A short film to raise awareness against 'ghosting' in relationships

Previously, people talked about leaving a party "French exit" style or disappearing like a smoke bomb. It has always happened. But now, it's not just about leaving a party without saying 'goodbye'; it's called 'ghosting' and has become quite common: Who under a certain age hasn't been ghosted at least once? Who hasn't been abandoned without explanation, left with unanswered calls and messages?

While it's something that happens not only in romantic relationships but also among friends, it is a manifestation of a global contemporary phenomenon: human interaction has become fast food through dating apps. "We move from one person to another very easily and that entails dehumanization," explains Élise Tandé, a screenwriter, director, and producer who has been shooting 'Ghosting and Other Ghosts,' a short film about this theme, in Málaga these days.

"It's a very violent way to end a relationship, whether it's friendship or romantic. Although it has always existed, now it's easier and happens faster due to the speed imposed by technology"

"I had heard about it in conversations and something similar happened to me. It strikes me how normalized it is. It's a very violent way to end a relationship, whether it's friendship or romantic. Although it has always existed, now it's easier and happens faster due to the speed imposed by technology," explains Tandé. Leaving a party without saying goodbye is one thing. Another is letting a relationship fade because you meet less frequently. And a third, disappearing suddenly from one day to the next. "If you have a minimum of empathy, you have to be able to say goodbye. To prepare for the short film, we conducted interviews and discovered that there are several types of 'ghosting', and the most worrying is the one that comes out of nowhere; the one that occurs in a relationship where everything seems fine and without any explanation someone stops showing signs of life, suddenly stops responding," continues Tandé.

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Where Love Emerged

Élise Tandé is French by birth, though she has been living on the Costa del Sol for 25 of her almost 33 years. She studied Communication Sciences in Málaga and, while moving from one audiovisual project to another, she makes a living in tourism, as a tapas guide for SpainFoodSherpas, just like the protagonist of the short film. Laura, during one of the tours, meets Mike and it's love at first sight. Everything goes well until the guy stops responding to her messages. After being ghosted, she begins to see her fears and insecurities turned into ghosts, those that during the shooting roam Larios Street, the subway, or San Rafael Park.

The protagonist is played by actress (and voice actress) Marina Clyo: "Sadly, yes, I identify with Laura. But I process things quickly and if they don't give me a place, it means it's not my place. The lack of emotional responsibility is a reality. I hope this doesn't become a plague and that bonds are cared for. To say that words don't exist."

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More of theater than cinema, when SUR bursts into the shooting at the Atarazanas market on the first Tuesday of September, Laura passes, as every morning, by stall number 82, where the shopkeeper, Cristóbal, plays himself. Who knows if he might get bitten by the acting bug and make a career out of it. He is already a cinema enthusiast and has some connections to the industry: he proudly shows a photo on his mobile with actor Sylvester Stallone posing with his star products brought by a client: almonds, figs, and candied nuts.

'Ghosting and Other Ghosts' is Élise Tandé's third short film as director, screenwriter, and producer. Although it is the first she makes with a more significant budget and with a large and very professional team. Regarding the former, she opened a 'crowdfunding' that raised close to 20,000 euros. As for the latter, there is a team of more than twenty people involved in the project, plus actors and extras. This shooting has also become a good opportunity for students from the School Training film school to get in front of and behind the cameras. They are dressed by Cudeca and also collaborate in the production brands like Pikolinos and Cervezas Victoria.

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Comedy and Music

Tandé has chosen the musical comedy to tell the story: "When I encounter an obstacle, my response is humor," she says. So, in addition to laughter, there is music, for which she has collaborated with jazz composer Ricky Vivar, and dance and choreography, by the hand of Maxi Prado's Swing School.

Málaga is another character in the short about 'ghosting': "I wanted the city to have a strong visual presence and to shoot in real spaces." Thus the choice of Atarazanas and stall 82 for filming. Other real spaces that will appear in the audiovisual piece will be Swing Out Studio, Bon Bon Jazz Bar, Ganbaru Coffee, or Casa Mira.

Élise Tandé's ambition goes beyond art for art's sake and the short film: "This is a 360-degree project; not only is there the short film, but there are also real interviews, as well as a podcast with a university lecturer, Ana Gualda, about how new technologies affect our way of relating... We want to have a social impact and make people think."

And she hopes her short will have a journey: she will present it to be screened at the next Málaga Festival and, as it also has both American and French investments, she aspires for it to reach festivals in those two countries. As an anecdote, she mentions that she has a background in French cinematography: her mother's cousin was Jean-Charles Tacchela, a filmmaker linked to the Nouvelle Vague, whose most famous work is 'Cousin, Cousine'.