"Habitar o baleiro" (Dwell in emptiness) is a documentary that chronicles the phenomenon of rural depopulation in the West, using Galicia as an example. The contrast between customs that are disappearing and the new models of life and work that are trying to establish themselves. Although we don't know what will become of the countryside and the villages, we may be facing the last opportunity to document rural society. But this film may also be a milestone in the dissemination of the reality of a world outside the city that still has a chance.
Main features and goals of the crowdfunding campaign
We are living in a decisive moment: the Western rural world is facing a process of accelerated transformation, if not a silent disappearance. Our documentary offers a critical and scientific immersion in the lives of villages that resist abandonment, depopulation, digital disconnection, and the loss of basic services.
This audiovisual project seeks much more than to portray the decline of a way of life: it aims to highlight alternatives, testimonies of resistance, new models and communities, as well as the intangible value of rural cultures.
Our main objective is to collect and preserve the oral memory of rural communities at risk of disappearing,
to show the complexity and diversity of today's rural areas, and to accompany it with expert testimonies that explain where rural communities come from and their current situation.
This should stimulate a social debate on the territorial development model and serve as an educational and awareness-raising tool in schools, associations, and citizen forums, thanks to the documentary's visibility at festivals, cultural centers, and open platforms for free access.
Why this is important
This project was born out of a deep concern, but also from a lingering bond between the children of the city and their parents or grandparents who came from the countryside. What were once vibrant villages are barely echoed today. This disappearance is not only demographic: it is also cultural, economic, environmental, and emotional. After all, these communities are made up of citizens who enjoy, but also suffer the consequences of, modern society in the rural world.
The documentary and this funding project itself are aimed at a general audience, especially people who live in the city and are either sensitive to the problems faced by rural people or are part of that "critical mass" that can become aware and take action to change the fate of the countryside.
Team and experience
"Habitar o baleiro" (Habitar o baleiro) began as a photography and journalistic project by Brais Lorenzo and Cláudia Morán. A photographer and journalist (respectively), they have been documenting the problem of depopulation throughout Galicia for years.
In 2024, we will be joined by the production company Metropolis.coop. We have already participated in various documentaries and have self-produced "Ciudad de la Selva; Fuxidos e Guerrilleiros nos montes de Casaio," a feature film that we also financed through Goteo.
Metropolis is a cooperative, and within it are Juan Carlos Garcia (graphic artist and project designer), Thomas Harris (director of photography and camera operator), and Miguel Riaño Roa (project director).
For the documentary, we also have musician and composer Isabel Fernández Reviriego, Kiko Sobrino, David González as camera operator, Marcos Conde on color grading, and Brais Barreiro on sound post-production.