Good Valley Stories

Good Valley Stories / Historias del buen valle 

José Luis Guerin, Spain, France, 2025, 125’ 

The film closely documents the stories of generations of residents in Vallbona, a long-forgotten yet now lively Barcelona suburb facing an uncertain future. 

On the outskirts of Barcelona, Vallbona is an enclave bordered by a river, railway tracks, and a highway. Antonio, the son of Catalan workers, has been growing flowers here for nearly 90 years. He’s been joined by Makome, Norma, Tatiana, coming from everywhere… To the rhythm of music, forbidden swims, and budding romances, a poetic form of resistance emerges against the urban, social, and identity conflicts of the world. 

“For me, investigating a space is very suggestive. I have the impression that it can be read through the signs that inhabit it. When I arrived in Vallbona, with the little camera, I felt like I was discovering virgin territory. I walked attentive to traces and clues: stones in an outskirt, cracks in the pavement… Everything seemed to contain stories. I think the script is somehow contained in the space, and that filming is interpreting it. /…/ Each film is a singular organism with its own particular logic and ethics, which must be discovered. There are no rules you can apply from one film to another; they reveal themselves in each case, in the process of working itself. That’s why I try to shoot in discontinuity, alternating phases of filming and editing that help me to discover the identity of the film.” – José Luis Guerin 

José Luis Guerin is a director and screenwriter who combines fiction and documentary, blurring the boundaries between the two genres. He has presented his films in festivals such as Venice, Cannes, Berlin, San Sebastián, and several times in Locarno, Rotterdam, and Tokyo. He is perhaps one of the most critically acclaimed and popular Spanish filmmakers at international festivals. He has had retrospectives at festivals and major cultural centers such as the Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris) and the Harvard Film Institute. 

With support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain.