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.
Winter of 1921. After fighting for France for four years, the combatants of Bizkarsoro (Lower Navarre, France) have returned from the battlefront. Like the yellow star of the Jew or the ear of the Cagots, children who speak Basque are marked with an stick called ANTI.
The countenance of Joseba Sarrionandia is multi-faceted, not only for having dabbled in all literary forms of expression, but for having been capable of creating his own imagery, composed of endless worlds. Thus, several of the elements appearing in the literary world will undoubtedly appear here: the sea, the port, childhood, trains, uprooting, war, destruction, love, drifting, pain, fantasy, mystery, initiation, torture...
Joxean is not aware of the border in her country. He moves every week to sell pigs. For Kamaru, the border means every obstacle and danger. They both have to fight the same enemy.
"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)
Going to the doctor to make a diagnosis or to have a treatment is a common thing in the outside world. But for every prisoner it is a very difficult or impossible path. Lander Garro, the director, turns to those who have lived the experience of being ill in prison to better understand its consequences. It uses a language that goes beyond political discourse, exploring the helplessness of prisoners whose right to health is limited from an emotional point of view, through cinematographic tools. 'Tipularen sehaska kanta' ('Nana de la cebolla' - 'Lullaby of the onion') more than a political film is an artistic film, narrated in the first person and from the entrails. Based on the poem 'Nana de la cebolla' by the Spanish poet Miguel Hernández, who died in prison in 1942, the film makes a historical analogy: if it didn't make sense to die in prison in 1936, does it make sense today?
Lezo Urreiztieta was a 16th-century pirate, born by mistake in 1907. Risking his life, he saved that of hundreds of people; he negotiated with foreign governments for a free Basque Country; he managed to slip 17 boats full of weapons into Bilbao during the Civil War; he was on the point of killing Franco... Forty years after his death, the tape recorder of writer Martin Ugalde reveals his incredible story told in the voice of the actual protagonist. Starting with unpublished conversations between the two held from 1975 to 1978, this film sheds light on the testimony of a key character in 20th century Basque history.
Lubna (10) has arrived in Paris fleeing from the war. There she can see how whales fly over the Eiffel Tower, while she voices the hope that her parents can get there too.
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.
June finds her first summer job: taking care of Constance, a sensitive little girl who suffers from a lack of affection. The child soon learns to trust her and June gets her hopes up thinking that maybe she can be her nanny for the whole year. But just as her bond with the child grows stronger, she discovers how harsh class differences can be and what rejection can feel like.
During the labour reforms of 2016, in a small French town, the Radial company closes its doors after a bitter strike. Jeansé, Juliette, Bruno, Christine and Pierre meet to ‘celebrate’ their insulting redundancy pay-off. On the way home, Bruno has a violent scuffle at a police roadblock. Non is an anthology film about the contagious and furious protest by a group of workers. People absorbed by madness in the struggle to keep the little dignity they have left.
