IVÁN & HADOUM Discovery

Winner of the Teddy Award at the Berlinale and three Silver Biznagas at the Málaga Film Festival, Spanish filmmaker Ian de la Rosa’s feature debut follows Iván, a forklift driver at a small-town greenhouse on the path to becoming a manager, and Hadoum, a newly-hired Moroccan-Spanish fruit packer who immediately catches Iván’s attention. Their casual, secret encounters soon develop into genuine affection and mutual discovery. While Iván’s identity as a trans man is often used by his peers as a reason to treat him differently, Hadoum’s arrival forces Iván to confront the social and economic expectations his family places on him: to become the breadwinner in return for the sacrifices they made to pay for his transition. Having traveled across the continent as a seasonal worker, Hadoum is outspoken and determined to fight for what she wants, and she joins her coworkers in their struggle for labor rights at the greenhouse. As she falls in love with Iván, she is also drawn to his own, different kind of masculinity.

Set in an Almería stripped of its cinematic decorations, the natural landscapes of this southwestern region of Spain provide a shelter for the couple’s budding relationship. Newcomers Silver Chacon (Iván) and Herminia Loh (Hadoum) bring honesty and openness to their beautiful, intimate love scenes, offering a portrayal of transmasculine pleasure that is rarely seen on screen. A trans man himself, De la Rosa brings a deeply personal perspective to the depiction of his home region and of a love story shaped by the intersection of identities, social barriers and labor dynamics. IVÁN & HADOUM offers a fresh and original narrative about queer love that steers clear of clichés, providing a realistic portrayal not only of transmasculine identity, but also of the contemporary agricultural sector and its treatment of seasonal workers. Above all, the film explores the transformative power of desire and love as a path toward self-acceptance beyond the constraints of socially imposed expectations. –Natalia Ames