The session, organized by the Valencian production company InfoTV and directed by Juli Esteve Carbonell and Esther Albert Navarro, will be in its original version with Spanish subtitles (V.O.S.E.) and admission will be free until full capacity. This documentary offers an opportunity to discover a fundamental part of Valencian history and reflect on current emigration.
Between 1906 and 1920, over 15,000 Valencians from the central regions emigrated to the United States and Canada in search of work and a better future. Factors such as the crisis in the Valencian countryside, low wages, and especially the phylloxera plague in the Marina Alta in 1904, were decisive for this migratory wave. The documentary revisits this story of journeys, effort, family separation, integration, and return, updating previous materials with new scenes, editing, and soundtrack.
With an approximate duration of two hours, the film gives voice to 150 descendants of those pioneers, reconstructing their stories on both sides of the Atlantic. One of the central narratives is that of the Morell family from Orba, divided between Europe and America since Josep Vicent Morell Sendra emigrated to New York in 1914.
The documentary not only addresses the past but also proposes a look at the history of Valencian emigration to understand the present. In a context of social and political debates on migratory movements, it reminds us that Valencians were also emigrants who faced difficult journeys, poverty, and prejudice.
The film also recovers a little-known political dimension: some emigrants who returned in the thirties participated in local politics during the Second Republic, becoming mayors. After the Civil War, some were imprisoned, exiled, or even executed.
The film turns memory into a tool to understand who we have been, who we are, and how we view those who arrive in our societies today. Among the stories revealed are those of John Signes, an American soldier in Normandy; Finita Terentí (Trini Reyes), a successful dancer; Arlene Vaquer, a World Trade Center executive and survivor of 9/11; and Nadège Font, connecting Valencian emigration with current migratory movements.
The screening will take place at Casa Mediterráneo (Antigua Estación de Benalúa, Alicante) on Thursday, September 3, 2026, at 7:00 PM.
