Where is Spain headed? part 1 of 2

It surprises me to find that many more people seem to be reading my blogs about the actors in Domino than the ones I write about what´s going on in Spain.  It would seem to me important to think about Spain, because in many respects, it´s a linchpin of an economic bloc that includes the United States.  If Spain goes, well, watch out!

In addition, Spain´s protest movement, the Indignados (or Movimiento 15-M) was certainly one of the models for Occupy Wall Street.  After all, the Occupy movement started about a year after the much more peaceful Indignados first appeared on the scene.

(Incidentally, there´s a movement in Canada called the Adbusters that started in 1989, well before the Indignados.  THEY claim to be the model for all of these protest movements.)

A LINK about some of the recent demonstrations in Spain organized by the Indignados.

So on that note, what´s going on in Spain?

Well, for one thing, taxes have gone up, unemployment has gone up, and people continue to be paid late or only partially or not at all (especially government workers and outside contractors for government).  A law has also been passed making it illegal to use social media to organize public demonstrations that result in problems for the authorities -- and don't most public demonstrations end in problems for the authorities, even though the organizers had not intended it?  The law has not yet been enforced very often, but it´s kind of a monster sitting in a cave, waiting for an opportunity to come out and wreak havoc.

On the other hand, one of my friends in Spain report that on some days, such as festival days, it looks as if everything were normal.  The streets are full of people, the cafe-bars have plenty of customers, people seem happy and carefree.

Another blog LINK about recent demonstrations in Spain -- some pretty powerful photos in this one.

On non-festival days, however, the streets are empty, the cafes-bars have few customers, the small shops are closing (and small shops make up a very important part of Spain´s economy), manufacturing has almost disappeared (except for parts of the auto industry), and construction work is hard to come by (another thing  that also used to be a major part of Spain´s economy).

In addition, the national tax collecting agency (Hacienda) has taken to sending investigators to inquire into people´s bank accounts, especially in the past several months.  If you owe money to the taxing agency but also owe money for your mortgage, etc., watch out.  The money you earn that you put into your bank account to pay your mortgage might be found by the taxing agency which will simply pounce on it...and there goes your mortgage payment.

An interesting fact about mortgage payments in Spain:  if  you can´t pay your mortgage, and lose your home, not only are you homeless but you still owe that mortgage to the bank.  Let´s just say that in Spain, you can´t win for losing.

OUR NEXT BLOG will finish up this topic.

Notes on the economic situation in Berlin (leaving Spain for later)

Ok, we've  talked about the economic crisis in Spain (and will talk about it more at another time).  We've talked about Occupy Wall Street, the Movimiento 15-M (los Indignados), and housing foreclosures in the U.S..  We´ll talk about all these again, but now:

I recently had the opportunity to go to Berlin, where another one of my productions (A Zest for Life:  Afro-Peruvian Rhythms, a Source of Latin Jazz) was screening in a festival.

So what about the economy in Germany, or at least, in Berlin?  Germany has the reputation of being in rather good shape, right?  It's supposedly one of the economically most stable countries in Europe, right?

Graffiti is alive and well in Berlin.

I'm sure all that is true.  Berlin, however, is not in quite such good shape.

I have this information simply from talking to a few people in Berlin during my brief, one-week stay there.  This is NOT a carefully researched analysis of current affairs.  Please take it with a grain of salt.

I was, however, very surprised to hear that Berlin has been having economic problems for the past few years.  I was told that salaries have remained stable, but that prices are increasing (meaning, obviously, less purchasing power).  I was told that "workers" (which I believe indicates government employees, but it wasn't completely clear) have lost some very important benefits in the past few years, chief of which is the one-month paid vacation and the automatic Christmas bonus.

Mixed in with very modern business towers, and handsome historic monuments, are huge, drab apartment houses.

The one month's vacation is still there, but it's no longer a paid vacation.  The Christmas bonus, which used to equal one month/s pay, is now gone.

When workers complained and threatened to strike, they were told that either they would have to accept these cuts, or there would be major cutbacks in staff.  Not wanting to lose their jobs, they then accepted the cuts.

A beauty spot with 18th century buildings.

 This was all very surprising to me.  It indicates a really significant change in the economic situation of a large part of the work force.  I do not, however, know if this is limited to Berlin, or to Berlin plus what used to be East Germany, or what.

SO....

OUR NEXT BLOG will be about finishing the editing of the LONG, for television, version of Domino.

Our hero, Luis, and Occupy Wall Street/Movimiento 15-M

NOTE:  We recently posted a new scene from Domino showing our hero Luis at home with his family.  The scene is not intended to be high drama.  It mostly gives us a little more context with respect to Luis, but you will notice that the children are playing with dominoes and there's some hint of problems in his conversation with his wife.  In case you're interested, here's the LINK.

NOW--on to Luis and Occupy Wall Street/Movimiento 15-M.

It´s good to be a thorn in the side of the banks that are evicting people, but what is Movimiento 15-M or Occupy Wall Street doing to STOP evictions?

At one point, in the second half of our film, we see Luis passing by a major march and demonstration organized by the Movimiento 15-M, the Indignados, of Spain.  This Movimiento 15-M pre-dates the Occupy Wall Street movement by several months, and as in Occupy Wall Street, is an expression of unhappiness with the economic crisis, unemployment, home evictions, and the role of banks and politicians.

Luis, as you know, is a middle-aged family man in Spain who lost his job and is trying to find a new one before he becomes totally engulfed in financial disaster.  Luis is played by Antonio de la Malena.

