A Barcelona-based activist named Ada Colau founded the Mortgage Victims Platform as the U.S. financial crisis had ricochet worldwide hitting Spain hard spiraling the country into deep recession and causing a mortgage crisis that put people out of their homes. 6 years later she was sworn in as Mayor of Barcelona winning on a platform of housing as human dignity. In his film “Ada for Mayor”, documentary filmmaker Pau Faus follows Ada during the campaign with intimate glimpses of her questioning her own motives. A panel discussion following the film screening will explore the question of where does social change in cities come from? Are bottoms-up grass-roots movements, or governmental policies more effective in creating equitable cities? If you think you know the answer, consider why a radical thinker like Ada Colau would campaign to become Mayor.
Panelists
Tim (Michael) Iglesias
Professor of Law, University of San Francisco School of Law
Joe Eskenazi
Managing Editor/Columnist, Mission Local
Assemblymember David Chiu
California District 17
Noni D. Session
Executive Director, East Bay Real Estate Cooperative
Ronald Sundstrom (Moderator)
Professor of Philosophy, University of San Francisco
Films
![ADA1](https://sfurbanfilmfest.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ADA1.jpg)
Ada For Mayor (Alcadessa)
Spain | Spanish (Subtitled English) | 2016 | 88 mins. | Directed by Pau Faus
Film follows Ada Colau for one year, from her time spent organizing the anti-eviction fight in Barcelona to the day she is sworn-in as its mayor. The intimate chronicle -featuring Colau’s own video diary- and privileged access to the inner-workings of a new citizen platform reveal an extraordinary journey in which two prevalent themes are united: a historic victory illustrative of the political changes taking place in southern Europe, and the inner struggle of someone who fears becoming what she has so often questioned.