“I HAD A LIFE” seeks to provide a humanist view, an anthropological approach removed from the paternalism towards people who at some point in their lives have spent time on the streets and are now in a reincorporation process. We seek to gain a better understanding of such a complex problem, dependent on a multitude of factors, as homelessness. We do not want our approach to be deterministic or to convey a tragic perspective; like life itself, at times the narrative fabric is ambiguous and contradictory. The themes and subthemes that emerge and intersect in this endeavour are many. The idea of freedom is implicit in the conflict of each of our characters, the majority of whom are individuals who have been slaves to addiction but who can yearn for their days on the street as a utopian stage when they were on the fringes of any social order. When they begin their rehabilitation or reincorporation process into what could be considered “social normality”, they must comply with a series of strict rules, whether in hostels or in the supervised accommodation provided by the social institutions. Basic hygiene rules, restrictive timetables, prohibitions, a new scheduled world that is a distant cry from the routine of the street, and that is established as an unavoidable requirement for their recovery as people. The contradiction is latent in many of them; they have almost religiously met each and every one of the conditions and demands that they were consistently told would help them to recover and now, having reached a mature phase, they realise that there is no paradise, that they will never become autonomous and that the reward for such a huge effort might not even be worth it. This is an awkward, unknown group, around whom hundreds of preconceived ideas revolve. This documentary seeks to question the prejudice and stigmatisation towards homeless people and bring down these prejudices or, at least, highlight them. To do so there is no better way than giving a voice to and accompanying our protagonists, as well as the social workers and researchers in their everyday work.

Without a doubt, the PhD thesis of the social researcher Elena Matamala contributes practical, current and close knowledge of the social problem to the story. Part of the research is based on her own knowledge as a social worker with years of experience, and she focuses her study on the particular case of Jesús Mira, the protagonist of our documentary.

It is interesting to see Elena defending her research before the academic examiners who will assess her PhD thesis, and among the audience see the reactions of our protagonist who offered to be part of the research by sharing his experience. Two very different worlds that intersect on the same path, on the street and at university. We understand that the richness of this genre lies in showing and portraying without the need to explain, and it is the prolongation over time that often gives rise to the possibility of seeing the evolutionary changes, the human contradictions, and to close the storyline. All of our protagonists highlight social problems that are in urgent need of multisectoral policies to tackle their real needs.

Octavio Guerra