The Final Stretch

It’s summertime in Deltebre, a village on the Ebro River Valley in Spain. At this time of year, the flow of the river is so weak near the sea that the river delta is gradually silting up. Meanwhile, village life temporarily switches from static to frenetic as the annual festival approaches. Rural workers build the enclosure around the festival grounds where families, neighbors and friends assemble to celebrate for several days, with food and drinks in abundance. Over the course of the seasons, filmmaker Oscar Perez observes life in Deltebre, which has been paralyzed by a multiple crisis. In fall, two sisters prepare for the onslaught of the tempestuous sea, which swallows up more of their land year after year. During a moonlit winter night, the river delta becomes the scene of the duck hunt, the results of which aren’t indicative of the copious meal that follows. And when spring finally arrives, stagnation in the town comes even more clearly into view. Manolo lost his job more than two years ago, and he has reduced his physical activity to an absolute minimum, though his appetite is as big as ever. The advice of his doctor unintentionally diagnoses the condition of an entire community: “You have to walk as though you’re going somewhere. With purpose.”