This is the kind of documentary I like to watch. A film about communities. So often cameras are pointed at the unusual, and that is usually something violent, destructive, anti-mundane. The predominance of this type of story, whether in news or documentary features, gives it a disproportionate place in our sense of the world, and…
After seeing Barzakh, I was immediately eager to see the director’s previous film, Bolingo. Bolingo means love, and it is the name of a migrant camp in the forest on the border between Morocco and Spain. The film is composed of interviews with women of Bolingo, and animated illustrations of their journey to get there.…
Ana. Untitled starts with a quote from Virginia Wolf, “Fiction here is likely to contain more truth than fact.” So you know this documentary will contain some artifice, you’re just never sure what, not til the very end. Ana. Untitled is about Latin American women artists, and more specifically their erasure. I can’t remember who,…
No Somos Nada is a documentary following the punk band La Polla Records on their farewell tour. Gonna show my ignorance here, but I didn’t know much about La Polla Records before this film. They are huge in the punk scene throughout the Spanish speaking world. Formed in 1979, they are still going strong 40…
Wow, that was really interesting. La Alameda 2018 is a documentary looking at the Alameda district of Seville, known for prostitution, drugs and music, which has underwent gentrification. It is a collective subjective remembrance of the neighbourhood by its current and former occupants. It is a life weaved out of many lives. The filmmaker’s own…
I love Isabel. She’s awesome. After the 2008 crash, Isabel’s business in Spain went bankrupt. Although married to a husband who was still working, Isabel was determined to regain her financial independence, and set off for, of all places, Edinburgh. There she takes any work going, cleaning and, during the Covid pandemic, making deliveries. Isabel…
Great short film following Socorro, a 60-year-old man who, after losing his business in the 2008 financial collapse, became an extra. What’s great about Extra, is seeing the seer joy and passion Socorro has for film. His dedication and enthusiasm is set alongside an explicit call for more recognition and appreciation for the work of…
This short film tells the story of the life of the oldest male whale in captivity, Ulisses. In the 80s he arrived at Barcelona Zoo. His trainer Albert taught him to perform for the crowds. Later he was transferred to Sea World in San Diego, USA, where he remains to this day. There is a…
Every year, thousands of people make their way from Central America, through Mexico, to the North. One massive freight train is known for being the best way to cut hundreds of miles of walking off your trip. That train is know as La Bestia – The Beast. The Beast is a great big whore of…
Barzakh is the Islamic realm of limbo. A fitting title for this film, showing boys living on the rocks around Melilha, a Spanish city on African soil. They wait for an opportunity to cross to Europe, in hope of finding a better life. Firstly, this movie is called limbo, so take that as your queue…