El Salto (2024) is a Spanish drama-thriller film directed by Benito Zambrano. The movie depicts Ibrahim’s efforts as a Gouine Conakry immigrant who is forcibly removed from Spain even though he already has an established family and life in Madrid. He begins from the stage where he is returned back to Guinea because he does not have any legal residency documents. Ibrahim’s wish to go back to Spain compels him to reach a refugee camp between Africa and Europe, where he meets Aminata, another Muslim refugee who is also attempting to cross into the Spanish border from Morocco.
The focus of Saharan Crossing depicts the situation of the borders today, showing in close up how one of the fences — between the Spanish enclave of Melilla in Morocco and the rest of the African country — has become the focus of this migration crisis. The term fencelicking which gives the film its name describes a situation that many desperate people resort to in order to escape their conditions.
El Salto is a film that addresses the problem of immigration and deportation with the eye of the needle towards the indignities faced at those edges and the unjust systems that govern society. The focus of this piece is on the characters rather than the broad scope of the political issues, showing the effects of migration in terms of human loss, the separation of families, and the bleak reality of the refugee’s life in camps. The film also illustrates the degree to which policies regarding immigration controls shape the lives of these peoples.
The film has attracted quite some skepticism regarding its obscurantism portrayal of these issues, some reviewers arguing that it has a rather conventional subtext commonly associated with immigration cinema genres. It has, however, been shown in a good light due to its storyline and particularly the role of Ibrahim, played by Moussa Sylla. Quite a number of viewers have expressed emotions through the film which has led to praise of its creators’ works.
Cine365 Films together with Castelao Productions is behind the film which has a 90 Pamela minute runtime. Its engagement with social oppression, migration, and resistance makes the work a timely piece of the Spanish cinema dynamics.