A documentary looking into the reasons why the Spanish community in Edinburgh increased so rapidly after the 2008 financial crash. It interweaves interviews with 20 or so emigrants to Scotland, mostly thirty-somethings, with footage of a photographic project which they and others took part in. A third strand features excerpts from a monologue on the Madrid stage by actor Alberto san Juan, giving a history of the post-Franco Spanish state from a left wing perspective.
Putting these elements together paints a powerful picture of the failure of Spain's governments to deal with the crisis in a way that benefits ordinary citizens, the resulting migration to seek work, and why the pernicious influence of fascism is still alive and kicking in national institutions. Most of the interviewees express their wish to be back home if they could, but here they can earn more for relatively low level work - cleaning, waiting, fast food server - than they can in the professions they are fully qualified for. And most say they have been made welcome in their new home, with only one having experienced any bigotry on account of their nationality. It's a sad, funny, empowering and empathetic experience to be drawn into.
Although the interviews are only seven years old, and the film itself released in 2014, it already feels like a portrait of a distant past. Since then a big ugly elephant has found it's way into the room, dramatically, and negatively, affecting the lives of all EU27 citizens living in the UK. The same movie being made today would have a very different feel to it...
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