The Spanish film The Invisible Hand by David Macián, an allegory on work uncertainty in modern societies, was screened on Monday 6 November 2017, in Frida Liappa theater, as part of the 58th Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
The film is part of the 58th TIFF’s tribute entitled “Invisible Hands”, whose title it inspired. The tribute explores the various angles of unemployment, showcasing five films that will have their premiere in Greece, with free admission (zero value ticket is required).
The Invisible Hand unfolds in an industrial warehouse. Eleven people from different professions perform their tasks there: a bricklayer builds a wall he intends to knock down, a young girl works on the production belt, not knowing which product she assembles, a boy moves boxes from one place to another, a mechanic repairs a car. In the meantime, the audience is watching the procedure in the dark. Is it a work of art, reality, or a psychological experiment?
The screening was followed by a Q&A session, during which the filmmaker spoke with the audience.
As to his source of inspiration, David Macián explained that the film was based on the book with the same name by the Spanish novelist Isaac Rosa. “Not everything that is happening in the film is pure fiction”, he explained. “There are various common elements with facts that took place in my life and the lives of several people I know. I combined these facts with the novel to end up to the final script”.
It is the first feature film by the Spanish film director, who made a lot of short films in the past. It was a cooperative project which tried to find alternatives to the traditional production model. “We created a co-operative”, explained David Macián, and added: “We could not afford shootings in the style of TV or commercials. I made the most important choices and decisions together with at least 50 persons, actors and members of the crew. We made the film with minimum funding. It has already been screened in Spain, at festivals such as the Seville European Film Festival, with positive reception. Here in Thessaloniki, representatives of Port workers asked me the permission to screen the film at their union. People express interest, they empathize with the film”.
Asked from a member of the audience whether the film is pessimistic as to the workers’ ability to react in the oppression at work, the filmmaker said: “Problems occur when workers cannot work as a team and make decisions in common. Maybe because of unemployment in general we are afraid to react, we are forced to do jobs we don’t want, we are not willing to say no. After all, I believe that this film goes along with real life. We are angry, unsatisfied, but we have to work. Unfortunately people, under conditions of oppression and fear, make mistakes, e.g. vote for Trump and Le Pen, just like the audience who watches the workers in the film”.
Speaking about the film’s title, David Macián explained that it is allegorical and has double meaning: “One the one hand it demonstrates the lack of reason that brought people to this work environment, and on the other workers end up being invisible, they lose their dignity, their status in society”.
Asked if the film has hints of feminism, since the workers’ attempt to react is ignited by the female members of the team, the Spanish filmmaker said that he actually did want to give a feminist hue. “Similar uprisings are ignited by men in other films. We wanted to differentiate ourselves”, he explained.
All venues that host the screenings of the tribute “Invisible Hands” are accessible to people with disabilities.
The tribute “Invisible Hands” is implemented through the Operational Program "Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning" and is co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund) and Greek national funds. Its co-funded projects deal mostly with the improvement of education and employment in Greece. Its main targets relate to:
- The development and promotion of human resources skills,
- The improvement of the quality of education & lifelong learning, awareness on environmental education,
- Linking education with the labor market, and
- Strengthening social cohesion and social inclusion of vulnerable social groups.
The tribute “Invisible Hands” is implemented as part of the anniversary events for the 60 years of the European Social Fund.
This is the second tribute of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival funded by the Operational Program "Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning".
