Filosofia a la presó, featuring ESADE Law School students, wins SEMINCI documentary award
The panel of judges for the documentary portion of the 60th Valladolid International Film Festival (SEMINCI) has selected Filosofia a la presó, by filmmakers Gilbert Arroyo and Marc Parramon, as the best Spanish documentary of the year. The judges – filmmakers Arantxa Aguirre, Roberto Lozano Bruna and Belén Santos – praised the film for “managing to transform a discussion of ideas into a story filled with emotion.
Filosofia a la presó was produced by Mediapro (Media 3.14) with the support of Televisió de Catalunya, the “la Caixa Social Work Programme and ESADE Law School. The film will be shown on television for the first time on Tuesday, 10th November, on the TV3 programme Sense ficció.
For 11 weeks, seven ESADE Law School students and seven inmates at the Lledoners prison in Manresa met for weekly two-hour sessions of Socratic dialogue that started out on the subject of philosophy but rapidly turned to life experiences: happiness, fear, responsibility, justice, etc.
The groups were diametric opposites: each inmate had a difficult life story that was reflected in his gaze and his skin, while the students found themselves facing, for the first time, what they had previously only studied in books. For both sides, this incredible pioneering experience was a true journey of knowledge. In the end, the main theme that emerges from the documentary is the difficulty of truly reintegrating inmates into society.
The documentary, which combines clips of the sessions with stylised portraits, tracks the evolution of each participant throughout the process, from the initial reticence and prejudice to an understanding that the truth is complex and cannot be reduced to a stereotype. The film portrays two brave groups breaking out of their respective bubbles to try to understand the other’s reasoning.
Dean of ESADE Law School: “We educate the best jurists for a better world
The filmmakers, Gilbert Arroyo and Marc Parramon, thanked the judges for the award and for recognising a work that shows that “it is possible to overcome prejudice through dialogue.
Dr. Eduardo Berché, Dean of ESADE Law School, congratulated Sira Abenoza, the faculty member responsible for the subject in which the film was made, as well as the students who participated. According to Dr. Berché, the award confirms that ESADE’s commitment to educational innovation is on the right track: “ESADE Law School students receive excellent training combined with unique experiences that will allow them to eventually become not only the best jurists in the world but also the best jurists for a better world.
