Joshua Parfitt
A BRITISH tourist, an American expat and a boat load of illegal migrants.
These are the key ingredients for one of the hottest foreign films ever up for a Spanish film award.
With its backdrop of barbecues, fine wine and boat trips, it is the perfect setting for a classic summer sojourn.
But Foreigner – filmed in Malaga and Cadiz – has been nominated for ‘best short film’ at this year’s prestigious Goya awards.
One of four films up for the gong, it seeks to unite the experiences of the characters, who come across a boatload of migrants in original circumstances.
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The shocking series of events slowly unravel as Mark (played by Josh Taylor) goes out with an old friend on his speedboat into the shimmering Med.
But a strong current sees Mark suddenly drift into mortal danger, until he is miraculously rescued by the anxious immigrants, who include pregnant women on board.
The short film ends with an innovative scene shot from a beachgoers’ phone as the migrants sprint through sunbathers and into, as is often the case, newspaper headlines.
It is a film that, according to director Carlos Violade, ‘makes us reflect on what it means to be a foreigner in a globalised world, where, paradoxically, more and more borders arise’.
Foreigner has so far won ‘Best International Short Film’ in the prestigious Bogota film festival, as well as winning three awards at the Spanish annual Cortogenia short film festival.
It will discover its fate in Malaga on January 25.
