Thank goodness Russell Wilson snatched the wheel of the clown

Thank goodness Russell Wilson snatched the wheel of the clown car from unsuspecting Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett

Quarterback Russell Wilson grabbed the wheel of the clown car driven by Nathaniel Hackett and drove to the Broncos Country rescue.

Saving an unsuspecting rookie head coach from himself, Wilson led a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the lowly Houston 16-9 on a Sunday when the boo birds came out and let the home team know that all that inexcusable trash must stop.

“I don’t blame them,” Hackett said. “I mean, hell, I’d boo myself. I got very frustrated.”

Let’s pause to say thank you for the Broncos finding a way to beat one of the NFL’s worst teams against their will.

“All I really care about is the cheering at the end because we won,” said Wilson, whose 22-yard shot against Eric Saubert with 12 minutes and 36 seconds left in the fourth quarter proved everything it took to turn Beating Houston was a measly touchdown.

Denver won and improved their record to 1-1 despite repeated red-zone atrocities; despite 13 Bonehead penalties, including a game delay on a field goal attempt; although the punt return team was sent onto the field without anyone setting up the punt; despite running out of timeouts midway through the fourth quarter, and despite Hackett’s brain freeze so much that I’m beginning to wonder if his gray matter is made up of dippin’ dots.

“This has to stop,” Hackett said, looking like he might need a hug.

But what this team needs more than a bro hug is intervention. Hackett needs someone to explain the big picture to him in real time. He needs a reliable voice to untangle the cobwebs in his brain.

We talk about this all the time with beginners who overthink everything. For all his bragging rights of being a coach’s son, the speed of the NFL game was just too much for Hackett. We knew Mike Shanahan, whose son is coming to town to coach the Niners next weekend, and Hackett is no mastermind.

With two weeks to go, Hackett is now 0-6 at converting trips to the red zone into touchdowns as a play-caller. Rather than hammering the ball into the end zone behind the steamroller running back Javonte Williams, Hackett seems inclined to make good eyes on his offensive playsheet and fall in love with cute.

Let’s hope it’s not a fatal attraction.

But after averaging 16 points per game with a quarterback making about $45 million a year, I’m beginning to wonder if Hackett is little more than former offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur with a more likable personality but no better ideas.

On the sidelines, Hackett comes across as a “Jeopardy!” contestant, eagerly barging in without any idea what the correct answer is, let alone the composure to frame his answer in the form of a question. Does anyone else get flashbacks to Vance Joseph and Vic Fangio besides me?

Hackett seems to be struggling to organize his thoughts, let alone the team on the field. In the long and storied history of this franchise, the Broncos have never committed a total of 25 penalties in consecutive games. Until now.

I asked Hackett if the process of leading offense and serving as game-day CEO was more difficult than he anticipated.

“No,” Hackett replied, vowing to mend the slow communication between him and Wilson.

OK, the Broncos have other problems than the fire alarms going off in Hackett’s head. An already struggling Denver lineup lost receiver Jerry Jeudy and cornerback Pat Surtain II to injury during the game. In back-to-back weeks, quarterbacks named Geno Smith and Davis Mills outplayed Wilson for large portions of the game.

After three quarters, with the Broncos trailing Houston 9-6, Wilson was playing at a level that could embarrass Drew Lock. He had completed 9 of 23 passes for 116 yards with one interception. His QB rating was 37.6. In a word: pathetic.

But then Wilson showed his championship pedigree. The veteran quarterback rallied his teammates to get them off the edge.

“Russ knelt in the crowd and said to us, ‘Hey, look. If we’re going to be a championship team, a team that goes deep into the playoffs and wins championships, we have to manage those situations,” said Denver receiver Courtland Sutton.

In the closing stages, when the Broncos needed a hero to save them from Hackett, Wilson completed 5 of 8 passes for 103 yards and one touchdown for a 145.8 rating that would do Tom Brady justice.

Wilson led the Broncos back from the abyss of disaster with his words and actions.

“One thing I’ll never do,” Wilson said, “I’ll never blink.”

