Upon Entry

The plot concerns about the unpleasant vetting and questioning procedures that the couple formed by Diego (Venezuelan urbanist) and Elena (a contemporary dancer from Barcelona) suffers at the Newark Airport upon moving from Barcelona to the United States to start off a new life.[1][2]

Written and directed by Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastián Vásquez, Upon Entry is based on the helmers' personal experiences as immigrants.[2] The film is a Spanish co-production by Zabriskie Films, Basque Films, and Sygnatia, with the participation of TV3, and the support from ICEC, the Madrid regional administration, the Basque Government and Creative Europe's MEDIA.[1][4]

Upon Entry screened at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) in November 2022.[4] It also made it to the official selection of the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival.[1] It was picked up by Charade and Anonymous Content ahead of its screening at the South by Southwest (SXSW) for its North-American premiere.[2]

Charade closed distribution deals in Italy (Exit Media), Japan (Sochiku), Portugal (Alambique), India (Pictureworks), Pictureworks in India, CIS (Pionier), and France (Condor Distribution).[5]

Júlia Olmo of Cineuropa assessed that despite the film seemingly touching towards its end upon the clichés it managed to steer clear of before, it "manages to be an enjoyable film", "to achieve its verisimilitude and to make us forget for a while" "that we are watching a fictional film".[4]

Jonathan Holland of ScreenDaily considered that the film "plays out in that grey zone where legitimate questioning ends and the state torture manual begins", pointing out how generating "so much drama from what is basically 74 minutes of people talking across a table at one another is very clever film making indeed".[3]

• List of Spanish films of 2023