Time

Description of Scene

Audi

Code

o

(10:00:00:0

0)

00:00:00

Antonio in the street with other neighbors tryingto stop an eviction.

“Sharon, you are not alone. We are with you.”

00:00:16

THIS LAST MONTHS, I HAVE HAD THE MISFORTUNE OF SEEING MANY PEOPLE

BEING EVICTED. BECAUSE THEY

COULDN’TAFFORD TO PAY THEIR RENT

OR HOUSING COSTS DUE TO THE CRISIS

IN SPAIN.

00:00:31

Antonio's conversation with other neighbors.

I would not like to see another eviction.I have seen the door

breaking down,

the children crying. I can't stand that anymore.

00:00:41

Neighbors chanting

"We will not tolerate one more eviction”

00:00:49

Visual montage with different evictions.

"These are our weapons”.

00:00:59

ALL OF US WHO LIVE IN RENTED HOUSINGHAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY

VULNERABLE. WE CANNOT AFFORD IT.

WITHOUT A HOUSING LAW TO STOP THIS,

WE FIND NO OTHER SOLUTION THAN THE

NEIGHBORHOOD STRUGGLE.

00:01:22

Stalled eviction of one of the neighbors.

My eviction has been suspended

for the time being. I am very grateful for your

company, for your resistance.

00:01:40

I’D NEVER HAVE IMAGINED THAT IN THE FINAL STAGE OF MY LIFE I’D FIND

MYSELFIN A SITUATION WHERE I

COULDN’T AFFORD MY OWN HOUSING.

00:01:56

Images of alcorcon

TEXT/TITLE:

SPAIN HOUSING BATTLE

00:02:03

Text/Locator Antonio’s House

Alcorcón Madrid suburb

00:02:14

Antonio and Mari walking through their neighborhood.

Mari and I have been together for 62 years.

I had a comfortable life. I made a good living.

But when the economic crises happened, some factories closed.

So now I don't have a good pension.

And now we're being threatened with eviction.

00:02:43

Alcorcon’s facades

Text card:

Antonio and Mari face a 40% increase in rent

The apartment is own by Blackstone the world’s largest commercial landlor.

00:02:48

Assembly of the Tenants Union.

Text locator:

Tenant’s Union meeting

00:02:52

Antonio speaking at the assembly of the Tenants Union

When we received the first eviction notice

my wife and I just stared at each other, thinking what should we do? I don't know about you but. I panicked, I felt helpless. Our first thought was,

what can we live without?

00:03:16

Antonio speaking at the assembly of theTenants Union

And after meeting you guys… I feel more at peace. There's nothing better than that. The more of us there are,

the more powerful the union will be and the more we’ll achieve.

00:03:32

Rosa speaking at the assembly

What you shouldn't do is leave your houses.

And above all, don't stop paying [rent] because they can kick you out. Let's keep paying rent even if

the contracts have expired because we want them renewed.

00:03:44

Alberto speaking at the assembly

Many of us have already

managed to sign new contracts in the face of large rent increases

and evictions. And thanks to the support of the union, we've been successful.

00:04:02

Pablo speaking at the assembly

Sometimes, we're not fully aware of the power we have.

We're made up of 200 to 250 people who are Blackstone tenants. We have a real bombshell.

00:04:15

Assembly of the Tenants Union.

We started going to the union

and we saw it as a lifesaver. I had no idea about anything. I didn't know what to do, whether I should hand over the keys and flee...

And [the union] began to give me peace of mind.

00:04:32

Alberto speaking at the assembly

Firstly, we're going to put pressure on Blackstone.

We've already started organising ourselves. We're also going to meet with MPs

to pressure the government to approve the first housing law that makes property speculation illegal in Spain.

00:04:56

Antonio and Mari at home having a cup of tea.

-  Antonio.

-  What do you need Mari?

-  Have you called me?

-  No, nothing. Sorry.

-  I don't know if I'm going

to hell with that. Look. Do you want some?

-  Don’t open that. Drink a tonic.

-  No, I don't listen to you.I am a rebel.

-  Well, worse for you.

00:05:25

- Thank you so much, handsome.

-God bless you.

-Likewise.

00:05:44

Alberto arrives at Antonio and Mari's house

-  Hello, Antonio. How are you?

-  I’m fine.

