Walls (Muros) 2016
Distributed by Film Platform
Produced by Itziar Garcia Zubiri
Directed by Pablo Iraburu and Migueltxo Molina
DVD , color, 80 min.
Middle School - General Adult
Immigration, Human Rights, International Relations
Date Entered: 02/03/2017
Reviewed by Barbara J. Walter, Longmont Public Library, Longmont, CO“Walls has been one of those stories that every filmmaker would like to tell. Pablo and the whole team managed to make me need to tell it. I hope it is one of those stories that count for something, or that at least add to an increasingly necessary debate. “
– Migueltxo Molina, from wallsmuros.com
Timely and provocative, Walls takes us deep into the controversies surrounding illegal immigration not to supply answers but to prompt us to question: with all these border walls, what sort of world are we building?
Though there are many to choose from throughout the world, directors Iraburu and Molina (Pura Vida: The Ridge (2012)) focus on three international borders—USA and Mexico, Zimbabwe and South Africa, Spain and Morocco—marked by walls, unobtrusively observing the lives of people living on either side, listening in on their conversations. We hear the stories of those wanting to cross as well as of those working to prohibit that crossing, and in the process come to realize that people on both sides share the same basic desires: a safe place to live and work, access to education and health care for themselves and their families, a chance to build a better life.
First-rate in all technical elements, Walls deserves the widest possible audience, to serve as a springboard for lively, necessary discussion in this country and elsewhere. It is an excellent choice for academic libraries and school media centers supporting coursework in social studies, history and current events. A fine choice too for public libraries and libraries serving houses of worship.
In Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Afrikaans, Ndbele and Venda, with English subtitles.
Awards
- Best National Documentary, 2016 Zaragoza Film Festival
- Best Documentary, 2016 Nantes Spanish Film Festival
- Audience Award, Best Feature Documentary, 2016 IBAFF International Film Festival
- Jury Prize, Bader, Best Feature Film, 2015 Ajyal Youth Film Festival
- Oxfam Global Justice Award, Best Feature Documentary, 2015 Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival