FRANCO´S SETTLERS
a documentary film by Lucía Palacios and Dietmar Post

 

 

 

 

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"A solid de-construction of a vital period of Spanish history, with an extraordinary usage of archive material and interviews that allow all sides to articulate their views.
It is as relevant today as it was eight decades ago."
Statement by the Jury (Best Documentary Film, North England Festival of Ibero American Cinema, 2014)

"Franco's Settlers could be an important contribution to how Spaniards deal with their dictatorship."
Andreas Fanizadeh (TAZ)

"With their documentary the filmmakers hold a mirror up to Spanish society. And this at a time when Spanish society is walking through a thunderstorm within the European crisis, at the same time facing at home social cutbacks, a debate about regional separations, the general question of how to live together within the monarchy and the discussion about the legacy of Spain's dramatic historic past. Rarely a movie has been so much in sync with its times. With "Franco's Settlers" Post and Palacios put the finger on the sore spot."
Rafael Poch (La Vanguardia)

"Franco's Settlers" is a splendid, beautifully constructed and important film about a vital subject matter, one of the best on the previously unspoken, or hidden, modern history of Spain. I've researched Spain's post Civil War period myself but Franco's settlements were new to me, as were many stories in the film, and this appalling experiment in social engineering came as a shock. Yet the film is well balanced and, most importantly, allows all sides speak for themselves. The archive footage, much of which not seen for decades, and the numerous contemporary interviews only confirms how heavily Franco's shadow still hangs over Spain. This fine and disturbing documentary needs to be seen worldwide."
Bob Flynn (Film Journalist, The Times)

"An exact x-ray of current Spain."
Emilio Silva (President of the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory)

"A documentary that will surprise many people in Spain."
Felipe González (Spanish prime minister between 1982-1996)

"I invite the filmmakers to Strasbourg to show it to the court as evidence."
Carlos Castresana (Spanish Supreme Court Prosecutor)

"Franco´s Settlers is an important and highly recommendable film."
Walter Haubrich (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)

"The screening provoked a spontaneous ovation to honor a rigorous and humorous film. (…) 'Spain is a country, which hasn't talked about its recent past', says Emilio Silva. The film 'Franco's Settlers' could correct this situation once Spanish movie theaters start showing it."
Enrique Müller (El País)

"Franco's Settlers is a fabulous film. I saw it last night and had to watch it until the very end. To me it was an eye opener and a first class history lesson. The little I had learned in school and the little I knew from the media (the military coup in 1981 was on German TV) gave me only a small glimpse of Spanish history. The film brilliantly fills this lack of information. And it is absolutely amazing how the film at the end takes us right to the current political situation in Spain. Very creepy. "
Dominik Wessely (filmmaker & professor of documentary filmmaking at Cologne Film School)

"A rigorous and emotional film. History told from the ground up. The film has to win the GOYA AWARD."
Sergi Doladé (director of the MEDIMED DocsMarket)

Wir möchten Sie zu Ihrem Film beglückwünschen. Er hat uns sehr berührt.
Wir fanden, dass Sie einen schönen Bogen durch die Geschichte geschlagen haben. Auch der Rahmen, die Bilder von der Autobahn, war sehr gelungen, insbesondere die Schlußeinstellung. Das Wechseln zwischen den Zeiten hat den Film spannend gemacht. Sie hatten wirklich ein glückliches Händchen mit den Menschen. Herrlich war der Schuljunge, der auf eine sehr schlichte Art den Nagel der Geschichte auf den Kopf getroffen hat. Die Stelle wurde ja auch beklatscht. Toll war auch der aufrechte Anwalt zum Schluß. Welch
Glück, dass er sich hat interviewen und filmen lassen. War das spontan, nach dem Aufmarsch der Neofaschisten in Madrid? Bei der Kundgebung konnte man Ihre Anspannung und auch Angst förmlich greifen. Wir waren sehr ergriffen von der Thematik. Schade, dass wir der Podiumsdiskussion nicht
mehr beiwohnen konnten. Wir haben uns sehr für Sie gefreut, dass Sie Felipe González für Ihren
Film gewonnen haben, und dass er gestern dabei war. Welch Ehre! Wir wünschen Ihnen maximale Erfolge mit diesem Film! Hoffentlich kann er etwas anschubsen in der Geschichte Spaniens. Sie haben damit großen Mut bewiesen. Und hoffentlich erleben Sie keine Bedrohungen von fanatischen Franco-Verehrern!
2 Zuschauer nach der einmaligen Aufführung am 28.10.2012 im Berliner Babylon-Kino

"Ihnen viel Erfolg für den Film 'Die Siedler Francos' zu wünschen, wäre überflüssig, wenn es allein auf die Qualität ankäme, denn der Film ist von einer so unaufgeregten Eindringlichkeit, dass man lange nachdenken muss, was Ebenbürtiges zu finden."
Frank Kammerzell nach der einmaligen Aufführung am 28.10.2012 im Berliner Babylon-Kino

"We proudly announce that Franco's Settlers is nominated to the V Ahmed Attia Award for the Dialogue of Cultures given by the to the best documentary pitched at MEDIMED Pitching Forum. Result: A MUST SEE DOCUMENTARY."
APIMED (Association of Independent Mediterranean Producers)