title: Letters from Alou
text: # Letters from Alou
  
  Letters from Alou (Spanish: Las cartas de Alou) is 1990 Spanish film directed and written by Montxo Armendáriz.
  
  ## Synopsis
  
  Alou, a Senegalese man that has entered Spain illegally, can only find occasional jobs due to his situation. Thanks to the letters he sends regularly to his parents, we hear of his experiences and feelings as he laboriously tries to be integrated into Spanish society. He starts out on the coast of Almeria, working in the greenhouses. Then he travels to Madrid where he first comes into contact with illegal sales. He then makes his way to Segria, to work harvesting fruit, and, finally, to Barcelona, where he works in the clothes shop of another African immigrant. His adventure comes to an abrupt end when he's arrested by the police. But he crosses the Strait again, closing the circle that leaves a door open to hope.
  
  ## Awards and nominations
  
  ### Won
  
  * Cinema Writers Circle Awards
     * Best Cinematography (Juan Amorós)
     * Best Film
     * Best Screenplay – Original (Montxo Armendáriz)
  * Goya Awards
     * Best Cinematography (Alfredo F. Mayo)
     * Best Screenplay – Original (Montxo Armendáriz)
  * San Sebastián Film Festival
     * Golden Seashell (Montxo Armendáriz)
     * OCIC Award (Montxo Armendáriz)
     * Silver Seashell: Best Actor (Mulie Jarju)
  
  ### Nominated
  
  * Goya Awards
     * Best Director (Montxo Armendáriz)
     * Best Editing (Rosario Sáinz de Rozas)
     * Best Film
     * Best Production Supervision (Primitivo Álvaro)
     * Best Sound (Eduardo Fernández and Pierre Lorrain)
     * Best Special Effects (Reyes Abades and Juan Ramón Molina)
  