When the Broncos needed it badly, Wilson gave them reason to believe.

But at this point, can anyone in Broncos country trust this coach not to drive this team into the ditch?

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New Caledonia wants to bring the penal colony out of oblivion

AFP, published Sunday 18 September 2022 at 09:27

Statuettes made more than a century ago by a deportee from the Commune have returned to New Caledonia: the gift of a private individual that should make it possible to support the dossier for the classification of the Caledonian penal colony as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The grandson of a convict doctor, Philippe Collin, a retired professor with a passion for history, gave New Caledonia 27 dried clay figurines that his grandfather bought from a prisoner between 1910 and 1914. .

The statuettes, about four inches high and in perfect condition, represent scenes from traditional Kanak life, such as the pilou (ritual dance) or everyday moments.

“This is what we called scrap, those small objects that the convicts sold to guards, doctors and other personalities to improve the ordinary,” explains the president of the association Testimony of a Past, manager of the historic site of the island of Nou dedicated to the prison that held 21,000 prisoners in the prisons of Nouméa and Bourail, on Grande Terre and the Isle of Pines between 1864 and the early 1920s.

The convicts lived in very precarious conditions, in which violence, arbitrariness and the smell of death predominated. The insurgents from the 1871 Commune were deported there in their thousands. Among them the teacher and activist Louise Michel, who spent seven years (1873-1880) in New Caledonia.

The restored statuettes gathered dust on family shelves as Philippe Collin made the connection to the penal colony and his grandfather by rereading letters from a certain ‘Gérard’, imprisoned in Caledonia, asking for painting materials.

For the history buff, finding out the exact identity of the artist is a point of honor. “It took a year, but that’s how I found out that his name was Alexandre Gérard, that he was a Communard who was deported at 18 and that he had ended his days in Caledonia,” says Philippe Collin. For me, rediscovering his identity and making sure his work is exhibited is supposed to give him his humanity back.”

– “To highlight this shared history” –

This donation of statuettes supports the act that the government intends to submit for the listing of the Caledonian penal colony as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “It’s a plus because we have the buildings, but we lack these objects that tell this moment in history, but that’s also what Unesco asks for,” says Christophe Sand, archaeologist assigned by the government to the preparation of the registration application.

Caledonia is gradually reclaiming this part of its history in a land where Kanaks and white Caledonians, many of them descendants of convicts, often resist.

“Today it is our responsibility to bring about this common history,” believes Mickaël Forest, a member of the pro-independence government. Since prison is also the story of the Kanaks and other communities, these worlds were not as impermeable as we would like to believe.” .

“The convicts mainly represented the Kanak world, points out the historian Louis Lagarde. However, many only saw them in pictures or through what was told to them by comrades who were able to go out. But what strikes us is that they never grotesque or caricature representations of it did. It was always a representation of beauty,”

The inclusion of the Caledonian penal colony on the World Heritage List would not be a first. The Australian site has been classified since 2010 and includes around ten sites. But New Caledonia is only at the very beginning of the process. If all goes well, the file could be presented within four or five years.

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They urge Brazil to avoid pictures of Bolsonaro in London

They urge Brazil to avoid pictures of Bolsonaro in London for the campaign

Hilton, a member of the Socialism and Freedom Party, argued that the far-right leader abuses economic and political power, using the position to promote his missionary action as an “obvious political bargaining chip.”

“He even uses guards to prepare the position he will take, to contest the election and not be arrested if he loses,” in the October 2 elections, the city council published on the social network Instagram.

On Sept. 13, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) barred the ex-military from using images of the Sept. 7 bicentennial commemorations of the South American giant’s independence, which took place on Sept. 7, in its campaign propaganda.

The seven members of that court upheld the decision of Judge Benedicto Gonçalves, who vetoed the use of the material, arguing that the use of these audiovisual media would give the Liberal Party plaintiff an advantage over the other candidates for power.

For the TSE, the use of images of the official celebration in propaganda tends to damage equality by “believing that the presence of thousands of people on the esplanade of the ministries (in Brasilia) to commemorate the civil date would result electoral mobilization in support of the candidate for re-election”.

