cuandolashoras

Calafell is one of those typical tourist destinations on the Catalan coast: ancient fishing villages that the tourism boom will engulf with massive buildings. Since I was a child, I've spent summers in Calafell, and that's where many of my earliest memories arise—gazing at the sea, playing with the waves, running along the beach in the last rays of the day's sun. It's also the town where I grew up and the landscape I've reflected on my whole life, where I've seen myself grow up alongside my surroundings.

As I've gotten older, this idyllic paradise I remember from my childhood has become less special. Many of the things I used to do have lost their excitement, such as walking down the street alone without being accompanied by an adult. Due to my compulsive tendency to change schools every year, Calafell and its people were some of the few social connections I felt remained constant over time, so for me, it was a place deeply rooted in the formation of my identity. It felt strange to grow up and see this place, which perhaps I valued more than my friends did, fade away.

One winter, I went to Calafell to see how it looked without its crowded beaches, and emphasized by the gray weather, I felt that although the physical place had not disappeared, everything it meant to me had vanished. Although at that moment everything blended together, and there was much confusion, it seemed to me that the landscape itself was a reflection of the spiritual decline of the town. The place was not only empty, but it also evoked an emptiness within me. I asked myself: What has changed? Is it me? Or is it the landscape?

In some way, I find this moment of transition to adulthood, when you don't yet realize you're maturing, but you know something is changing, to be beautiful. At first, you think it's the world; then you realize it's yourself. The adult world is truly horrible, much like what's happened to the coasts of Spain, but without accepting it, you can't take action. I feel a connection with the character of Barral, who linked Calafell to his relationship with his father (a man who must have been admirable, by the way), and a part of his being never matured due to his sudden death at the age of 8. When Calafell changed completely, his return to Ithaca became impossible.

This is how I came up with the idea to create this documentary, discussing my experience through the figure of Barral and portraying this journey through nostalgia between fantasy and reality that so many young people experience during their maturation process.