Hidden Away

Ibrahim is fourteen and has come from Morocco; he is in a hostel in Bilbao and has no papers. Deportation is on the table and he is planning to disappear. Rafa is the same age and grew up in the city; he is trying to prove himself inside his group of friends. The two meet by chance. Over a few days they spend time together and something happens between them that neither can tell anyone. Ibrahim has nowhere to stay, Rafa has nothing he can say, and there is very little time. Mikel Rueda writes and directs. It is a Basque production. The film carries two matters at once: the situation of undocumented migrant children and concealing yourself in adolescence. Both turn on the same word. The narrative uses both characters' languages; Spanish and Arabic are heard together and the limit of communication is the film's subject. Rueda's choice is little dialogue; the characters explain nothing to each other and the narrative deliberately leaves that empty. The film is built on a time limit; the date of deportation keeps the narrative's clock. It was made on a small budget and shot largely in real locations. Who it is for: viewers who like European youth drama and migration narratives. Who it is not for: the pace is slow, little happens, and the ending is left open.