A Poetic Film About Catalonia

Defined by Josep María Forn as his cinematographic and political testament (which is why he dedicates it to his grandchildren), El somni català (The Catalan Problem) combines the genres of fiction and documentary to become a clear statement of the filmmaker´s position on the most recent history of Catalonia.

Structured around the poetic work of Ventura Gassol, through the voice of actress Montserrat Carulla, the story takes us on a journey through historical events that, starting in 1904 and leading up to the present day, express, from a poetic perspective, Josep María Forn?s personal vision of the struggle of the Catalans for the recovery of their national rights, culminating in this way a predominant thematic concern throughout the filmmaker´s entire body of work: Catalan identity.

The Genesis of the Project

Looking for a project that was feasible even in a context of economic crisis, for Josep María Forn, the idea of using scenes from his own films, along with historical archival footage and some new scenes, to arrive at a unified vision of this constant aspect throughout his work, his concern for Catalan identity, took shape. From this singular perspective, El somni català (The Catalan Problem) was born as a small production, typical of a family-owned company like Films de l´Orient, but with high aspirations in terms of personal legacy.

The proposal took shape organically: the different versions of the script were taking shape as the editing, carried out from a rented room installed in Films de l´Orient´s offices, gradually completed a process that lasted more than two years.

The Historical Journey

El somni català (The Catalan Problem) begins in 1904 with the visit of Alfonso XIII to the Barcelona City Council, where a young councillor (Francesc Cambó) confronts the king: ´Your Majesty, Barcelona is not content´; and continues with the famous phrase: ´The politicians present here will pass, the parties represented here will pass, regimes will fall and new ones will emerge, but the living fact of Catalonia will subsist´.

From here, we will journey through history through moments such as: the assault of army soldiers on the editorial offices of ´¡Cu-Cut!´ and ´La Veu de Catalunya´ (1905), the prohibition of Catalan by the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923), the murders of Francesc Layret (1920) and ´El noi del sucre (The Sugar Boy)´ (1923), the events in Prats de Molló (1926), the proclamation of the Catalan Republic by Macià (1931), the occupation by Franco´s troops (1938-1939), the arrest and execution of Companys (1940), the Transition or September 11, 1977. This journey will lead us to the most recent present, with events such as the Diada demonstrations, the Vía Catalana or the ´V´.