It’s just over 4 days since documentary Ciutat Morta was screened on Televisió de Catalunya and the media fallout is still ringing in our ears, confirming without doubt the impact it has had not only on the audience but in all media and political spheres of the country.

The censoring of five minutes of the documentary by court order and the anger that this caused across social networks generated a so-called Streisand effect: those five minutes viraled through the networks like wildfire and the film got a 20% audience share, a record figure, making it the top-rater for the channel.

The documentary (directed by Xavier Artigas & Xapo Ortega and produced by Metromuster), reveals the torture, bad practices and irregularities surrounding the arrests and convictions in the 4-F case (4th February 2006), and has opened several fronts of criticism, of which two really stand out for us media-dudes. First, the lack of media exposure of the event and case. The surprise for the audience at the events described in the documentary demonstrate the ignorance and lack of informed reporting and make us question how far the long arm of law and institutional forces behind it is able to go in terms of silencing human rights stories and our freedom of expression. It is notable that the film had wait until won awards at the San Sebastian (2014) and the Málaga (2014) before being transmitted by TV3, a public television paid for by the taxpayer.

And secondly, it proves undoubtedly the importance of documentary as an informative and journalistic genre. Although developing a documentary project can be increasingly challenging (take note that Ciutat Morta was crowdfunded), documentaries like Bowling for Columbine or Super Size have led the way for more directors and producers deciding to opt for the investigation and reporting of cases which, otherwise, would become part of a collective amnesia.

There has been a massive media reaction to the TV transmission of the documentary, and I wish this could always be the case. Perhaps the most transcendent reaction has been the requests made by some political parties to reopen the case and do something about the serious cases of corruption that documentary exposes. A heartfelt congratulations to whole the team behind Ciutat Morta and what an inspiring way to start the year with a documentary that really does seem to have the power to change lives.