''Return to Hansala'' () is a 2008 Spanish film directed by

Chus Gutiérrez María Jesús "Chus" Gutiérrez (born 1962) is a Spanish director, writer, and actress. Gutiérrez has experiences of moving back and forth between Spain and the United States, which influenced her filmmaking, as her films are known for discussing ...

which stars Farah Hamed and

José Luis García Pérez José Luis García Pérez (born 1972 in Sevilla, Spain) is an Andalusian actor in film, theatre, and television. He studied at the Centro Andaluz de Teatro (CAT). Perez portrayed the role of Pedro in the 2005 film ''Cachorro'', where he was nomin ...

. It won the

Golden Pyramid Award The Golden Pyramid Award is the highest prize for best film in the international competition of the Cairo International Film Festival, hosted annually in Cairo, Egypt. Winners and nominees References Bibliography * External links Pyra ...

at the 32nd Cairo International Film Festival and was also screened at the 2008

Dubai International Film Festival The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF, ) was the largest film festival in the Arab world, Arab region. With particular emphasis on showcasing Arab cinema, Arab, Asian cinema, Asian, and African cinema, it also helped to develop industry a ...

Plot

At the beginning of this decade the bodies of eleven young Moroccan immigrants who were trying to cross the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

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. The film begins with several bodies washing up on the Spanish shore,

Playa de Getares Playa de Getares is a beach in the municipality of Algeciras, southeastern Spain. It overlooks the Bay of Gibraltar about south of the city of Algeciras, between Punta San García and Punta Carnero, where the cliffs begin on the Strait of Gibra ...

, near the coastal town of

Algeciras Algeciras () is a city and a municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of G ...

. 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 Gutiérrez 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.

Cast

Production

The film was produced by Maestranza Films and Muac Films. Shooting locations included

and

Los Barrios Los Barrios is a small town and municipality in the south of Spain. It is part of the province of Cádiz, which in turn is part of the Andalusia region. It belongs to the Campo de Gibraltar comarca. The town's name means “the districts” or “ ...

. It was shot in Spanish, Arabic, Berber (Central Atlas Tamazight), and French.

Release

The film premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

in September 2008. Its festival run also included Tangier, the Seville European Film Festival, the

Valladolid International Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

(Seminci), and the 32nd Cairo International Film Festival, among others. It was theatrically released in Spain in 2009.

Awards

, - , rowspan = "2" align = "center" , 2008 , , 53rd

, , colspan = "2" , Jury Special Prize , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - , 32nd Cairo International Film Festival , , colspan = "2" , Golden Pyramid , , , - , rowspan = "3" align = "center" , 2009 , , rowspan = "3" , 23rd Goya Awards , ,

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

, , Chus Gutiérrez, Juan Carlos Rubio , , , , rowspan = "3" , , - , Best New Actress , , Farah Hamed , , , - , Best Original Song , , Tao Gutiérrez , ,

References