Septembers

Every September, a prison just outside Madrid holds a song festival. Both male and female inmates from different prisons participate, and this documentary follows some of the contestants for a year. The film opens with the preparations for the festival. The participants have carefully chosen the songs they are going to perform, and they all dedicate them to a loved one. Some long for their boyfriend or girlfriend, while others miss their family. Norma has already won the festival a couple of times. She has not seen her daughter for a few years now, and the little girl thinks her mother is abroad for work. Beto cannot find it in his heart to tell his grandmother he has been incarcerated. For José, who is serving quite a few years for heroin possession, life is made bearable by his girlfriend Fortu, who is also in prison. The lovers only see each other occasionally, usually with a glass wall between them. Once in a great while, if they are lucky, they can spend a brief moment together in private. For all of them, love and desire make their lives behind bars worth living.