I am referring to the strike of the “Bands” of Etxebarri, which took place 50 years ago, and now brought to the documentary by young filmmakers. From the hand of producer Doxa, the film was directed by director Larraitz Zuazo and premiered last week at ETB2.
The courage and patience of young people who had not yet been born in 1967 is significant and remarkable. They have sought the protagonists of that long strike that lasted 163 days and narrated this struggle, professionally and honestly, both through historical images and through the recreation of scenes. The seventh art has been put at the service of the causes of solidarity, bringing historical memory to the social and political sphere, to the world of workers. It would be beautiful if other stories similar to this workers' strike were brought to the big screen, because in Euskal Herria there is still much to be told in this way: directly and without interference.
But filmmakers can't live on that, because economically it's not profitable. The Basque institutions should promote and support this type of work, since it is a matter of recovering the historical memory, in this case behind the class struggle. The well-being of today’s generations, now reduced by the crisis, began to be built from yesterday’s strikes and barricades.
On 26 December, during an air strike, the Israeli Army killed five Palestinian journalists trying to reach the city. They killed 130 Palestinian journalists. This news has reminded me of a couple of things, the first, the persecution of true journalists in any part of the world,... [+]