Every now and then I see a film that I have imagined existed and have waited all my life to see. Pere Portabella's 1974
El Sopar was one of these films. Beautifully shot, the film takes viewers into an intimate dinner party, replete with wine, crusty bread, cigarettes, and revolutionary ex-political prisoners discussing the ethics of various resistance strategies within prison on the night of the execution of revolutionary anarchist
Salvador Puig Antich. The old Spanish militants talk about sexism within revolutionary movements, the failures of martyrdom politics, and the struggles they face after surviving long prison sentences.
Portabella's films criticized the Franco regime. The filmmaker worked closely with famed Spanish surrealist Luis Bunuel on Viridiana.
The Museum of Modern Art did a retrospective of his work in 2007.
For people interested in further dialog about prisoners--particularly prison abolition, you should check out
CR10: the 10th Anniversary of the Critical Resistance Conference which will be taking place in Oakland September 26-28th.
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