Xavier Montanyà Atoche (born 28 November 1961) is a Spanish journalist who has written a number of investigatory books and has directed several documentaries.
Career and work
Xavier Montanyà was born in Barcelona in 1961, and became a journalist and the author of documentaries. He was on the advisory board of La Vanguardia's "Cultura/s" (2002-2013), and is a collaborator of VilaWeb and Sàpiens.
His feature film Memoria negra (Black memory) was selected at the Festival of Valladolid (2006). The film, exhibited at the African Film Festival of Cordoba and other festivals, explores the problems caused by the Spanish colonization of Equatorial Guinea. His 2009 Les Espions de Franco (Franco's Spies) documents the activity of Franco's spies behind the lines in the Spanish Civil War. It shows that the French police were aware of the network yet did little to stop it. In his 2011 book L'or negre de la mort (The black gold of the dead) he explores the situation in the Niger Delta where multinationals are extracting (and spilling) crude oil. He discusses the corruption of the government, ecological impact, poverty and violence that affects the inhabitants.
Bibliography
.Nominated for the Rodolfo Walsh Price in the Semana Negra de Gijón (2012). Xavier Montanyà, (2012). L'Or noire du Nigeria. Pillages, ravages écologiques et résistances. Agone Editions & Survie, Dossiers Noirs (25). Xavier Montanyà, (2015). El cas Vinader. El periodisme contra la guerra bruta. Pòrtic, 2015 Xavier Montanyà, (2016). Pirates de la liberté. Éditions L'Échappée, 2016. Xavier Montanyà, (2016). Kid Tunero, el caballero del ring. Pepitas de calabaza ed. Xavier Montanyà, (2018). El caso Vinader. El periodismo contra la guerra sucia. Revistahincapie. Xavier Montanyà, (2019). Piratas da liberdade. Edicions Positivas. Xavier Montanyà, (2025). Contra el silenci i la impunitat. Vilaweb llibres.
Filmography Year Movie Role Notes1996 Granados y Delgado. Un crimen legal (Granados and Delgado: A legal crime) Co-director and co-writer . 58 minutes. Silver FIPA Award, 19961999 Winnipeg. Palabras de un exilio (Winnipeg: Words from exile) Co-director and co-writer Production of Parallel-40 with Televisión Española, ARTE, ADL and Aquis Gran Comunicaciones2000 "Xirinacs: de l'amnistia a la independència" (Xirinacs: from amnesty to independence" Co-director and writer2002 Sense llibertat (Without freedom) Co-director and writer . 54 minutes 2002 "Nfumu Ngui, el goril·la blanc" Director and writer 54 minutes2004 Joan Peiró i la justicia de Franco (Joan Peiró and the justice of Franco) Director and writer 2004 "El Manifest Groc: un debat sobre la cultura catalana" Director and writer2006 Memoria negra (Black memory) Director and co-writer Documentary on the Spanish colonization of Equatorial Guinea. 90 minutes2009 Espions de Franco (Franco's Spies) Director and co-writer 52 minutes. Documentary on Franco's spies behind the lines in the civil war2014 CIE, presó administrativa ("CIE, administrative jail") Co-director 30 minutes. Televisio de Catalunya, program: "30 minuts".Award: Premi Francesc Candel 2015. Premi per a la Diversitat en l'Audiovisual (CAC) 2015.2014 Xavier Vinader, periodista. Contra la guerra bruta (Xavier Vinader, journalist. Against dirty war) Co-director 54 minutes. Documentary on Vinader's journalistic research reports about Spanish state dirty war in Euskal Herria against basc independentists.2016 Les lluites de Barcelona (The struggles of Barcelona (1936-2016) Co-director and writer 2016 Vols de deportació ("Deportation flights") Co-director 30 minutes. Televisio de Catalunya, program: "30 minuts".
References