Spanish children fight tradition in ‘The Boy and the Suit of Light’

A new documentary tells the story of a boy living in a small Spanish town whose family wants him to become a professional bullfighter.

In an era when bullfighting was considered a cruel and outdated sport (largely due to animal welfare concerns), this may sound like an unusual career choice.

However, social attitudes in some areas of Castellon are not as progressive as those in nearby Valencia and Barcelona, ​​and the boy’s grandfather is not concerned about the controversy of bullfighting and encourages his grandson to engage in bullfighting.

A new documentary, The Boy and the Suit of Light, which has just premiered at the Sheffield Documentary Festival, follows child Borja and his relationship with his grandfather Matias over the years.

Inma De Reyes, a director from Castellón, grew up in a bullring in the center of her hometown and watched bullfighting coverage on television, but did not realize that her birthplace was Considered the bullfighting capital of Spain.

“This is a small city where time has not passed, and people have very traditional jobs, whether they are fishing, in orange fields or bullfighting, and from time to time there are traditional religious celebrations.

“So I thought my hometown would never change. That’s why I left, I didn’t fit in there and I wanted to explore the world and find out who I was outside of that place.

“By going back there and making the film, I began to understand more deeply how families assign values ​​to their children and how their personalities are shaped.”

When De Reyes began researching the subject of a documentary, her mother sent her local newspaper articles highlighting the tradition of bullfighting, opening the filmmaker up to a world that had previously “not interested her.”

“My grandfather had books and posters about bullfighting, but I really think that was generations ago,” Dreyes recalled. “I had no idea how big the culture was.”

A friend of the Spanish director’s now living in Edinburgh introduced her to a bullfighting school, through which she eventually met Borja.

In this performance, matadors, usually wearing bright and decorated costumes, attempt to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull in front of a live audience.

It’s clear from the film that Matías harbored his own unrealized dream of becoming a professional bullfighter and pinned his ambitions on his grandson, hoping he would succeed where he failed, in part because The hope is that this can help families escape poverty.

Born into a poor family, Borja felt that his life was restricted and his opportunities seemed few, so he initially agreed to his family’s wishes.

Producer Aimara Reques said becoming a bullfighter was a “romantic idea”, adding: “That’s what Borja insists on.”

“Everyone sees a matador as a figure of status and you don’t think about killing. As a kid, he had the same fantasy as his family. ‘Oh, wow, he’s going to be standing there’.”

“It’s a theater event, it’s camp in the sense that you dress up and the mothers are proud. But you have to kill the bull, and that’s the great paradox.”

“The Boy and the Suit of Light” took five years to film and doesn’t shy away from the controversy surrounding bullfighting.

Borja watched as protesters stormed the ring during a fight holding a banner that read “No Violence.”

However, for a movie centered around bullfighting, it features remarkably little bullfighting footage. Instead, it’s the backdrop for a nuanced coming-of-age story about adolescence, family, and poverty.

“We knew we couldn’t have bullfighting on the front lines of this movie,” Dreyes said. “Borja’s coming-of-age story had to be the focus, but also make the film enjoyable to watch.

“You can watch bullfights on YouTube and I’m not interested in capturing more of it. It’s more about forming the personality of the child.”

On a practical level, there weren’t a lot of bullfights happening either – only two during the filming of the documentary.

De Reyes, who now lives in Edinburgh, described Borja’s personality as “gentle and loving” – a temperament that might not be suitable for the bullfighting world.

“In the beginning, I was really impressed by Borja’s dedication, how diligent he was in fulfilling his duties. He was almost like, ‘This is what I was told to do, this is what I’m going to do. things’.

“As time goes on, I hope you can see in the film how his mind is not fully committed to killing a bull. And I also feel that as a director, Borja was not born for this. , and he kind of knew it.

The film includes footage of Borja and his brother rehearsing using a replica bull’s head mounted on a wheeled frame, while their grandfather looks on.

It also tells Borja’s story in other settings – spending time with friends and donning traditional matador garb.

The challenge in putting Borja’s own story front and center, however, is that like many boys his age, he wasn’t always comfortable sharing his feelings.

“When making the film, I tried to capture what Borja was thinking without saying it,” Dreyes said, “because I felt like he wouldn’t say to anyone that he wouldn’t do it — but you can explain.

“So trying to capture him starting to have these thoughts on film without any voiceover or interviews was really hard.”

She believes the photographer captured Borja’s emotions through facial expressions and body language. “Just watching him, you start to realize there’s a lot going on with him.”

Although bullfighting is legal in Spain, many individual cities have outlawed the event. It is also occasionally held in Portugal, southern France, Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela and parts of Peru.

But it has been made illegal or is in the process of being outlawed in many countries, including the UK. Colombia’s ban is being gradually lifted and is expected to be fully effective in 2027.

De Reyes realizes that some people may have heard about the bullfighting elements in the film and been put off watching it, but she said the documentary’s message is more that “kids should be allowed to explore and become who they want to be.”

“I also hope it expands [viewers’] Thoughts, don’t immediately judge someone for doing something they think is bad, and give someone a second chance and explain the reasons behind certain people’s choices.

“Not everyone has the right to choose a career path or go to university, even if they are white European. I hope people don’t get put off by the word bullfighting or the world around it.”

Rex added that bullfighting is unlikely to have much of a future even for those who continue to pursue it as a career.

“The reality is this is a declining industry,” she said. “It is declining, it no longer exists.

“Those who want to keep the tradition think it’s big, but most of the matadors are out of work. It’s not what it used to be and that’s evident in the movie.”

The Boy and the Light Suit will screen at the Sheffield Film Festival on Sunday, followed by other film festivals to follow. Aconite Productions hopes to release it in the UK at a later date.