00:05:47

Conversation between Antonio, Mari and Alberto in their kitchen.

-  You tell us, Alberto.

-  Well, tell me about the situation.

-To give you an idea of the situation, we are absolutely lost. They are forcing us to pay abusive rises in the rent, or to hand over the keys. Rents that are clearly going to be unaffordable, not only for me, but for the rest of the neighbors. There are no millionaires here, it's a working-class neighborhood. And I alreadypay 600 euros. I can't afford another increase, I am a pensioner.

-So, how long have you

been living here? When you entered, it wasa social housing, right?

-  Absolutely. Twenty two years. It was built in public land ceded by the local municipality. Andwe found that, there were some banners that said social housing. It sounds so good, it sounds

like you're protected.

-  So, it was in 2013 when the governmentsold these houses to Blackstone? And Blackstone is now proposing a rent increase of 30-40%?

-  This is the latest of many rises,the one that has put us on alert.

-In the Tenants' Union. we are trying

to organize many neighbors to negotiate collectively with Blackstone, because we know that 1 to 1 is very difficult, but if we all go together we can achieve negociate, many people sufferthe same,

here and in the rest of Madrid. So, we try to organize ourselves all.

00:07:24

-  I am very afraid that all this tension

will cause me a new heart attack because I amnot well right now,

I am not well.

-  Our situation is very critical, even if I don'twant to be dramatic, but it is very f****d up.

-  I’d rather take all my pills at once. They won't kick me out of here. I say it from now that… I won't go to my children's house or to any otherapartment. No, that's impossible.

00:08:06

Montage of images of the streets of Madrid

Political progress [on the housing law] is moving slow. IT IS VERY STAGNANT AND IT IS BEYOND US. IN SPAIN THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES AFFECTED BY THIS PROBLEM, THAT CANNOT COPE WITH THIS SITUATIONAS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE CONTINUOUS INFLATION. ALL THIS TAKE TOO LONG.

00:08:30

Cold on the streets of Madrid.

TEXT CARDS:

The shopping basket is rising seven times more than wages

and meanwhile the price of electricityhas shot up by 170% today.

The final CPI data confirms that prices rose to 7.3%.

Food is still very much affected by war at the global level

and drought at the local level.

00:08:52

Antonio and Mari at the market doing their shopping

EVERYTHING IS EXPENSIVE FOR US.WHEN YOU GIVE HALF OF EACH MONTHLY PAYMENT TO THE RENT, YOU HAVE LITTLE LEFT.

00:09:00

Mari talking to the butcher

-  A small chicken, as always,

-  How much is a kg of rabbit?

-8.29 euros

-  My goodness

00:09:26

Antonio and Mari looking at their gas bills

-   We cannot afford to pay these bills anymore.Nor the price of our rent. It’s all part of the same problem. That is wiping us out economically. With this excessive inflation.

-   I don’t know what to do. It is getting worseeveryday.

-   I don’t feel like looking at anymore bills

00:10:05

Antonio and other members of the Syndicatearriving at the Congress of Deputies

Well, Antonio, let me explaina little bit before we go in.

I am going to explain that you are coming and you are going to tell your story.

-Very well.

-You will explain that if we had a housing lawyou and your home would be protected. through your personal situation.

00:10:22

-  It's a little scary going up there, isn't it?

-  Well it's going to be in this building

-  But yes, yes, it is a bit scary, not for...

-  ...for newbies like me

00:10:36

Antonio talking to different political representatives.

I have been in that house for 22 years and I started paying 200€. But all these outrages continue to take place because the law does not come out. The Union’s proposals are beingignored. But for us it would be our only salvation.

00:10:58

Pablo talking to different political representatives.

The two obstacles that the government

is putting in the law are: the issue of regulating the price of rents and that there should be no evictions

without housing alternatives. It would be interesting for us to know how you see it,in order to design our actions,

our campaigns, etc.

00:11:25

The politician Gerardo Pisarello talking to them.

It seems to me that what can make the Government give in,

First is the fear of losing our support to pass laws.

That makes them panic.

So the fact that the rest of the left- wingparties are here is important. But above all, they are worried about mobilization.

Are you in a position to give this battle?To go out to the streets?

To demonstrate in front of the Congress? I have seen things that theoretically could notbe changed, things that could not be touched,and as soon as there is social

mobilization, orders come from above and things are modified.

