Jumping the Fence

Jumping the Fence (El salto) is a 2024 Spanish-French drama film directed by Benito Zambrano and written by Flora González Villanueva which stars Moussa Sylla, Edith Martínez-Val, Eric Nantchouang, and Nansi Nsue.

Plot
Ibrahim, an African irregular immigrant earning a living as a bricklayer in Madrid, is deported back to his native country. He attempts to get back to Spain to reunite with his pregnant partner Mariama. After travelling across the African continent, Ibrahim settles in the vicinity of the Mount Gurugu near Nador with a group of people seeking to jump the border fence to Melilla, including Aminata and Ousman.

Production
The film is a Spanish-French co-production by Cine 365 Films Canarias AIE, Cine365 Films Producciones Cinematográficas, Virtual Contenidos, Castelao Pictures and Noodles Productions. It had the participation of ICAA, Orange, Movistar Plus+, RTVE, and Canal Sur. Shooting locations included Madrid and Tenerife.

Release
The film world premiered at the 27th Málaga Film Festival on 3 March 2024. Distributed by Filmax, it was released theatrically in Spain on 12 April 2024.

Reception
Javier Ocaña of Cinemanía rated the film 2½ out of 5 stars, writing that there were "little cinema and a lot of good intentions", while also assessing the film to be the worse picture so far of Zambrano's solid career.

Salvador Llopart of La Vanguardia rated the film 2 out of 5 stars, lamenting that "the protagonists turn out to be schematic ideas rather than real characters".

Laura Pérez of Fotogramas rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, assessing that it "is overly explanatory", but also writing that "it takes flight in the sequence of the fence jumping".