Last June, the documentary was screened for the first time 7291work on deaths in Madrid residences during the pandemic. It was a closed session attended, among others, by relatives of the deceased and the former regional councilor for social policies, Alberto Reyero. They had all been invited by Juanjo Castro, a director committed to this cause, who, a few months earlier, had offered to make a film explaining what happened in community hospitals during the first days of the Covid crisis.
The documentary analyzes the circumstances that led the Community of Madrid to prevent elderly people sick with the virus from going to hospitals from public residences. This decision is explained in detail, based on the testimonies of all its protagonists: the aforementioned Reyero appears, directors of residences, political leaders and public appearances of the then Minister of Health, Ruiz Escudero, or the regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. But the most heartbreaking testimonies are those offered on camera by the relatives of the deceased, also collected in the Citizens’ Commission for Truth in the Residences of Madrid, which the images partly include.
Three months after this first broadcast, its director is now preparing its arrival in theaters. His original intention was to release it in the fall so it could compete in the Goya Awards, although Castro knows the awards race will be very difficult for a film as modest as his, with virtually no budget. “It would be a dream to be mentioned at the Goya or the Forqué Awards, but I see it as very complicated. “I don’t have the means and I’m not very well known,” admits Juanjo Castro in a conversation with this newspaper.
The premiere will take place on November 13 at Verdi, a cinema in Chamberí that has always supported the previous works of this director. “Within 24 hours, the tickets were sold out,” says Castro, overwhelmed by the reception. Faced with the expectation generated, the cinemas themselves released more passes for the band. And it’s possible that the film will arrive in more days and in more theaters. “You do things so that they are seen, but this is incredible,” adds the director, verifying the public’s demand.
The documentary 7291 It will also arrive at the Small Cinema Studio, another Chamberí venue, located on Magallanes Street. He will be there, for now, from Thursday November 14 to 21. Tickets are also on sale and are being shipped at a good pace, confirms the director. What those who have reserved their pass will see will be a two-hour film, although Castro has also designed a longer version, with four chapters of more than 50 minutes each, intended for television or platforms that may be interested in his work. .
“One of the good things about documentary is that it is made with respect and criteria, providing data,” he explains about how to put together a film for which he had with very little means and to which he devoted countless hours of viewing. , stopping at the sessions of the commissions of inquiry, selecting the testimonies, searching for the relevant data. “People who see the documentary will see that I’m trying not to take sides, I’ve been trying to get the story across,” he says. But he also admits that the viewer may have a revelation when the lights go out, “as happened to me during the filming of the film, they will probably think that what happened was very strong.” “Another thing I’m proud of is that I managed to explain something very complex. This is an issue that does not concern blacks and whites. There are a lot of grays and a lot of nuances,” he says.
The enormous impact of the film’s subject matter, however, had a direct effect on its commercial distribution. Castro began conversations with distributors for its theatrical screening, but he quickly realized that none of them could get the film through the usual channels, since the documentary addresses one of the taboo subjects for the current president of the Community of Madrid. “I was aware, I was not misled, I am touching the figure of a possible leader of the most important opposition party,” said the director with resignation. “I also tell you that if I had stopped at those things, I would not have done it. I go as far as I can with my means,” he adds, recounting that he himself had to discuss with each cinema to obtain screenings of the film.
Juanjo Castro is a committed television producer and film director focused on Madrid (many of which are available on Filmin). He also collaborated in Of general interestthe documentary that recounts the neighborhood struggle that managed to build the immense Santander Park in the heart of Chamberí, on the demolition of the illegal Esperanza Aguirre golf course. with the movie 7291 He will realize something he had not yet realized: that the subject will also interest Barcelona, where the documentary will also be presented in preview. It will be in the Verdi cinemas in Barcelona on November 27. It will include a symposium to which groups fighting for public health have also been invited. “I succeed in everything thanks to the support of associations, I couldn’t do it alone,” he admits.
