Cinephiles display a remarkable degree of loyalty to their favorite independent cinemas, realizing how fickle and precious their existence is. Such fervent support could do little to keep the original Maldá open, however, and it unfortunately closed its doors in 2003.

This was much to the dismay of local aficionados, who must have been equally overjoyed when the Indian tycoon, Shankar Kishnani Lal, reopened the Maldá in March, 2007. Now fully refurbished and incorporating Barcelona’s only regular Bollywood schedule, the Maldá may be small—with only one screen for 206 people—but it has nevertheless restored its great importance to the film buffs of the Barrio Gotico, and beyond. Three showings per night offer plenty of opportunity to see the best in Spanish and international independent film-making, and the care taken in selecting the schedule is such that a stab in the dark will rarely offer disappointment.