Do You Get Me?

I am directly involved in this story. In 2015, when I was 23 years old I lived about three months in Melilla, a spanish enclave in Morocco. In this occasion, I met Mohamed, he was 12 years old and was one of the many boys who tried every night to reach the coasts of the Spanish Peninsula illegally. When I immersed myself in this reality, at the borders of the European Union, I finally saw the true face of Europe: an inhuman migration policy, illegal push-backs and a crazy border police. This experience changed me and made me re-evaluate the values on which our society is based. Through this experience I made two documentaries: "Mañana, Inshallah" and "Riski", the latter has as its protagonist the little Mohamed and his life among the rocks of the port of Melilla. In 2017, once I finished editing Riski, I contacted him via Facebook to show him the short film and hear his opinion. From that day on, we kept in touch sporadically until, in 2019, I decided to visit him in the centre where he was hosted in Sabadell, a small town near Barcelona. It was very emotional to meet him after so many years. Somehow the time spent in Melilla had marked us both, it had bonded us together and created a great mutual esteem and trust. Seeing each other again and developing our friendship outside of this city was a liberating experience. I have great respect for him and I feel very lucky to be able to tell this story, aware also of the ethical and moral problems that the story itself may have. Being able to delineate my roles as both director and friend in a subtle and honest way will be a significant responsibility.