The fear treated in literature from its multiple aspects such as panic, phobia, restlessness, pain or vulnerability is the leitmotiv of a new edition of the MOT literary festival, which since 2014 has been held jointly by the cities of Girona and Olot.
In this edition, which will take place between March 16 and 18 at the Carles Rahola Library in Girona and in front of the Vista Alegre civic center, and from March 24 to 26, in the Sala Torín in Olot and the bullring , a total of 40 national and international authors and other names from complementary disciplines to literature, such as cinema or illustration or journalism, will parade.
The festival will start on March 16 in Girona with the conversation 'They deceive us' with three authors who have denounced from different perspectives the manipulation of others and the control exercised over them through fear.
The three participants of this first day will be the French Dominique Manotti, in whose latest novel Marseille 73, delves into a wave of racist terrorism against Algerian migrants forgotten in this French city; Argentine Ariana Harwicz, whose first novel Matate, amor (2012) will be made into a film by Martin Scorcese, as producer, in 2024 and Isaac Rosa, author of El país del miedo, which won him the Fundació J.M Lara award.
Next, the French Camile Kouchner, whose first book La familia grande propelled the meetooincest movement in France, and Alejandro Palomas, who disclosed his traumatic experience as a victim of sexual abuse in That is not said, will discuss the fear of abuse from their cases.
A day later, on March 17, image and text will merge to explain 'How fear is drawn', with the comic scriptwriter Antonio Altarriba and the illustrator Keko, who will draw live. That same day, the writer Rosa Montero, author among other novels of El peligro de estar sane and Lágrimas en la lluvia, will talk about the writer's fears and how science fiction is one of the best genres to do so.
On Saturday, Andreu Martín and Youssef El Maimouni, two writers of stories that revolve around human conflicts, violence and revenge, will talk about 'Urban and Peripheral Terror' and the Italian Massimo Carlotto, considered one of the most outstanding Italian authors of the noir genre, He will speak of the injustice of justice.
In the morning, in a vermouth format, Núria Cadenas, Fàtima Llambrich and Marc Pastor will talk about true crime and there will be a commented reading of the biography of the experience of the resident of the Vista Alegre neighborhood of Girona, Joan Pacheco, by its author Núria Martí and the actor David Planas.
As of March 23, the festival will move to its other venue, Olot. Lolita Bosch, author, among other works of Que no ens guanyi la por, a forceful plea that explains that we must free ourselves from the most paralyzing emotion, will lead a talk with Josep Maria Miró, author of the play Temps salvatge, inspired by an event that occurred in Bonn that refugees and illegal migrants were baselessly accused of rapes on New Year's Eve.
That same day, Helena Guilera and Eloy Fernández Porta will discuss the paths of judgment and madness in 'Sento veus'.
On Friday the 24th it will be the turn of Silvestre Vilaplana and Alfons Cervera, in a conversation about the fear of speaking about certain issues of historical memory such as loss, exile or violent deaths during the dictatorial era.
Next, it will be the turn of Manuel Loureiro, whose first novel Apocalipsis Z. El principio del fin, which appeared on an Internet blog and became a bestseller, and the filmmaker who won a Goya for Cerdita, Carlota Pereda, who will explain how manifests horror in literature and cinema.
And finally, on Saturday March 25, the Vermot de Olot will revolve around death with a conversation between Xavier Aliga, Jordi Dausa and Rosa Ribas. In the afternoon, Marta Sanz and Jorge Volpi, authors who portray losers and desperate characters in their works struggling to survive, will deal with fear from their socially committed literature.
In this edition, as a novelty, a MOT will be held for schools. Nine centers in Girona and 500 students will participate in this first edition, who will have to read a book in the classroom and will later receive a visit from its author.
