“Social cinema is still necessary”

Adrián Ordóñez is the director of “Todo va bien”, winner of the Besarkada Saria Award from the official section of the Homeless Film Festival. We have spoken with him about his work and his expectations for the festival.

First of all, congratulations. Congratulations on the work you have done and congratulations on the awards you are receiving.
Yes, we are very happy because it is having a reception that many times when you start working on a project you cannot imagine, and even more so, the topic you are dealing with. Because from the beginning, when we started looking for the subsidy, help, etc., many doors were closed to us. When it comes to saying let’s talk about this. Oh yes, then no. And we have seen that the film festival is receiving us very well, so we are very happy. And what Sergio Rubio, the project’s scriptwriter, said when I informed the team that we had won this award, he is right, he said that this award is what gives meaning to the story and to the fact that we have made the short. This type of festival is, in the end, one of the best awards we can have due to the fact that they are dedicated to it.
What is “Todo va bien” about? How would you sum it up?
“Todo va bien” would be summed up in kids who want to look for a better life, constantly judged, that is, but then when they arrive to other lands and another world with a thought they realize that simply by being from another origin they already have a mark and cannot move forward as easily as perhaps others. So, it is simply wanting to look for a better life and not finding it as easy as I thought.
It is something that is, unfortunately, part of everyday life, right? From many, many, many people.
Yes, for us, for me personally, working on this short film has taught me a lot, right? Here in Malaga, for example, there are many boys. Now I can get an idea of where the majority go, which is to make a living. My experience working with them was not only with Hassan, it was with Matt. That’s it, I want to make a living and I want to do it well, but we also don’t make it easy for them sometimes.
How was the process? Of course, we then see a worthy, powerful, interesting result that makes us reflect, but there is enormous work, which takes a lot of time.
Sergio Rubio had already been writing this story for two or three years, asking questions, getting information, talking to police, family, NGOs, searching. I received the script, we started the process of looking for characters and we wanted them to tell it, guys who have really lived it. Then Málaga Coge came in, we did casting, we also did it in Córdoba. And since we saw Hassan we believed we had the protagonist. And then there were two months with Fernando Jiménez, there was also Sara, Sanord in the rehearsals and Neda, who was the translator, because the short was in Arabic, and we needed to tell the translator what she needed to convey and have her pass it on to the Spanish . They spent two months trying to get them to become actors and they succeeded. Above all, one thing that I always tell, that I told them, “You have to feel this in front of the camera.” I taught them to stand in front of the camera, but what it’s like to sleep on the street or other things like being treated badly, that already came from home, unfortunately.

What did you see in Hassan?
The first thing that caught our attention was his presence. We wanted a young boy that when you look at him you feel like he still has a lot of world to explore. Hassan gives that in the short. Then he showed that it was so. I also have to say that he was never late for rehearsals, he took it seriously from the first moment. I mean, he took it as a job and the day he sat down to shoot it was like… I was looking at the combo and I say incredible, because after two months of rehearsing the shooting day is the key day. And Hassan is an endearing, hard-working guy. Today he works 24 hours a day and lives with his girlfriend, and all he wants is that today. That is why it is a little more difficult for us to count on him sometimes, because he does not want to lose his job, he does not want to lose what he has, what he has been able to achieve in Spain, it has cost him a lot and, honestly, we understand it. So he’s earned it and I think he deserves it, because he’s a wonderful guy.
What does it mean to you to be awarded at the Homeless Film Festival? What has it meant for the team?
Mónica de Bizitegi called me on the phone and she told me about the award. Being an Andalusian short, we had doubts as to whether we would be understood in the North. The beautiful thing is also that it is an interesting national topic and that in one way or another we understand, only with sensations. The short is what it wants to convey, these sensations. Having won an award in Bilbao for us is a real pleasure and especially when it is at a festival that is dedicated to giving space to these types of problems, social problems.
Although we have been selected for more awards, this is for Sergio Rubio and me the great result of having made this short.
It is the biggest prize and that is why we are looking forward to going up, receiving it ourselves and meeting the Homeless people. We are super, super, super excited about this award.
Thank you very much, Adrian. Anything to add?
What I want to convey is that social cinema is important. I have heard or read of film people questioning social cinema. It will be because they do not have problems in their daily lives, but in the end social cinema is important, we must continue fighting for it, and that entities or companies bet more on social cinema and reality, because in the end everyone, yes We look one way or the other, we have problems or family or friends, and we need to talk about it. That’s also what cinema is for, to tell what is happening.