The court analyzed the actions of the campaign by two of the candidates: former Labor Party president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Unión Brasil lawyer Soraya Thronicke.

Campaign addresses by the former army captain marked the bicentenary of independence, which after two years in this capital and in Rio de Janeiro launched a civil-military magazine.

The parade of troops and other forces, such as police, returned for the commemoration after being suspended in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Gazeta do Povo newspaper, Bolsonaro’s advisers understand that his presence in London this Monday will help in the election campaign. The same applies to the trip to New York, where he will deliver the opening speech at the 77th UN General Assembly tomorrow.

Elizabeth II, the longest-serving British monarch in history to have reigned for 70 years, died on September 8 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, aged 96. Her eldest son, who became King Carlos III. was appointed, succeeded her to the throne.

Brazil is in the midst of a tense election campaign that officially began on August 16, with Lula comfortably ahead of the president in all opinion polls.

rgh/ocs

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Kourtney Kardashian is responding to fans on social media who

Kourtney Kardashian is responding to fans on social media who are wondering if she’s pregnant or not

Kourtney Kardashian hit back at a troll who asked her if she was expecting a baby.

The 43-year-old socialite shared a photo of her standing in a nude bra and matching bottoms.

The image was a behind-the-scenes look at a photo shoot for her vitamin gummy brand, Lemme.

No baby on the way: Kourtney Kardashian says she's not pregnant, and she's not suffering any questions from people who think she is

No baby on the way: Kourtney Kardashian says she’s not pregnant, and she’s not suffering any questions from people who think she is

In an instant, Kourtney placed a hand on the lower part of her stomach, a pose pregnant women are sometimes seen in pictures.

This may have been the reason for one of her social media followers to ask, “Wait a minute, I missed that she’s pregnant.”

The mother-of-three quickly put an end to all speculation about her family’s growth with her response.

Long curls: She laid back on a huge pile of vibrant decorations during the shoot

Long curls: She laid back on a huge pile of vibrant decorations during the shoot

Shut people down: The mother-of-three was quick to shut down any speculation about her family's growth with her response

Shut people down: The mother-of-three was quick to shut down any speculation about her family’s growth with her response

“No, but you lack a woman’s body,” she wrote in response.

This isn’t the first time Kourtney has had to deal with pregnancy rumors multiple times over the years.

Back in January 2020, a fan asked her if she was expecting a child, and she replied, “No, I am.”

A few months later in May, she told fans that in a swimsuit photo she wasn’t pregnant, saying, “This is me when I’ve got a few extra pounds on and I really love it. I’ve given birth three incredible times and that’s the shape of my body.’

She’s also been a bit tougher on trolls in the past, saying, “I’m a woman with a BODY,” after one social media user wrote, “SHE PREGNANT.”

Candid: The shoot came after Kourtney announced that she has cut short her IVF journey with husband Travis and will put a sex ban on him

Candid: The shoot came after Kourtney announced that she has cut short her IVF journey with husband Travis and will put a sex ban on him

Tight shoot: The latest came in an interview given to promote her new line of vitamins and supplements, Lemme, which was accompanied by a sexy nude shoot

Tight shoot: The latest came in an interview given to promote her new line of vitamins and supplements, Lemme, which was accompanied by a sexy nude shoot

Not only is Kardashian not pregnant, but she recently announced that she is no longer going through the IVF process with her husband, Travis Barker.

During an interview with WSJ Magazine, mother-of-three Kourtney said, “We started an IVF journey, but I quit. It was a lot. I took a break to just focus on our wedding and getting married.

Kourtney also said she will place Travis under a sex ban this fall.

She said what she enjoyed most on her wellness journey was an Ayurvedic Panchakarma regimen, which she will be doing again this year.

She said: “You may have seen it on our show. It’s all those things you can’t do: no sex, no caffeine, no alcohol, no sugar. You have to be on this really clean, strict diet for five days.”

“It’s to reboot your body. They do all of this – and it cleans [the toxins from] your tissues. And then you go to this spa and get treated for four hours every day.

