3 TIMES A REBEL will explore how one woman’s life can be changed forever after being exposed to very aggressive news. The face and voice of Marta Torrecillas went viral on the day of the referendum in Catalonia - an independence vote deemed illegal by the Spanish government. She was recorded as police officers brutally dragged her down the stairs of the polling station. She sent a voice message to a friend that went viral and was instantly received on all cell phones that day. Cameras captured her outraged as she revealed that the police had broken her fingers. The image traveled around the world, showing the violence used by a government in Western Europe against its voters. A few days later, Marta publicly explained her story: at first, she thought her fingers were broken, but doctors later confirmed that they weren’t. Trying to explain the truth on public television turned her into a symbol of lies. A nightmare began that has not yet ended. Her personal information was leaked and she received more than 7,800 messages slandering and threatening her. A year later, she began to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
But Marta is not just a victim; she is a brave woman seeking justice, who wants to close a painful file on her life, but not at any price. She sued the police officer who attacked her and the men who harassed her on social networks. The first of these trials took place in 2022. While building a new life and raising her baby, she is still forced to wait for justice, as more than six years later she is still waiting for the last trial. Meanwhile, news about her continues to appear on social media and networks, and the lie continues to surround her name.
3 TIMES A REBEL is a creative documentary that focuses on how a woman’s life can be forever changed after being exposed to aggressive political news, focusing on a sensitive, intimate, and cinematic approach. It’s the realization that when a citizen confronts the establishment and becomes its most visible face, she becomes a target to be demolished, to be morally destroyed. Through the voice of the director, we will also reflect on intimacy, sisterhood, care, and healing, approaching the different meanings of images and the filming experience, with a special focus on bullying exposure from a female perspective.
Participant: Anna M. Bofarull