00:12:22

Antonio visiting the apartment of a woman whois about to be evicted.

- I have to leave behind a lot of things,I don’t have time.

-All the things you have gathered during a lifetime.

00:12:37

I DON'T JUST FEEL SORRY FOR MY PROBLEMS,

I WORRY FOR THE OTHER PEOPLE TOO.

00:12:48

Marisa packing and collecting her things.

- Marisa, what a pity

not to have arrived in time,

in order to fight back a little more.

The drama of it is that they get away with it.

00:13:03

SOME PEOPLE GET SO FRIGHTENED WITH THE FIRST EVICTION NOTICES LIKE IDID, I GOT SCARED.

BUT I GOT STRONG THROUGH THE UNION.BUT THREATS OF LAWSUITS SCARE PEOPLE

AND MAKE THEM RUN AWAY.

00:13:21

Marisa with all her belongings at the door of thehouse and Antonio accompanying her.

- Hello, Chema, how are you? Are you very busy? I just got evicted from my house and I was hoping you could help me move my things.

00:13:43

Antonio and Mari talking in their living room andholding hands

-  That’s bad. Watch that from so close. Watchan eviction take place,

take out the furnitures. I can't imagine our belongings being taken out into the street, as I saw this morning.

-  I feel like...

-  As if we are on the waiting list

we are on the stand-by list.I don't even want to talk about it anymore, it hurts me too much. Nordo I want to pass on the pain to you. I had hoped for us a better life for the end of our days.But, that’s how things are.

-  Take it easy, dear. And to keep fighting, whichis what we have to do at this moment.

00:14:31

On the way to the Blackstone dinner

THE STRUGGLE HAVE TO GO ON.LIFE HAS PUSHED ME TO THIS.

I'M NOT LEADING ANYTHING, BUT I HAVE TO BE THERE.

ALWAYS HOPING THAT THESE THINGS WILL HELP US TO CHANGETHIS UNLIVABLE SITUATION.

THAT’S WHY WE HAVE DECIDED TO MAKEA DIRECT ACTION AGAINST BLACKSTONE.

00:14:53

A neighbor of antonio's talking on the train onthe way to the action against blackstone.

Well, we are going to meet with the rest of the neighborsto get together to the

door of the restaurant where the directors of our d e a r v u l t u r e f u n d Blackstone and political representatives are going to have dinner.

00:15:13

Protest action in front of the restaurant where Blackstone executives are dining.

THE DIFFICULTIES OF THE GOVERNMENT TO REGULATE THE RENTS, ARE DUE TO THE FACT THAT THESE POWERFUL INVESTORS, PARTICULARLY BLACKSTONE,THE LARGEST LANDLORD IN THE WORLD, HAVE A LOT OF POWER, GOVERNMENTS BOW TO THEM.

00:15:25

Text card:

Blackstone heads the list of investment funds and banks that will be forced by the Housing Law to lower rental prices

These large housing holders are the main opponents of the housing laws.

00:15:47

One of the most important and responsible person

in the government right now,

who is negotiating the housing law is coming tohave dinner directly

with the representatives of the vulture funds.

00:16:07

Look how they protect them.

But, they can see and hear us anyway. Dinner has choked them a little bit.

- Is this possible? Me 84 years old, and my wife81 years old, living with the threat of having

to leave our house. To go where?

00:16:30

“Social housing given away to Capital”

00:16:37

- It is a half victory because we have shown how the government caters more to a real estate lobby that wants to evict us than to the people who are present here.

So on that note, congratulations.

00:17:04

Antonio at sunset walking in the park.

These are the nile geese. Cats and dogs can't go there. Animals know that they have to live insafe places, where other animals cannot kick them out.

00:17:21

So much belongs to Blackstone

Even though they use different names.

00:17:29

WE JUST WANT FAIR RENTS.

WE DON’T ASK FOR ANYTHING FOR FREE. ALL WE BEG IS THAT RENTS NOT GO UP SOHIGH THAT WE CAN'T PAY THEM.

00:18:00

Antonio meets with his neighbors in thecourtyard of the building.

-  We are the first to arrive as always.

-  Come on, tell us about it.

