A documentary on the vicissitudes of anarchist ideology.
This documentary brings together for the first time world-renowned philosophers, theorists and intellectuals who identify with anarchism and people who live by its creed to explore the movement's social and historical impact. Documents, film footage, letters and photos bring Anarchism,a school of thought vilified over the years back to life.
The story reveals the links between Catalonia's CNT-FAI movement, which spearheaded Catalonia's Anarchist revolution during the Spanish Civil War; the Makhnovist movement in the Ukraine, one of the revolutionary factions that fought against Tsarist forces but ended up being liquidated by the Bolsheviks; and the great Patagonian workers revolts, rescued from oblivion by journalist and historian Osvaldo Bayer.
The fascinating welter of beliefs and reasons underlying Anarchist thought is explored. If nothing else, Anarchism has proven extraordinarily fertile in both the Arts and the Sciences. People such as Noam Chomsky, Michel Onfray, Christian Ferrer, Jordi Vidal, Octavio Alberola and Josep Termes, as well as many artists and filmmakers take their inspiration from libertarian ideals.
The tale begins in January 1939, with the dispatch of 22 crates of sensitive CNT-FAI archives from Barcelona to Holland. They are sent in the nick of time. Days later, Franco's Fascist troops march into Barcelona. The papers are sent to the Institute for the History of Social Movements in Amsterdam for safekeeping. Many Spanish anarchists owe their lives to this daring operation.
The story of the Amsterdam Archives and the crates spirited out of Spain provides the leitmotiv for a history of Anarchism and some of its most colorful 20th century exponents in Spain and Catalonia: Ferrer i Guàrdia, Garcia Oliver, and Buenaventura Durruti. Their legacy may provide vital lessons for tackling the social problems of the 21st century.
The story reveals the links between Catalonia's CNT-FAI movement, which spearheaded Catalonia's Anarchist revolution during the Spanish Civil War; the Makhnovist movement in the Ukraine, one of the revolutionary factions that fought against Tsarist forces but ended up being liquidated by the Bolsheviks; and the great Patagonian workers revolts, rescued from oblivion by journalist and historian Osvaldo Bayer.
The fascinating welter of beliefs and reasons underlying Anarchist thought is explored. If nothing else, Anarchism has proven extraordinarily fertile in both the Arts and the Sciences. People such as Noam Chomsky, Michel Onfray, Christian Ferrer, Jordi Vidal, Octavio Alberola and Josep Termes, as well as many artists and filmmakers take their inspiration from libertarian ideals.
The tale begins in January 1939, with the dispatch of 22 crates of sensitive CNT-FAI archives from Barcelona to Holland. They are sent in the nick of time. Days later, Franco's Fascist troops march into Barcelona. The papers are sent to the Institute for the History of Social Movements in Amsterdam for safekeeping. Many Spanish anarchists owe their lives to this daring operation.
The story of the Amsterdam Archives and the crates spirited out of Spain provides the leitmotiv for a history of Anarchism and some of its most colorful 20th century exponents in Spain and Catalonia: Ferrer i Guàrdia, Garcia Oliver, and Buenaventura Durruti. Their legacy may provide vital lessons for tackling the social problems of the 21st century.
