The Barcelona headquarters of Filmin It woke up on January 20 with graffiti on its façade: “Collaborators with Spanish repression.” The message, signed by the independence collective Nosaltres Sols!, marks the most critical moment of a boycott campaign that began days before on social networks. The trigger: the programming of the documentary ‘Icarus: the week in flames’, focused on the testimonies of riot police from the National Police who acted in Barcelona during the conflicts of October 2019, after the sentencing against the leaders of the processes.
What is it about? ‘Ícarus: the week in flames’, directed by Elena G. Cedillo and Susana Alonso, reconstructs the riots that occurred in Barcelona for seven days in October 2019, after the sentence against the leaders of the processes. The documentary, filmed in 2022 and available on Filmin since January 9, is based on interviews with agents and commanders of the Police Intervention Units who participated in the operations. “We had the feeling that this was a war,” declares one of them. The sequences include material recorded by the riot police themselves and from a helicopter, with scenes of the clashes in El Prat, Urquinaona Square and in front of institutional headquarters.
The answer. Jaume Ripoll, editorial director and co-founder of Filmin, has tried to defuse the controversy appealing to the classic principle of “Programming a film is not equivalent to subscribing to its approach.” The platform insists that it does not censor content based on ideological orientation and defends that cinema should serve to “look squarely at what makes us uncomfortable.” However, the virulence of the reaction raises a question that transcends the specific case: can streaming platforms maintain a position of editorial neutrality, or does their catalog inevitably reflect an ideological position?
Filmin is the platform with greatest historical commitment with the Catalan language and culture. In June 2017, two years before the events narrated ‘Icarus’the company launched Filmin.catbecoming the first digital platform for series and movies specifically in Catalan, anticipating giants like Netflix or Disney+. According to the last report from the Audiovisual Consell of Catalonia Introduced in December 2025, Filmin includes Catalan (in audio, subtitles or both options) in 2,350 titles in its catalogue, which represents 20.7%. The figure contrasts radically with Prime Video (9.5%), Netflix (3.5%), Max (3.2%) or Disney+ (2.2%).
The paradox. The data makes the controversy more striking: Filmin is the platform that has historically supported the Catalan language and culture the most. In June 2017, two years before the riots that ‘Ícaro’ documents, the company launched Filmin.catthe first digital platform dedicated specifically to series and cinema in Catalan, before Netflix or Disney+ did so. Latest report from the Audiovisual Consell of Cataloniafrom December 2025, places Filmin as the platform with the greatest presence of Catalan (whether in audio, subtitles or both) with 2,350 titles, 20.7% of its offer. The figures for Prime Video (9.5%), Netflix (3.5%), Max (3.2%) or Disney+ (2.2%) are much lower.
The platform has also produced original fiction in Catalan through Filmin Originals, such as ‘Selftape’, a series by the Vilapuig sisters about abuses in the Catalan audiovisual industry, and has co-produced titles with international coverage such as ‘Molt Lluny’ or ‘Forastera’. This history makes more surprising the painting of “collaborationism with Spanish repression” that it has received, signed by Nosaltres Sols!, a right-wing independence group born from the 2019 mobilizations led by the influencer David Silvestre.
Other platforms and ideological controversies. The case of Filmin is not an exception in the sector. The large platforms have experienced comparable situations in recent years: debates about the permanence of certain content in the catalog and whether programming a work implies endorsing it. Netflix went through one of its greatest internal turbulences in 2021 due to the comedy special ‘The Closer’, by Dave Chappelle, which sparked accusations of transphobia. Trans workers from the company called a protest rally calling for the withdrawal of the program. Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, justified keeping it on the platform by arguing that “not all of Netflix’s content will be to everyone’s taste.”
Woody Allen, of course. Prime Video faced a conflict of a different nature in 2019, when Woody Allen took the platform to court for breaking a contract that provided for the distribution of four feature films. Amazon argued that the “public perception” of the filmmaker had changed after accusations of sexual abuse against him reappeared, a circumstance that made the agreement unviable from a commercial point of view. The dispute ended with an extrajudicial agreement whose terms were not disclosed, but established jurisprudence: platforms can disassociate themselves from commitments with creators if they consider that their reputation damages the corporate image, without the need for judicial convictions.
And ‘Gone with the Wind’. HBO Max adopted a measure in June 2020 that caused international reactions: the Temporary withdrawal of ‘Gone with the Wind’ coinciding with the moment of greatest intensity of the Black Lives Matter mobilizations. The platform explained that the 1939 film reproduced “ethnic and racial prejudices” that could be “hurtful” seen from the present. Weeks later, the film returned to the catalog preceded by an intervention by film historian Jacqueline Stewart, who contextualized its historical relevance while pointing out its racist representations. The formula chosen by WarnerMedia established a middle path: a title can remain available without omitting its conflicting elements, as long as they are presented with the necessary critical framework.
Header | Jaume Ripoll
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