5a session: Tuesday 27th November, 18.45-21 h
Joan Miquel Gual and A. V. Turó de la Peira
Film discussion group El poble desnonat 
 

Le mani sulla città (Francesco Rosi, 105', 1963) is a social realism film based in the city of Naples. After the collapse of an apartment block in poor conditions, two people are killed and several people are injured. Despite the severity of the situation, nobody is held directly responsible for it: neither the public administration nor the private developers are willing to be held accountable. At the end of the film, a notice clarifies that “the people and events described in this film are imaginary, although the social and environmental reality in which they play out are very real”.

A similar event to that of the film occurred in Barcelona in 1991: in the neighbourhood of Turó de la Peira, one person died following the collapse of a poorly built block of flats, which was one of many that suffered from aluminosis as a result of being built with poor quality cement.

This session will contribute to the El poble desnonat  season by promoting dialogue about the film—winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival—and about the reality of local life prior to the Olympic Games.

Joan Miquel Gual is a member of the Memòria en Moviment association, the La Borda housing cooperative and season coordinator.

Antonio Silva is the president of A.V. Turó de la Peira, a neighbourhood association of one of the thirteen neighbourhoods that compose the Nou Barris district.

Laura de Andrés is a journalist and author of Vides apuntalades. 25 anys d'aluminosi al Turó de la Peira (Barcelona: UOC, 2015)