“Everything is very ritualized and has a purpose, and it’s fascinating. I did it mainly to cleanse my body [in preparation to] hope you have a baby.’

'We started an IVF journey... but I quit': Kourtney opened up about her baby struggles with husband Travis as she posed nude for the campaign

‘We started an IVF journey… but I quit’: Kourtney opened up about her baby struggles with husband Travis as she posed nude for the campaign

Clean week: She said:

Clean week: She said: “You may have seen it on our show. It’s all those things you can’t do: no sex, no caffeine, no alcohol, no sugar. You have to eat this really clean strict diet for five days.

When asked if she’s having a hard time abstaining, she said, “Yeah, sort of. But the reward on the other hand – if you can’t have something and then you have it, right?

“It’s like I can’t wait for all the obvious things, but then I also like the simplest things, like I can’t wait to drink caffeine. It’s definitely about moderation and being kind to yourself…

“Whenever I go to Cabo, I definitely drink margaritas and eat fries and guacamole. It’s all about balance.”

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Queen Elizabeth Meghan Markle Shes not welcome King Charles will

Queen Elizabeth, Meghan Markle “She’s not welcome”: King Charles’ will moves everyone

Queen Elizabeth’s death has put royal family feuds back in the spotlight. Meghan Markle, Harry’s wife, would be left out of an important moment

Queen Elizabeth Meghan Markle Shes not welcome King Charles will

Even death can’t bring a broken family back together? So it seems: King Charles would have expressed a very specific wish to his son Harry and asked him for it reach Balmoral Castle alone and leave Meghan outside. But what really happened?

September 8, 2022 will be a difficult date to forget. Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 after a 70-year reign, making him the longest-lived ruler in Britain’s history. Her successor was her son Charles III, who became king at the age of 73.

His brothers Andrea and Edoardo and his sister Anna mourn with him; the grandchildren Harry and William (sons of Carlo), Zara and Peter (sons of Anna), Beatrice and Eugenia (daughters of Andrea) and Louise and James (sons of Edoardo); the 12 great-grandchildren, of which George, Charlotte, Louis and Lilibeth Diana, daughter of Harry and Meghan, stand out.

All the people gathered around the family and remembered Elizabeth II with emotion. Every day a stream of people passes through the gates of Westminster: There are those who leave flowers, some poems, some dedications and some implements in memory of the queen.

queen elizabeth

Carlo has already made his first speech in Parliament and remembers his mother as a woman who gave a lot to her country, irreplaceable and whom he will try to emulate with the support of the people. “I will follow the Queen’s example” he explained. Now he is preparing to visit the various cities of the kingdom to introduce himself as the new regent and to convey his greetings to the people.

Queen Elizabeth: “Meghan Markle must not appear”

The Queen’s death has also raised some doubts: will the family finally overcome the quarrels and be reunited, at least for the occasion? How will Harry and William behave?

Meghan Markle’s absence on the day of Elizabeth’s death caused controversy for many, but the truth is that Kate Middleton was absent too. In fact, Carlo specifically asked both children to come alone, without a spouse because he wanted the moment of parting to remain private. Harry made his way to Balmoral alone, just like his brother, although he couldn’t make it in time.

queen elizabeth

The truth is that King Charles is open to relationship repairs and recently wished Harry and Meghan a happy life. Tensions in the family seem to have easedand to demonstrate this is also the parade of the four together, without divisions, in front of the people who hurried to deliver their greetings.

Queen Elizabeth, Meghan Markle “She’s not welcome”: King Charles’ will moves everyone Read More »

Woody Allen American Filmmaker Announces Retirement Tangerine

Woody Allen: American Filmmaker Announces Retirement Tangerine

Close to hitting the mark 50 career filmsthe director Woody Allen decided to take a break from film projects and devote his creativity to other areas of his life. the filmmaker should retire after the next film and just focus on continuing to write.

The information was shared with Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia while Allen is in Europe to shoot his next film, which is set in Paris. “My first idea it doesn’t make movies anymore and focus on writing these stories, and now I’m thinking more of a novel,” he explained.