-  Well, I got a call from them saying: "we are going to lower your rent in a new seven- year lease”. I said, "Well, you know me. I've alwaysspoken for my neighbors, too.” This works for me if you

negotiate with them as well. And they said yes, tomorrow you can call them for a negotiation, with each one of the neighbors.

-Wait, I think that Maria and Dani

should represent us and with Antonio’s help, who is doing so much for us. Because If we goas individuals, they will make different offers. And they will divide us. So what we achieve? Nothing.At a collective level we will gain nothing.

-  Jaqueline is saying something true. They alsomade her an offer once and she continues in the collective fight. But it is not that we are going

to sign now one by one. That's why Dani is going to call and see what they offer. The samething has happened to me, they have offered me a year of contract extension.

-They offered me seven years with no rental rise.

-  Well, now we shouln’t give up.

-  Of course I’m not.

-Antonio, I don’t trust them. You shouldn’t trust them either.

-Me neither. Let’s see the letter.

00:19:41

Meeting at Antonio's home with union members.

-  One of the strategies they use is to give you something, a little shred,

-  Blackstone knows they win by splitting the group, the smaller the better for them. And themore we resist together and we do not accept the contracts that they offer us, and no individual solutions,

then we will be stronger.

-  You two are becoming a symbol of the struggle, of the resistance against Blackstone.

So, it’s also very important that you keep fighting.

-There is no doubt that we will stay.

-  I am now confident that

we will not be kicked out. But in case it happens, we did what we could.

-  In my personal life and in this issueparticularly I have a saying: "I do not give up".

00:20:38

Visual montage of the different political and media actions in which Antonio has appeared.

-  Now it's time for mobilization and mobilization.Lots and lots of it.

-  “Vultures out of our neighborhoods.”

-  There are 166 evictions every day.

-  We will give visibility to the struggle whereverwe can.

-  Through demonstrations, by blocking streets…

-  From the media.

-  To the government constant demands,

-  Blackstone has not been able to beat us lastyear, because we've been fighting together.

-  “We do not tolerate not even one moreeviction”.

-  “Social housing now”.

00:21:41

Antonio returning home in a car.

The conclusion of all this is that the struggleswill continue. The only thing that works is the continued struggle of the neighbors.

00:21:51

Exterior images of the Congress of Deputies.

00:22:11

Conversation between Antonio and Pablo infront of the Congress.

-  At this age, I think that

I will not see anything else. I don’t have time. I want to settle for the crumbs they gave me.

Less is nothing. But at least we have something. I have no time left.

-  Come on, you are better than me.You are even taller.

-  I’m now. It’s true.

00:22:34

Union press conference at the door of the Congress.

We can talk about those small achievements that we have achieved thanks to the struggleand we have to recognise that

even if they are small, even if we have to defend them in order to get fulfilled, they are here in this law. We will continue organizing ourselves to defend our institutional right.

00:22:55

Antonio and Mari watching TV at home

Sourced footage: Congress TV (it is public)

Vote on the bill for the right to housing. 176 votes in favour; 167 against and one abstention. Accordingly, the bill is approved.

00:23:06

Antonio and Mari talking while sitting on thesofa

-  This suffering has been too long, I don't knowhow human beings

endure as much as it comes to us. The other day I asked someone if this has taken years offour lives, and I was told “No, at most a few months”.

-Your sense of humor and wit haveat least made it all less painful.

-   You've been like this all your life, laughing withme.

-  For sixty-something years. I think my wrinkles are not from age, they are from having laughedso much.

00:23:54

Night images of people in their homes andAntonio at his window.

SINCE THE BEGINNING OF HISTORY,

MAN HAS SOUGHT CAVES FOR SHELTER.

BUILDING YOUR HOME WITH WHAT

SURROUNDS YOU

AND THE BONDS YOU CREATE.

OUR HOME IS FULL OF SO MANY

EMOTIONS.

WE HAVE EXPERIENCED SO MUCH

HERE,TOGETHER WITH OUR FRIENDS,

WE HAVELAUGHED A LOT. NOWADAYS, IT

IS INCONCEIVABLE TO LIVE WITHOUT A

ROOF OVER ONE'S HEAD.

UNFORTUNATELY, THOUGH, THERE ARE

MANY HOMELESS PEOPLE. AND THIS IS

WHAT WE FIGHT FOR.

00:24:44

Final text cards (by AJ)