About

ADA FOR MAYOR follows Ada Colau for one year, from her time spent organizing the anti-eviction fight in Barcelona to the day she is sworn-in as its mayor. The intimate chronicle -featuring Colau’s own video diary- and privileged access to the inner-workings of a new citizen platform reveal an extraordinary journey in which two prevalent themes are united: a historic victory illustrative of the political changes taking place in southern Europe, and the inner struggle of someone who fears becoming what she has so often questioned.

86 minutes, Spain 2016. Spanish and Catalan with English subtitles. Director: Pau Faus

Why this film? Ada Colau’s campaign (and victory) was based on housing inequalities in Barcelona. People were evicted out of their houses, housing prizes went up and in the slipstream of a booming tourism industry speculation rose. Workers’ neighbourhoods changed, social structures faded and neighbourhoods became increasingly tourist destinations with the housingmarket increasingly being used as tourist speculation. The inhabitants of neighbourhoods like Barceloneta were faced with all these problems and felt increasingly powerless and in a minority position, being slowly driven out of their traditional neighbourhoods. It is in this context and in this setting that Ada Colau started her campaign and eventually became mayor of Barcelona, coming from and with the support of neighbourhood communities.

The process of rising housing prizes in Europe’s inner cities due to increasing visitor numbers and sharing economy portals such as AirBnB is to be seen is an urgent and very relevant problem, as can also be witnessed in Amsterdam, and one of the big issues of today’s life in the cities of Europe. That’s why the victory of Ada Calau was so important and is watched so carefully by so many people, especially the inhabitants of the inner cities of Europe, who see their neighborhoods changing and the housing prizes soaring, relegating social housing to the outskirts of the cities where new low-come ghettos develop.

Itinerary

Film screening followed by an open discussion and panel

Organizer

Cineblend -festival, a yearly international documentary film festival on cultural diversity

Details

Date, time: 20 June 2017, 19:30 p.m. – 22:00 p.m.

Location: Pakhuis de Zwijger

Fee: none (free)

Organiser: Eddy Appels (info@beeldvoorbeeld.nl)

Registration

Click here

Original text


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