COMMUNITIES
dOCUMENTARY PROJECT
Fundraising for the recording and diffusion of the documentary about communities. The experience left by youngsters and teenagers from the 70s and 80s towards a new range of freedom, art, social implication, and faith.
It was in the 70s when the seed of a new Spain started to grow, whereas Franco’s regime, practically dying down, was trying to repress and suppress certain social liberty lived in the previous decade due to factors like tourism, cinema, international trade and commerce…
Within this context there was a longing for change and freedom, that seemed more probable than ever after Franco’s death in 1975. Also faith and spirituality experienced an awakening, an impulse, a revival thanks to a social openness. There was no more imposed religion, or dogmas based on fear, and the detachment of the traditional union between Church and State began.
This documentary intends to tell the story in the experience of one of those revivals, specifically the one in Burgos, were many of the teenagers of that time broke out of preset molds and made decisions and took actions that even today feel groundbreaking. They started to live in communities, to be the first ones exercising their entitlement to conscientious objection, to use art without censorship and to discover a faith that church as an institution was not ready to comprehend but, because of its powerful force, they couldn’t stop it either.
As part of the main content, we have collected experiences and testimonies of many of those people from back then. Most of them are about the age of retirement now, but they lived in the communities or somehow were related to them in their youth. There are many different and diverse experiences, perspectives, feelings and opinions from how that time was lived by each one of them.
Some of them participated in artistic projects, others worked and put their salaries at the disposal of the community, to provide for them and for the artists.
Some people ended up hurt, others remember that time with a nostalgic tone. There were couples that met in those circumstances. Those misunderstood youngsters are parents and grandparents today… there are some who keep their faith as it was back then, and the majority of them are Active members of the various evangelical churches in the city… but there are some who are not.
We consider this a very interesting project for the city and for the Evangelical church is in Burgos: To know its origins and capture that moment of our history, were youth progressed, grew and got organized, far from the institutions, far from tradition, what was considered politically correct and even sometimes far from the law, moved by their nonconformity and the freedom to live their spirituality in a totally different and new way. That of course, comes without omitting all the mistakes, errors of judgement and sometimes crazy actions that went along this process.
This documentary is by no means intended as propaganda, but rather seek the not-always-easy-to-find objectivity, and allow every viewer get their own conclusions.
TESTIMONIes of people who
lived in communities
In Talitha, the community I lived in, we were many people living together, but only Carlos Bartolo and I worked. There were days that I came home from work and there was nothing to eat.
Goyo
My mom was so Catholic and so shocked with everything that was happening, that she even got my name removed from bank accounts and family properties. She told me she didn’t want the community ending up stealing everything from them.
Marco
The worst part was the lack of knowledge. People heard the word “community” as “commune”, as putting their salary at the disposal of the community... this project was inconvenient, it wasn’t interesting for society that it succeeded, not from a religious perspective, nor politically either. Power always fails.
Lourdes
My father kicked me out of the house for 3 days. He wouldn’t understand such great change. He would say: “What have you done with your studies? And now you’re living with homeless people, picking up cardboard and garbage…“ it was scandalous for people, and for my family it was a shame.
Gelo
We were raised in the theology of retribution. We never got “gratuity” revealed to us before. We have been justified by the blood of Jesus Christ and for free! Now we live in that free justification, manifested in our lives.
Anastasis
I realized that the military service was incompatible with what Jesus says in the gospels. I wrote a letter saying that I was not in listing because I was a Christian and I considered that incompatible. One day they came looking for me and I spent three months in prison for that.
Pedrogoals of the documentary
- Break off preset ideas about faith
- Reflect about unity within diversity. Transmit love and faith over any religious tag
- Leave the chronicles of a genuine experience, told by the main characters who lived it firsthand
- Get to know our roots, in order to learn, envision, and focus towards where we want to go next
who are we AND
what we looking for?
Elías, Isaac, Pablo and Caleb are members of one of the churches in Burgos which was born as a legacy of the revival of The communities. We have grown up hearing stories and anecdotes about that moment in history and we believe that now is the moment to reflect upon it, and tell the world.
We’re trying to make the project happen. For that, we did a first phase of documentation and interviews, with the collaboration of Ochodoce productions and The financial support of out church IECUA. And now we want to raise funds and resources for it the recording of all this information in the format of a documentary, in an artistic and professional way, with the proper diffusion and promotion.
We believe that this project should not be anyone’s property nor any platform for propaganda of any kind. It doesn’t belong to any religion, to any church, association or enterprise.
“Communities” represents people from many different backgrounds, and for that, we’re looking for a shared funding from anyone who is willing to collaborate and support it.
BUDGET ($)
DOCUMENTARY DIRECTOR
Mikaela Bruce joins the project, a director, screenwriter, and producer with a degree in Film Studies from the University of Hawaii.
She completed her undergraduate internships on the series “LOST.”
During her time in Spain, she earned a master’s degree in screenwriting from Carlos III University of Madrid and interned at Morena Films.
Her short film “Pasarea” (The Bird), a poetic lament on
the subject of human trafficking, screened at over 20 festivals, including the Málaga Festival.
Her next film, “Hermana,” a period thriller, premiered at
Spain’s first short film festival, Medina del Campo (pre-qualification for the
Goya Awards), and featured the work of notable collaborators: editor Pablo
García Revert (Klaus), winner of the Annie Award, and composer Jesi Nelson
(Star Wars Biomes, Jinn).
Her most recent short film, “No Afraid,” received production support from Abel Cine, ASC (American Society of Cinematographers), and ARRI cameras, with investment from Luna Zhang as executive producer. It premiered on November 18th at the LA Skins Festival in Hollywood.
Mikaela was a producer on the series “Los Legacy Reclaimed,” an
8-episode historical docudrama co-produced with the USA, filmed throughout
Spain with a budget of 500,000 euros.
how can i make a
donation?
Any donated resources will be used exclusively for the creation and the diffusion of the documentary. Also, any of the subsidies or financial help received, whether they are national or regional.
Regarding the necessary funding for the documentary, (in terms of a specific amount), It’s all relative. We would love to count on professionals that may be able to help and coach us, to obtain a very good quality of the final product. However, if the resources obtained from funding are very limited, we will try to make it with our own resources, out of our own expenses.
If you wish to collaborate financially with the project, you can make a deposit in the following bank account:
SWIFT: BSABESBB
ES08 0081 5075 8000 0236 0841
Please, make sure you write “DOCUMENTARY” on the concept of the deposit. For tax purposes and deductions, the donation needs to have Your full name included, together with you ID Card number. We will then transfer the data to the taxation office. Once The money transfer is complete, please fill up the form so that we can confirm that everything has been done successfully.
Anyone who wishes to keep updated of the advances in progress of the project, could also fill up the form. This is for both, people who wish to bless us financially and for anyone who has an interest in following the progress of the documentary.
God was the center of the communities. It was a lifestyle change. We came from a Catholic-based society very rooted in the military, in which everything was about keeping appearances. The life change was truly a 180° one.
Conchi