This isn’t the first time the filmmaker has revealed he wants to quit. In an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche in early July, Allen said he was considering quitting cinema soon.

Woody Allen He will also no longer focus on writing his memoir after his book was canceled by Hachette, but was instead acquired by another publisher, Arcade. He also had issues with Amazon Studios shelving the film. A rainy day in New Yorkafter allegations of abuse come to light against the director.

Allen’s next and so far last feature film will be recorded entirely in French, and was described by himself as “exciting, dramatic and also very dark”. Woody Allen has preferred to record in European countries as his support in the US has dwindled due to allegations leveled against him by his daughter Dylan Farrow.

Despite revealing his intention to stop making films to the Spanish press, the director attended a press conference marking the start of production on his next film and claimed so “Never thought of retirement”. Now just wait and see what the filmmaker’s true intentions are after the feature.

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1663563901 The Hidden Wounds of Snakebites A South Sudanese History

The Hidden Wounds of Snakebites: A South Sudanese History

Mark McNicol, MSF doctor.Mark McNicol, MSF doctor.

If you get bitten by a snake in rural South Sudan, several things can happen to you:

you could die. Children are particularly vulnerable and it’s a long road to reach healthcare in these parts of South Sudan. Depending on where you live, it can take more than a day to walk to the nearest health center. Many people die from snakebite before they can get help.

You may live close enough to a health center to walk or to have relatives take you for treatments: antivenin, wound care, painkillers and antibiotics. If the health center you arrive at does not have antivenin or it has expired, you could lose your life.

You can survive without treatment. You will experience pain, swelling and other main symptoms. They can leave a chronic wound or heal from the bite itself. There may be a scar, but you’ll still be alive.

As a superstition, it is common in South Sudan to hang dead snakes from trees to prevent them from coming back to life.As a superstition, it is common in South Sudan to hang dead snakes on trees to prevent them from coming back to life.Pierre-Yves Bernard (Pierre-Yves Bernard/MSF)

The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital where I worked is located in the small town of Lankien, in the state of Jonglei. It is one of the few health centers in the region. One would expect that there would be fewer snakebite injuries in more urbanized areas, but the truth is that we regularly receive patients with these types of injuries. However, during my deployment I have not seen a single case where someone was taken to the emergency room immediately after being bitten. What we saw were people hospitalized months after the event; often when the less visible consequences of the bite finally came to light.

I remember the case of a woman who came to the hospital. She had been bitten on the ankle four or five years ago. The first thing I noticed was a strong characteristic smell of infection. Before I saw her ankle I knew it would be wrong.

If you are bitten by a snake, one of the injuries it can cause, aside from those caused by the venom itself, is a very deep puncture wound. And this injects bacteria (perhaps from the snake’s teeth or your own skin) almost deep into the body.

“While superficial wounds heal, bacteria can multiply, cause infection and erode bone.

As superficial wounds heal, bacteria can multiply, causing infection and eroding the bone. We also see this in conflict zones, with patients suffering from gunshot wounds or shrapnel wounds without access to proper treatment.

Over time, the deep infection can spread to the point where it breaks through the skin again, causing an open sore. This does not happen in all cases of untreated snake bites, but patients with this problem come to Lankien. The woman with the infected ankle was one of the worst cases I’ve ever seen.

Bone infection is treated with antibiotics, but when it’s particularly severe, patients will need surgical debridement, which means the infected tissue is removed or even amputated if necessary. Our hospital does not have an operating room, so we use telemedicine to consult with other surgeons from other MSF projects.

It was clear that antibiotics would not be enough for the woman and we raised the issue of amputation. It was a difficult decision as in an area where almost all travel is on foot he had to rely on crutches, sometimes over long distances and difficult terrain. But without the amputation, the infection would spread and get worse. She had suffered for years, and the strong odor of the substance caused her to suffer from community stigma as well.

In the end, the woman and the team agreed that amputation was the best option. My colleagues took care of taking them in our small supply plane to another MSF hospital where they have the necessary facilities and staff to carry out the operation safely.

