Those People on the Steps

Barcelona, October 1st, 2017. The stairway leading to the Pau Claris polling place. A referendum on Catalonia's right to self-determination. 23 reported injuries.

Jordi Fusté, journalist and co-author of this documentary, was a prime witness to the events unfolding that day, recording on his mobile phone all of what took place before his eyes. Those images were sent out and, within a matter of hours, viewed by over 40 million people.

Who are the protagonists of those videos? What did they experience that day? What are their thoughts and feelings about that?

"Those People on the Steps " offers a first-person account by some of the voters who went to defend the ballot box at the Pau Claris School in Barcelona, in the face of an imminent intervention on the part of the national police force.

They provide a minute-by-minute description of what took place from the start of that day until they were ousted by the police...and more.  In one short hour, this group of people, all strangers to each other, found themselves linked and united by the strong conviction that they had to firmly stand their ground to protect their right to vote, despite the police forces confronting them. They gathered together, shoulder to shoulder, on the steps leading to the polling place. The positive energy of the first hours on those stairs transformed into power, unity, peaceful resistance and strong determination. The rest speaks for itself in the captured images that went viral.

One year later a single question/reflection remains: would they sit together on those steps again, knowing what was in store for them?

A narratively gripping and emotionally powerful documentary.

"The trauma plays out in a recorded drama that sweeps the viewer up in a flood of intense emotions." Mónica Planas. Diari Ara. 17/10/2018.

'Those People on the Steps' flawlessly  intermixes first-hand statements by witnesses at the scene, with images of what took place (some thirty videos), together with the tense radio broadcasts  of the unfolding events as well as animated graphics of the school space, providing an overview of the movements of the voters and the police. Manuel de Luna. El Periódico.26/09/2018.

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