In the Hall

SYNOPSIS: “In The Hall” tells the funny story of an unhappy individual who, during a identity crisis, attends a boring convention. In his hotel, he falls madly in love of a complete stranger in the reception of the hotel. The most beautiful woman he has ever laid eyes upon. They share the same sofa, sitting next to each other but without uttering a single word, he must muster a way to reach out to her and express his feelings. His attempts are pathetic and it turns out to be harder than he originally thought.

“In The Hall” was filmed in the Iberostar Hotel situated in La Linea de La Concepción on Saturday 14th of October 2006. Its Producer, Mr. Martin Nuza tells us the origin of this project. “Gold Productions Studios had originally asked permission to shoot in the magnificent Iberostar hotel for one of the scenes of the film (El Hombre de las cuatro eses) and permission was granted. At the last moment however, due to a last minute alteration of the script, the proposed scene was eliminated and I was faced with the uncomfortable predicament of cancelling the permission in this prestigious hotel. So I asked my good friend Francisco Gabaldon that no matter the cost, we HAD to shoot something in the hotel that afternoon.” Stressed Mr. Nuza. Francisco Gabaldon continues the story. “Martin told me that we had Ms. Kelly Bensadon available for Saturday’s shoot and I said to myself, my God, we have an amazingly beautiful and professional actress, a magnificent location and the equipment necessary so lets improve and make a short film that afternoon.”

Taking the decision, producer and director went hard at work at a frightening speed, as they had less than a week to arrange everything for this unexpected short film that would test their professionalism to the limit, as the permission was for Saturday the 14th  and could not be changed. It was either then or never. “I had the idea on the Tuesday, wrote the script the following day, then Thursday and Friday contacted the other actors and crew members and on Saturday we shot the entire film”   Explains Mr. Gabaldon. “Sure you could work better but not faster” Affirms Mr. Nuza with pride.

“In The Hall” finds Francisco Gabaldón and Kelly Bensadon playing the main acting roles, joined by Juan Antonio Gómez and Carmen Rojas as supporting actors together with Carolina González. Script supervisor, technical auxiliary and covering a whole other jobs we had Rebeca Perez who states “The golden rule in films is that you have to learn to do everything” With a bright smile on his face Martin Nuza assures that “We were fortunate to surround ourselves with talented individuals who cared for the project and gave us their complete and utter commitment, without that support it would have been impossible to have gone through with it, like we did”

The film crew literally occupied the entire lobby and reception area of the Iberostar hotel with their cameras, tripods, lights, microphones and other technical equipment for the 5 and a half hours that the shoot took to complete, at a fast track speed. “I had all the takes pre-arranged on the script and this helped us move along much faster. The final product will certainly have a television look to it.” Explains Mr. Gabaldon. Martin Nuza is extremely satisfied with the end result and with his director’s work. “Francisco has achieved what few filmmakers achieve, write, direct and star.” Like so, Mr. Gabaldon holds his producer and friend in a very hard regard. “Martin has demonstrated that he is a true professional. Many hours before the shoot he was hard at work shooting location scenes, preparing the lightning and holding sound checks on set and then during the shoot, he was always behind the camera as I was in front of the camera deep in my acting role. I have never met a professional so complete in every aspect like Martin.”

The enthusiasm was also visible in the actors. “In The Hall” has been the first project in which Francisco and Kelly Bensadon have played main roles. “Apart from being a stunning model, Kelly is also an excellent and talented actress. I am dying to work with her once again. Juan is a superb character and has proven that he too has many talents.” Explains Mr. Gabaldon. “It has been a pleasure working with so many professionals”

The young dancer Juan Antonio Gómez assures that he had a smashing time on set and can’t wait to repeat his experiences all over again. “Its been great fun watching Francisco interpret such a comical character. “He is a natural comedian and can pull so many faces you will never find the same one twice.”  Carolina adds that she came to the set to see his friend Francisco direct her boyfriend Juan and ended up playing a small part as a hotel receptionist. “We are all very tired but extremely happy to have done such a wonderful project” concludes Mr. Martin Nuza.