and a dark secret.

In short, it’ll change your summer reading plans and reveal a world you could not imagine.