Philosophy Behind Bars

In a prison near Barcelona seven inmates and seven law school students engage in weekly two-hour sessions of Socratic dialogue for 11 weeks, under the guidance of Sira Abenoza, a visionary professor. The sessions begin with philosophy and very quickly turn to life experience. The two groups are as different as they can possibly be: each prisoner has a hard history, which shows in their gaze and each pore of their skin.The students, from well-off families, are confronted for the first time with the effects of what they learn in the books. For all of them, this is a true journey of discovery in which prejudices are slowly dissolved through dialogue. In the end, the most pressing question that arises is the real prospect for the prisoner’s successful reintegration into society. Combining key moments from the sessions with intimate portraits, the viewer witnesses the evolution of each of the participants through the process, from the initial reservations and prejudices to the understanding that truth is essentially complex and cannot be reduced to stereotype. It is a portrait of two sets of people who have the courage to break out of their own bubbles to try and understand each other.