Kanaldude

In a non-existent town, five true stories based on oral testimonials and texts by writers take place between 1914 and 1982. Through them, we see the social changes experienced throughout the 20th century by a small town in the Northern Basque Country, the deep-rootedness and approximation of a language, and the struggle for survival.

On a hot summer night, the young couple Maia and Txema relax after a long day. But some screams downstairs disturb them. Maia tries to convince Txema that something serious is going on. Then the evening turns into an argument that calls their relationship into question.

The filmmaker’s grandmother moved into this house in 1971. When Rolande Ségalini died, everything remained as it was during her lifetime. But what to do with all the accumulated things? As her granddaughter Céline begins to film this material legacy, she realises that her grandmother has remained an enigma to her to this day. Room by room, she inventories, classes, counts, sorts the possessions retrieved from wardrobes, drawers, cabinets and boxes and arranges the objects into new still lives. It is an attempt to understand the deceased woman better and find out more about her. Step by step, the heiress discovers various connections to France’s colonial history.

"In the mid 20th century Jon Mirande demonstrated with his prose that the Basque language was capable of producing cultured, universal literature. Everybody recognises its importance. But he is still a taboo subject. De Mirande is said to have been a racist. A paedophile. Nazi. Misogynist. Immoral. Every time his name is mentioned, fiery controversies break out. We don't know what to do with him. I want to make a film about Mirande. But I don't know how. Perhaps it would be more interesting to give him the floor". (Josu Martinez)

October 2011. Three generations of women try to safeguard their affective and family ties despite the end of the complicated armed conflict in the Basque Country. Events overwhelm little Amaia, who is reinventing her own story, as naively as compulsively.

Luixa and her friends are growing up in Bañolet. That special village celebrates an important ceremony when children turn 11. The big day to move from childhood to adulthood is coming...