And when he encounters the demonstration and march organized by the Movimiento 15-M, he looks at their placards (including one which says "Libertad"--"Liberty" and another which says to move from protesting to direct action).  Rather than joining in, however, he turns his back and goes on his way.

Why?  Surely he can agree with the movement's unhappiness with the crisis, the unemployment, the role that banks have had in creating the crisis and so forth.  And surely he can sympathize with the plight of people being evicted from their homes.

He turns his back because the movement really doesn't relate to him.  The demonstrations, discussions and protests are not going to get him a job.  They are not going to provide him with a way to support his family.  They are, in a word, irrelevant to his concerns.


[When I return to Jerez, I'll post a photo here of a demonstration....]

Perhaps if they succeed in changing the economic and political structure they WILL be relevant to him and his problems, but that is something likely to take years to achieve, if it ever happens at all.  What Luis and others like him need is a solution NOW.  And the Movimiento 15-M (or Occupy Wall Street) doesn't seem to have the capability of providing it.

OUR NEXT BLOG will be more about one of our supporting actors, Luis de la Tota.

Occupy Wall Street and Movimiento 15-M (Indignados)

On two continents, movements have sprung up expressing people's frustration with the economic crisis, their belief that it has been caused by banks and other financial institutions, and their desire to have the political (and perhaps, social) system undergo fundamental change.  The first of these started in Spain, in May of this year, and is called the Movimiento 15-M (or los Indignados).  The other started near the end of this summer and began as Occupy Wall Street.

Both in their most visible form include people camping out for long periods of time, usually in tents, in or near city centers.  Both offer (or try to offer) daily discussion sessions where the public is invited to discuss our current economic problems, the origins of these problems, and solutions to these problems.

The general assembly point in Occupy Berkeley (CA).

Back side of the general assembly point in Movimiento 15-M, Jerez de la Frontera (Spain).

In all these respects, the two movements are very similar and in fact, I imagine the Occupy Wall Street (and more recently, Occupy Oakland, Occupy San Francisco, Occupy Washington, etc.) movement began partly by taking the Spanish Movimiento 15-M as a model.

But there are also some rather striking differences between the two movements.

One is the reaction of local and national government, and the use or non-use of police to deal with the protestors.

In Spain, with the notable exception of two incidents (one in Madrid and one in Barcelona) there has been, to my knowledge, no serious attempts on the part of government to curtail the protests.  The government doesn´t seem to be afraid of the protestors.

Part of a declaration of principals, Occupy Berkeley.

Call to demonstrate, Movimiento 15-M, Jerez de la Frontera.

As an example, when I was last in Spain (mid-October through late November) the protestors were camped out in the central square of the city where I was staying (Jerez de la Frontera) with no government opposition or police intervention.  There were also several big protest marches, one organized by the Movimiento 15-M people and the others by unemployed or, even more often, unpaid workers (mostly unpaid government workers).  The Movimiento 15-M people participated in the protest marches organized by others.

I also didn´t read about or hear of any government or police action against Movimiento 15-M encampments in other Spanish cities.

In the United States, on the other hand, there have been numerous instances of police tearing down Occupy Wall Street/Occupy San Francisco/Occupy .... encampments.  Often violence is involved, people get hurt, and people get arrested.

Tents with placards, Occupy Berkeley.  Placard is on the right.

Placards and tents, Movimiento 15-M, Jerez de la Frontera.

Another major difference is in the attitude of the protestors.  In Spain, they don't seem to be nearly as confrontational as in the United States.  They set up their camps, they keep their camps clean, and they offer their daily informational and discussion sections at a set hour each day.  They have set up rules for these sessions and for decision-making which emphasize the right of everyone to have a say, and the duty of everyone to listen to each other and respect the right of people to disagree.

In the United States, on the other hand, the protestors are full of demands, often want to force their opinions on others (and I include in this the shutting down of the Port of Oakland), and are sometimes very provocative, including smashing and trashing other people's things.

Tents of Occupy Berkeley.

Tents and signs of Movimiento 15-M, Jerez de la Frontera.

Some of these differences have to do with a different cultural outlook.  Some have to do with fear, and with a process by which one side pushes and the other side pushes back--and the very idea of "we are one side and you are another."  Space prevents me from going into more detail, nor do I want to favor one side in the U.S. over the other, but the differences between the two movements in these regards are really striking.

OUR NEXT BLOG will be about an upcoming screening of Domino in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Principal photography REALLY completed-in Jerez de la Frontera

We'll start using this blog not only for articles and news items, but also for updates about our progress on Domino.

SO--we finished principal photography for what I believe is the LAST TIME at the end of November, just before I left Jerez de la Frontera (Spain) to return to the San Francisco Bay Area (California).  When I say the LAST TIME, I mean that I do NOT expect to add any more scenes.  As a filmmaker, I´m happy with the structure as it is now.

Of course, I haven´t yet viewed the current version of the film.  I´ve brought a viewing copy with me to California and will look at it soon.  Right now, I´m letting it age, like good wine.

It is currently about 40 minutes long, as opposed to the 20 minutes that it was before my last trip to Jerez.  In one new scene, we managed to incorporate part of the current demonstrations of the Movimiento 15-M (Indignados).  That movement is similar to, and started earlier than, the Occupy Wall Street movement in the U.S..  As a filmmaker who's creating a dramatic narrative about the current economic crisis, including shots of those demonstrations gives Domino more immediacy and relevance.

OUR NEXT BLOG will be about Occupy Wall Street (etc.) and the Movimiento 15-M (Indignados)