Barcelona filmmaker Pol Rodríguez Ferrer has turned his family’s eviction from the historic Can Lluís restaurant into the HBO Max series Ravalejar. Co-directed with Isaki Lacuesta, the show premiered on 22 May and focuses on the pressure property speculation puts on residents and businesses in Barcelona.
Rodríguez’s parents, Ferran Rodríguez and Júlia Ferrer, owned Can Lluís, a restaurant founded in 1929 on Carrer de la Cera. The family was evicted in 2021 after Real Estate Investors 360, an Israeli investment fund, bought the building. Rodríguez has described the series as a form of revenge, and as a wider story about real estate speculation.
He said he has been very happy with the response since release, especially the messages from viewers. “People thank us for making a series like this,” he told reporters, adding that the story speaks to a situation many people face today. For more Catalonia coverage, see our news page.
Rodríguez first began writing a feature film about newcomers looking for rooms in Barcelona. After his family’s eviction, he folded that experience into the project and decided the subject needed more space than a film could offer. He then spoke with investment funds, real estate agencies, neighbourhood associations, residents through the Casal dels Infants del Raval, and housing activists.
That research led him to the same conclusion, the issue was too broad for a single film, so it became a series. He said the fund bought the building, told the family their contract had expired, and asked them to sign a new one on different terms. Negotiations continued through the pandemic, with the fund refusing to lower the rent.
Ravalejar recreates Can Lluís as Can Mosques, with art director Laia Colet reproducing the kitchen and other details. Rodríguez said all the paintings and family photos used in the series come from the original restaurant. His parents were involved in the production, with his mother advising on food and kitchen work, while his father still finds the story emotional.
Rodríguez also said the series is meant to raise questions about how people respond to housing pressure, not to divide the world into simple good and bad sides. He described this as a “speculation virus”, where each step up the chain, from fund to owner to tenant, can make people feel justified in pushing a little harder. The series is now streaming on HBO Max.