The new film by producer Alba Sotorra focuses on the reality of juvenile justice centres

In recent months, professionals and users of different facilities and services of the Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu Mental Health Network have been involved in making Valencian director Claudia Estrada's first film, 'Salen las lobas'. A project carried out with the support of producer and director Alba Sotorra, winner of two Gaudí awards for 'Game Over' (2016) and 'El retorn: la vida després de l’ISIS” (2022).

Set in a juvenile justice centre, 'Salen las lobas' is based on a true story involving the director herself, a victim of vicarious violence: “3 years ago, my father reported my 14-year-old sister for abuse and she was locked up in a reeducation centre for minors. This situation left a deep impression on me, as the person who had always abused us suddenly became the victim, and my sister the abuser."

Against this background, the director traces a story of friendship and the desire to overcome adversity among girls interned in a juvenile justice centre who plan an escape to take part in an urban music competition, with an implicit strong message of empowerment and sisterhood for women who have been victims of sexist, vicarious and institutional violence.

The Els Til·lers Educational Centre Therapeutic Unit, involved in writing the script

In the film, the director's own sister plays the leading role, with other actors drawn from a street casting process and from social networks and cultural centres, and including girls who had had experiences similar to those presented in the film.

The idea of working with Parc Sanitari SJD stems from the director's need to learn about juvenile justice centres in greater depth and have first-hand experience of the way they work. For this reason, she contacted professionals from the Therapeutic Unit of Els Til.lers Educational Centre, managed by Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, which specialises in the care and treatment of young people with mental health problems and addictions.

The film's producer, Alba Sotorra, was clear that films are a very powerful tool for social transformation. "We've understood that making films implies a great responsibility: our films have helped to generate critical awareness, encouraging discussion and reflection and ultimately creating a fairer, more egalitarian society."

As a result of this way of understanding and making films, the director sought advice from professionals while the film was being written and held a number of meetings that provided valuable contributions to the script, allowing for more realistic scenes to be constructed.

The two institutions' support and involvement in the project went further and, from the very beginning, the producer decided to offer some users of the Park's Mental Health Network facilities jobs in different departments while the film was being made, which allowed them to work side by side with audiovisual professionals and be part of a prestigious project.

In November, those attending the Torrents d'Art set design workshops helped to create the pieces of art that appear in some scenes of the film. Other patients and professionals were hired to carry out various tasks during filming, for example, in the makeup and hairdressing department or the catering and cleaning service, or were chosen to play small roles in some sequences of the film (as in the case of Marta Oliu, leader of the theatre groups at the Parc Sanitari SJD), while others played themselves.

During filming, the Therapeutic Unit at the Els Til·lers Centre also offered psychological support to the actresses in the film.

An opportunity to involve users and professionals in a first-class project

For the director of the Park's Mental Health network, Dr Antoni Serrano, "the filming has meant an opportunity for the involvement of users, who have been able to do high-level professional work, and at the same time, it has allowed professionals to advise the production team in order to show a reality that often goes unnoticed."

Sotorra also added that it is a way to “reflect the work of the professionals who work so hard in these centres” and she hopes that the film “leads to reflection on how we can help these girls, who are often criminalised, when they should be seen as victims of gender-based and even systemic violence”.