La Bodega d’en Rafel

Where was it filmed?

Film Friendly Towns

Shooting: 
2024
Type: 
Feature-length documentary
Director: 
Carlos Prieto
Production Co.: 
Zuzú Cinema
Country: 
Spain
Synopsis: 

La Bodega d'en Rafel is a documentary project about this neighbourhood bar and the last days at the bar of its emblematic owner, Rafel, after 35 years of hard work. What will become of La Bodega when he retires? Will it end up converted into a laundromat or Starbucks? Located at the epicentre of the Barcelona neighbourhood of Sant Antoni – particularly subject to the tensions of gentrification and commercialisation of its spaces – La Bodega d'en Rafel has managed to resist throughout the decades as a beacon of coexistence and neighbourly proximity. The documentary brings us closer to the story of the owner, Rafel, and the transformations of the neighbourhood he lives in, with the aim of investigating the secret of its magic, a unique quality recognised by the entire city. The result, in addition to paying tribute to the establishment and the extraordinary person who runs it, also aims to invite us to reflect on the importance of meeting spaces, those places that allow us to create a fabric of community and that, unfortunately, disappear from our neighbourhoods and cities.