Xavier Vinader, a Journalist Against the Dirty War
Xavier Vinader, a Journalist Against the Dirty War_1

Xavier Vinader, a Journalist Against the Dirty War

Xavier Montanyà, Ángel Leiro
After General Franco’s death in 1975, francoists and anti-francoists agreed on the transition to democracy. The amnesty law allowed the release of political prisoners, but it didn’t mean the end of government officials’ career. Franco died, but his police, army, judges and secret services survived him into democracy. Xavier Vinader is probably one of the best examples of this kind of journalism in Spain. He investigated many subjects, always dedicated and truthful, trying to get to the very bottom of every issue. His priority when investigating was to discover and denounce the activities of the violent extreme-right groups, both in Spain and in the European networks. Due to his investigations, he was subject to attacks by extreme-right groups. In 1979, what would become known as ‘the Vinader case forced him into exile, placing the socialist government in a delicate situation; this created a precedent in the young Spanish democracy.

Xavier Montanyà

Director, Scriptwriter, Journalist Director and scriptwriter of the documentary Espies de Franco (Franco’s spies), produced by Batabat and Monkey Bay for TV3, TVE, Canal Historia, FR3 and Histoire. Selected out of competition at the Biarritz International Festival of Audiovisual Programs (2010). Director and scriptwriter of the documentary Memoria Negra (Black Memory), selected in the Valladolid International Film Festival (2006), Tiempo de historia section, in the Alcances Festival at Cadiz (2007), in the African Film Festival of Tarifa (2008), in the second African Film Festival in Mexico, (April 2008). Co-author and scriptwriter of the 55-minute TV documentaries: Granados et Delgado. Un crime legal (Granados and Delgado. A Legal crime) (Arte-France) (1996), Director and scriptwriter of documentaries: Joan Peiró i la justícia de Franco (Joan Peiró and Franco’s justice)(2002, TV3), El Manifest Groc. Un debat sobre la cultura catalana (The Yellow Manifest. A debate on Catalan culture) (2004, Canal 33, TV3) .

Ángel Leiro

Director, Filmmaker He started his career at Televisión Española. In 1984, he joined Televisió de Catalunya, directing pioneering TV shows such as "Gol a Gol", "Piano Bar", "Identidades", "Oh Bongònia" and "Mikimoto Club". In 1991 he started directing the music TV show "Sputnik". For some years, he worked on all kinds of music shows, broadcasts and recordings of concerts, video clips and music documentaries, such as "Juan M. Serrat: De un tiempo, de un País", "Jarabe de Palo, Realidad o sueño", "Raimon; Animal de esperanzas y memoria" and others. He has also worked on documentary series: Mundos Pequeños, Fotógrafos, Flamenco-o, Todas esas canciones . He has directed the documentaries BCN colores (BCN colours), the life of five immigrants in Barcelona, Retratos del alma (Portraits of the soul), reunion of the photojournalist Sandra Balsells with people from the Balkan Wars. Among his latest works are Embarque inmediato (Immediate shipment) Aena Prize for Journalism, Adéu, Espanya (Goodbye, Spain). Omnium Prize for Communication.

  • Original title Xavier Vinader, periodista. Contra la guerra bruta
  • Director Xavier Montanyà, Ángel Leiro
  • Duration 61
  • Production year 2014
  • Theme Biopic, Human Rights, History
  • Category Feature Film
  • Subcategory Documentary
  • Nationality Spain, France
  • Producer Produccions Audiovisuals Antàrtida SL, TVC ( Televisió de Catalunya), 13 Productions
  • Dialogue language Catalan, Spanish, French
  • Subtitle language English
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