Off programme

Recent crises have generated a complete turnaround directly affecting the social order of citizens of Western countries. The new poor are in Europe, we have them with us: they are our neighbours, our families and can even be ourselves. In this session, we’ll be showing five short films by the Why Poverty? collective that analyse this alarming situation in Europe. Prestigious filmmakers and new talents collaborate with Why Poverty? (http://www.whypoverty.net/es); their films address problems and raise complicated questions, but they also tell subtle, moving stories that prompt us to reflect.

7 p.m. Screening

LULLABY (germany: Do the poor sleep well?),Victor Kossakovasky, 2012,2’ 40’’, no dialogue. Do the poor sleep well in the impressive Deutsche Bank building inBerlin?

NEW POOR (Spain: Who are the new poor?),Justin Webster, 2012,5’ 41’’, with Catalan subtitles. Almost 50,000 small firms went bankrupt inSpain last year. Paco Pascual, a small businessman, lost everything.

THE CRISIS AND THE SUNGLASSES (Greece: Is anyone safe from poverty?), Sean McAllister, 2012,4’ 49’’, with Catalan subtitles. As the European dream fades, the economic crisis brings new poverty to the people ofAthens.

LOVE AND RUBBISH (Russia: Can you afford to dream if you’re poor?), Hanna Polak, 2012,7’ 45’’, with Catalan subtitles. This short film takes an unflinching yet poignant look at the difficulties and dreams of a group of children living on a rubbish dump outsideMoscow.

HOLIDAY FROM POVERTY (United Kingdom: Imagine you’d never been on holiday), Jez Lewis, 2012,5’ 56’’, with Catalan subtitles. In a culture where most people have more than you, being poor can be a cause of shame and isolation.

7.30 p.m. Debate

With Mercè Darnell (social anthropologist and Head of programmes and services, Càritas), Ramon Noró (Fundació Arrels) and Èric Lluent (journalist and one of the creators of the blog http://elsnouspobres.wordpress.com/).