Baztan is a film about race discrimination against the Agotes. The Agotes were a population of people living in the Baztan and Roncal Valleys in Navarra.

The film serves as a bridge between two plots that make up the story line of the film. In the present plot a film crew comes to the Baztan Valley in Navarra to prepare the shooting of a film about the Agotes. The other plot that set in the past is about a bloody episode in the repressive history of this minority group who were persecuted and humiliated for centuries in this remote valley.

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To differentiate between the past and present time frames, Iñaki Elizalde, the director, uses two different languages. The present uses a documentary form and unfolds in a fragmented manner, like a puzzle. On the other hand, the historical fiction is shot in a classical way.

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This film is based on true events. The Agotes were considered a cursed race in Navarra for centuries. They used to live in remote areas in the Bazan and Roncal Valleys in Navarra and were historically, and for centuries, the victims of racial prejudice. They lived in a slum and when they came to town they endured all kinds of insults. The Agotes were forced to wear a red mark that distinguished them from the rest of their neighbours. They weren’t allowed to cultivate land or raise cattle. The Agotes were also believed to carry diseases. In particular, they were accused of spreading leprosy. At church, they were relegated to a hollow under the choir, the bell tower or the stairs to attend mass, and often they had a specific entry, aside from the main one.

 

In 1819 the Parliament of Navarra abolished these medieval discriminatory laws.

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Trailer: Baztan