END OF TRIP - SAHARA

Short Talk with Antonio R. Cabal  (director) and María R. Palao (producer)

Spain / 2023 / 128’48’’

BEST FULL-LENGTH FILM Category

21st IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival 2024

Synopsis: In the 70s, groups of young Europeans ventured into the Sahara Desert with the intention of crossing it and experiencing an adventure. Ill-prepared, reckless, and ignorant of the terrain they were traversing, they faced life-threatening situations with unexpected consequences. From the passion of these young people for adventure, the world’s most famous rally was born. 'End of Trip - Sahara' tells one of these adventures.

Biography: With degrees in Geography and History of Art from Complutense University, my passion for photography began with a trip to Gabon in 1973, leading to founding an advertising studio and studying Image and Sound. I entered the film industry in the early '80s, worked on notable films, and directed "Sahara" in 1983, the first Spanish film sold to China. After further studies, I focused on scriptwriting and recently launched "End of Trip Sahara". I'm a member of several cinema organizations, dedicated to enriching Spanish cinema. 

Antonio R. Cabal, director

Vera Chandelle (author): Tell me is the movie based on a true story?
 
Maria R. Palao (pruducer, daughter): My father travelled a lot, but the film is fiction.
 
Vera Chandelle: Maria, how did you manage to organise all of it as an executive producer?
 
Maria R. Palao: It’s important to say that the shooting of the film happened in the 80-ties. My dad remastered the film and added more than one hour of new footage. Basically, this year he created a new film. It is an interesting thing what my dad did, but the filming was forty years ago.
  

 
Vera Chandelle: How was filming in the Sahara desert, where the living conditions are very harsh?
 
Antonio R. Cabal (director): It was all about the team, who did a very good job in the extremely hard conditions in the desert. A big part of the team were young enthusiasts with great motivation and desire in cinema. Everyday there were different obstacles that occurred. Luckily, we managed to finish the filming of the movie.
 
Vera Chandelle: How did you manage to come into contact with the Tuaregs?
 
Antonio R. Cabal: Before we started the shooting we found a tribe of them and got in contact. Later, when we started our work, they accompanied us all along the way, they dealt with the other tuareg. One of the tuareg spoke a little bit of French like me, so he was our spokesman. When we started filming, we met this little girl and we re-created the whole story around her, so she could become part of the film. 
  

 
Vera Chandelle: Where are the actors nowadays,  40 years later?
 
Antonio R. Cabal: For all of them End of trip: Sahara was the first movie. Nowadays they are all professionals in the cinema,  very important people in Spain.