Former Migrant Minor Stars in Spanish Film Highlighting Struggles of Young Immigrants

Directed by Adrián Ordóñez with a screenplay by Sergio Rubio, awarded at the Malaga Film Festival this year, the short film has just finished filming. The film highlights the difficult situation of migrant minors in Spain, reports La Opinion de Malaga. Hassan El Boujaddaini, a former Moroccan minor, plays the lead role in this film in which another former minor, Oussama Orjienal, is also found.

Hassan left Morocco in 2018 at the age of 16 in search of a better future. Four years after his arrival in Spain, and two years after his expulsion from the Melilla center for minors once he reached the age of majority, here he is on the front of the stage, standing in front of a camera and a technical team of more than thirty people and repeating a text he has memorized. On his departure from Morocco, he would certainly have thought of many things, except to become a film actor.

"I preferred to spend weeks rehearsing with former tutors rather than filming with professional actors. I want to give the short film a documentary touch. I want to send a strong message," explains the director, Adrián Ordóñez. This message is the deplorable situation experienced by migrant minors in Spain "because of their color, their race, their religion...", he adds, hoping that this film can help these young people "find their way".

With the collaboration of two NGOs, Málaga Acoge and CIC Batá de Córdoba, the filming team carried out a casting to select Hassan and Oussama from among more than 30 young migrants. Then it was not easy to convince these boys to participate in the project. "As soon as they find a job, they tell you: I’m sorry, but I have to work," says the director who hopes that this film will help change the public’s view and break down prejudices about former minors.