Once Upon a time in Euskadi

In Euskadi (Basque Country), 1985, ETA activism is at its peak; and the summer holidays are finally here for 12-year-old Marcos, José, Toni and Paquito. As each working-class family experiences its own struggles, the boys while away the hours in a turbulent and trembling Euskadi, where life and death can both be absurd. Taking inspiration from the director’s own childhood, when he “scoured the streets, skittish and excited, looking for the rubber bullets that the Guardia Civil riot police had just shot at protestors”, daily life is tragi-comic for these communities, and so the film happily glides from hard-hitting issues to whimsical antics, always returning to the optimistic resilience of our four young protagonists, and the power of their friendship.

We are pleased to welcome writer/director Manu Gómez for a Q&A following the screening of Érase una vez en Euskadi on 29th March.