Capitol vs. Capitol

synopsis

The media are both the weapon and the terror of modern extremists. When Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol in January 2021, they did not forget to stream their rampage. Director Javier Horcajada used their footage and social media posts to create a collage of voices and texts that is as frenetic as endless scrolling, in which facts and fiction merge into a single stream. This symphony of misinformation is interspersed with excerpts from propaganda films from the Dwight D. Eisenhower era, explaining the same concepts that the attackers bandy about - justice, law, democracy. This alarming report on how easy it is in the online age to change the meaning of words and control the masses is the second part of the director’s trilogy on contemporary America.

 

“I believe that without the assault on the Capitol, Trump could not have won four years later. Many will describe that assault as a failure, but I believe it served to further reinforce the participants’ perception that the election had been stolen from them, and that in order to win again, they needed to organize better and go all out, and unfortunately, the result has proven them right.” — Javier Horcajada (Source: Deadline)

biography

Javier Horcajada is an editor and director. He was born in Padua, and studied photography in Madrid. He later moved to Liverpool, where he worked as a photographer for several years. He then participated in the restoration and cataloguing of Taiwanese films. In his first documentary, From My Cold Dead Hands (2024), he focused on Americans’ obsession with firearms.

film details

director:	Javier Horcajada
producer:	Roberto Butragueño