These Walls

SPAIN RELEASE
May 26, 2022
Madrid Production Companies
Alberto Pascual Rodríguez (San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid)
Contact
Alberto Pascual Rodríguez
Address
San Lorenzo de El Escorial - Soto del Real
DISTRIBUTION
Alberto Pascual Rodríguez

Links

Sinopsis

”These Walls” is an investigative documentary, which arises from the chance discovery of a poem written on the ruins of a building near a train track during filmmaker Alberto Pascual’s childhood. From this lonely moorland in the Sierra de Madrid, we discover one of the darkest episodes in Spain’s history, namely Penalty Redemption through Labour, a legal device that allowed, during the Franco regime, public and private companies to use republican prisoners as forced labour. In the film, we witness the filmmaker’s research by delving into archives and libraries, listening to children of reprisal victims, meeting with childhood friends with whom he had played in those ruins, unaware of their origin and meaning, and interviewing experts who have studied the Penalty-Redemption system from their various disciplines. Throughout the research process, we discovered testimonies, publications and photographs, which explain how Penalty Redemption through Labour was used in virtually all economic sectors throughout the country.

View trailer 1 | View trailer 2

Ficha técnica y artística

Year (Age Rated by ICAA)
2022
Genre
Documentary - Social - History - Human Rights - Francoism - Historical Memory - Forced Labour
RUNTIME
67
FILM RATING
Not recommended for audiences under 7
Original version
Spanish
Format
16/9 - Color
Locations
Madrid, Soto del Real, Sierra de Madrid
Direction
Alberto Pascual Rodríguez
Production
Alberto Pascual Rodríguez
Screenplay
Alberto Pascual Rodríguez
Music
Tarci Ávila
Photography
Alberto Pascual Rodríguez, Rafael de Santiago, Javier Caballero
Edition
Alberto Pascual Rodríguez, Tito Álvarez de Eulate