Alba Esquinas `Bai, Bai” explores the loss of the first friendship
With “Bai, Bai”, the director born in Murcia alba Esquinas has turned into a formative childhood memory into an advantage for the first time, explore accurate but destroyed for the first friendship. It is one of the nicknames of ECAM Incubator, the prestigious Madrid School initiative that has become a major launch platform for the emerging Spanish directors, providing support for development, industry and access to international markets.
The story follows Anna, 12 years old, who starts a long -awaited school trip to Madrid with her best friend Santi. But on the bus trip, Santi chooses to sit with someone else. This empty seat is the beginning of the painful separation, as Anna faces loneliness for the first time, away from the protection of her parents and the closest companion.
Esquinas follows the project assets to a picture it faced in 2021. diverse. “I imagined a girl to draw, knowing that her best friend will see her. This method of saying goodbye led me to my own experience in losing friendship.”
For Esquinas, the topic is rarely taken on the screen. “In a romantic disintegration, you have rituals and directions to help sadness. But in friendship, especially as a child, you do not have these tools. You can feel the same shock, but it is often overlooked.”
The project of 2 million euros is produced by Alejandro González Clemente in Mubox Studio, with financing still must be secured. “It is always useful to finance an advantage for the first time,” Gonzalez admitted. “But we believe that one of the strengths in this project is Alba’s sensitivity in telling stories, and the world’s topic.”
Visually, the director plans to balance realism with expressive. “I am looking for a realistic emotional image, but that aesthetic expressive. Anna’s emotions will define pictures and sounds – because she accepts the end of her friendship, will be accompanied by settings, such as the rituals of the clip.”
She refused to nostalgia for the past, describing “Bai, Bai” as “more than the next adults.” She said: “There is no big room for innocence. About almost the beginning, there is disappointment with the reality that has a greater relationship with a severe perspective.” Among the inspiration, citing the Céline Sciamma approach in writing the script and the micro -film industry from Joanna Hogg.
MUBOX previously cooperated with Esquinas on the short “Olores” (“” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” “” SMools “, which was first shown in Visions du rél. “We loved the way you work and tell stories, so we were excited to see her the next text and to be part of her step in filmmaking,” said Gonzalez.
What echoed with the producers was the accuracy of the loss. Gonzalez said: “It is not a tragic dramatic event like death, it is related to two girls who are drifting at the beginning of their world of growth,” said Gonzalez. “It is a moment you can feel very shocked, but it rarely saw her depicting on the screen.”
Quoting the success of the first Spanish features such as Carla Simon “Summer 1993” and “20,000 types of bees” from Estibaliz Urrasola, Mobox aims to mode “Bai, Bai” for both the festival and international market circle. “Loss of friendship is universal – everyone can associate with it. This gives us confidence in the film’s ability to communicate widely,” said Gonzalez.
For Esquinas, the goal is to balance sadness with hope. She said: “I want the audience to adopt this betrayal with hope, despite the shadows that Anna must move.