Dir: Ian de la Rosa | Cast: Silver Chicón, Herminia Loh | Drama 99’
Review by Meredith Taylor
Ivan and Hadoum, a cross-cultural love story from Andalusia, is the feature debut of Ian de La Rosa best known in Spain for his TV fare and short films exploring sexual identity.
This workplace romance follows two colleagues who are employed in an industrial green house complex and gradually fall for each other in this seaside location in Almeria. But their story is far from straightforward and Spanish national Ivan is left in a state of contemplative confusion when Hadoum, who is of Magrebi heritage, backs off from their first sexual encounter.
While his boss congratulates him on his work record, a long-awaited promotion fails to materialise leaving Ivan disgruntled and frustrated, and we feel for him, especially when his obese sister Carmen shares too much information about her bodily functions (while sitting in the loo) when the lovestruck guy is still savouring a particularly sensual clinch with Hadoum, who is the perfect image of feminine mystery and discretion in a really appealing performance from Herminia Loh Moreno.
But when Hadoum suffers severe pain in her arm, injured earlier in the film, Ivan gets a chance to come to the rescue and the two grow closer in this filmic and thoughtful film that mulls over issues of cultural identity, xenophobia and safety in the workplace.
When Ivan’s boss decides to sell the vegetable packing business, putting the couple’s jobs on the line, a big question mark hangs over the their future. With Hadoum contemplating a move to North Africa and Ivan putting down roots in Almeria seems the couple’s future in doubt. Vibrantly shot on location in Southern Spain, this is a well-paced and engrossing look at intercultural love and friendship. Both leads give convincing performances exuding a sizzling sexual chemistry made more urgent given the tentative nature of their relationship.
BERLINALE 2026 | Panorama | 13 February 14.30