Return to Hansala

At the beginning of this decade the bodies of eleven young Moroccan immigrants who were trying to cross the Strait of Gibraltar 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, 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 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 listing|

• {{ill|Farah Hamed|ca}} as Leila{{Cite journal|url=https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/5785492.pdf|journal=CIEHL|volume=23|year=2016|title=Sujetos itinerantes y relaciones bidireccionales centro-periféricas en Retorno a Hansala (2008) de Chus Gutiérrez ante un contexto migratorio peninsular actual de una crisis económica|first=Marta|page=67|last=Boris Tarre}}
• José Luis García Pérez as Martín{{Sfn|Boris Tarre|2016|p=67}}
• Adam Bounnouacha as Said{{Cite web|url=https://www.cinetecanacional.net/php/detallePelicula.php?clv=13880&Tit=Pel%EDculas%20en%20Exhibici%F3n|website=Cineteca Nacional Mexico|title=Retorno a Hansala / 7 alcantarillas|access-date=17 July 2022}}
• Antonio de la Torre as Antonio
• {{ill|Cuca Escribano|es}} as Carmen
• Antonio Dechent as Manolo
• César Vea as Cirilo
• {{ill|Miguel Alcíbar|es}} as Pepe

}}

The film was produced by Maestranza Films and Muac Films.{{Sfn|Colmeiro|Gabilondo|2016|p=88}} Shooting locations included Algeciras and Los Barrios.{{Cite web|url=https://www.europasur.es/ocio/festival-Toronto-proyecta-Chus-Gutierrez_0_183881991.html|website=Europa Sur|title=El festival de Toronto proyecta el filme que Chus Gutiérrez rodó en la comarca|date=5 September 2008}} It was shot in Spanish, Arabic, Berber (Central Atlas Tamazight), and French.{{Cite web|url=https://www.granadahoy.com/ocio/Hansala-perdido-saber-vida_0_246576028.html|website=Granada Hoy|title=En Hansala tienen algo que hemos perdido: el saber estar en la vida|date=2 April 2009|first=Manuela de la|last=Corte}}

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2008.{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8f01YbSwacwC&pg=PA75|pages=75–76|first=Isabel|last=Knoerrich Aldabo|isbn=978-3-643-10578-3|year=2011|chapter=Retorno a Hansala. Migración entre naciones y regiones|title=Nation und Region: zur Aktualität intrakultureller Prozesse in der globalen Romania|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster }} Its festival run also included Tangier, the Seville European Film Festival,{{Cite web|url=https://elcorreoweb.es/historico/el-drama-de-la-inmigracion-irrumpe-con-retorno-a-hansala-CCEC154710|website=El Correo de Andalucía |title=El drama de la inmigración irrumpe con 'Retorno a Hansala'|date=15 September 2009}} the Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci), and the 32nd Cairo International Film Festival, among others. It was theatrically released in Spain in 2009.

File:Rueda de Prensa de Retorno a Hansala.jpg]]

{{Awards table|5}}

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| rowspan = "2" align = "center" | 2008 || 53rd Valladolid International Film Festival || colspan = "2" | Jury Special Prize || {{won}} || rowspan = "2" | {{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1oxXCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA88|page=88|title=A Companion to Spanish Cinema|editor-first=Jo|editor-last=Labanyi|editor-first2=Tatjana|editor-last2=Pavlović|publisher=Wiley Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-9438-9|chapter=Negotiating the Local and the Global: Andalusia, the Basque Country, and Galicia|first1=José|last1=Colmeiro|first2=Joseba|last2=Gabilondo|year=2016}}

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| 32nd Cairo International Film Festival || colspan = "2" | Golden Pyramid || {{won}}

|-

| rowspan = "3" align = "center" | 2009 || rowspan = "3" | 23rd Goya Awards || Best Original Screenplay || Chus Gutiérrez, Juan Carlos Rubio || {{nom}} || rowspan = "3" | {{cite web | url=https://www.premiosgoya.com/pelicula/retorno-a-hansala/ | title=Retorno a Hansala » Premios Goya 2022 }}

|-

| Best New Actress || Farah Hamed || {{nom}}

|-

| Best Original Song || Tao Gutiérrez || {{nom}}

|}

• List of Spanish films of 2009

{{reflist}}

{{RefFCAT|634}}

• {{IMDb title|1176942}}

Category:Films set in Andalusia

Category:2008 films

Category:Spanish drama films

Category:Films about immigration to Spain

Category:Films shot in the province of Cádiz

Category:Maestranza Films films

Category:2000s Spanish films

Category:Films directed by Chus Gutiérrez