Return to Hansala

Return to Hansala
Directed by Chus Gutiérrez
Produced by Maestranza Films, Muac Films
Screenplay by Chus Gutiérrez, Juan Carlos Rubio
Starring Farah Ahmed, José Luís García-Peréz, Adam Bounouacha, Fatimah Andah, El Hussein Aghazaff, Cuca Escribano
Music by Tao Gutiérrez
Cinematography Kiko de la Rica
Edited by Fernando Pardo
Release dates
  • September 10, 2008 (Toronto International Film Festival)
Running time
 95 minutes
Country Spain
Language Spanish

Return to Hansala is a 2008 Spanish film.

Synopsis

At the beginning of this decade the bodies of eleven young Moroccan immigrants who were trying to cross the Straight appeared on the beaches of Rota. From their clothes, it was discovered that they all came from the same village, Hansala. The film tries to portray that event through the eyes of Martín, a funeral parlor owner who tries to make money on their deaths, and Leila, the sister of one of the dead boys. Together, they adventure into trying to repatriate the boy’s body by van and live an intense moral experience that will lead them to question their beliefs.

This is a very special film, which has already participated with success in several international film festivals, Dubai, and El Cairo, among others. It is a social drama, which shows the plight of African immigrants to Spain: a woman loses her brother in an illegal immigration attempt and must return his body to their homeland. It is also interesting because Spanish, Arabic and Berber are used in the film (with subtitles in English) and depicts some fascinating sequences of remote Moroccan culture.

The film begins with several bodies washing up on the Spanish shore, Playa Getares, near the coastal town of Algeciras. One of them is the younger brother of Leila, a refugee living in the town. She had encouraged him to risk the boat crossing to Spain, against their family’s wishes. After identifying her brother, Leila decides to repatriate his body, and face the wrath of her parents. Teaming up with a Spanish undertaker Martin, the pair embark on the hazardous trip to Leila’s mountain village of Hansala in the Moroccan countryside. Leila’s most fundamental beliefs are challenged, as she must face her family, and their grief, anger and love. Martin meanwhile is surprised by his welcome in the village. Director Chus Gutierrez presents with great sensitivity the opposing viewpoints of her main protagonists, artfully, contrasting the lives of rich and poor, separated by only a few hundred miles.

Awards

References