Snakebite is a neglected public health crisis that requires an ambitious approach to address

Snakebite is a neglected public health crisis that requires an ambitious approach to address. Around the world, MSF works with governments, health services, donors and communities to try to bring about change for those affected. The answer relates to both access to affordable, quality antidotes and greater investment in community awareness, first aid and bite prevention.

The woman’s operation went smoothly, but the consequences of the injury will accompany her throughout her life. It must be ensured that fewer people suffer the consequences of this forgotten problem that is putting their lives and livelihoods at risk.

Markus McNicol He is a member of Doctors Without Borders. He has just returned from a mission in Lankien, a remote rural area in southern Sudan.

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1663563869 The Ones in the Back Row Daniel Sanchez Arevalos journey

“The Ones in the Back Row”, Daniel Sánchez Arévalo’s journey into the female universe

Daniel Sánchez Arévalo (Madrid, 52 years old) had a pending account with the female universe. The audiovisual world that the filmmaker has drawn in his films, from Azuloscurocasinegro to Sieventeen, past Cousins​​and The Big Spanish Family, is mostly male. That debt will be paid with The Last Row, a tale of friendship and an upbeat, transformative journey to overcoming self-imposed barriers, premiering September 23 on Netflix.

Five women, five friends in their thirties are the protagonists of a story that Sánchez Arévalo had been thinking about for about 10 years, but which he left untapped, he says from the Netflix offices in Madrid. The idea was simmered until three elements came together: first, the need to enter the female universe; second, his partner Sara, who responded enthusiastically when he told her this idea; and third, Verónica Fernández, Director of Fiction at Netflix Spain. “He called me and said they would like to produce a series for me. We met for lunch and I told him about those in the back row and he told me that he wanted to do it right at the start,” the director explains to EL PAÍS.

More information

In six chapters, the series tells the journey of five childhood friends, a custom that has a different twist this time: one of them has cancer. The conditions they have set for this summer vacation are that the five of them shave their hair, that they do not talk about cancer at any time and that everyone writes on a piece of paper what they would like to do if they knew that they had little time left to live and everything they must do as a collective challenge.

Godeliv Van den Brandt, Mariona Terés, Itsaso Arana, Mónica Miranda and María Rodríguez in the second episode of The Last Row.Godeliv Van den Brandt, Mariona Terés, Itsaso Arana, Mónica Miranda and María Rodríguez, in the second episode of “The Last Row,” JULIO VERGNE/NETFLIX

Sánchez Arévalo, who writes and directs the six episodes, was clear that his protagonists should be between 35 and 40 years old. “I wanted women in adulthood and at the point where your life is said to be pretty much on track and any transformation is more complicated. As you get older, the changes become more complicated, but at the same time more interesting.” I also knew that he preferred his actresses not to be known to the general public. María Rodríguez, Itsaso Arana, Mariona Terés, Godeliv Van den Brandt and Mónica Miranda are the protagonists, accompanied by supporting characters with better known names such as Javier Rey, Macarena García, Carmen Machi, Michelle Jenner or Antonio de la Torre, whose participation sometimes becomes mere cameos reduced. “In my obsession with putting together a group of thirty-somethings who you think are school friends, working with actresses who aren’t as well known to the general public makes it easier to get into the story. Although I also looked for the best actresses for the characters I wrote. I always do that, regardless of whether they have a more or less long career,” says the director.

The physical journey of the protagonists will also put them in front of an emotional, transformational journey. “I like to put the characters in a time when the wheel of life has stopped and forces you to look at yourself and ask yourself if you are where you want to be and who you want to be with.” , explains the screenwriter. “I have this picture of the hamster in the wheel. Many times in life we ​​sit in this wheel and we don’t stop thinking. You push forward and there are things that start to get dirty, you swallow them and don’t clean them and they accumulate.”

Mariona Terés, Godeliv Van den Brandt, María Rodríguez, Mónica Miranda and Itsaso Arana, in the fourth episode of The Last Row.Mariona Terés, Godeliv Van den Brandt, María Rodríguez, Mónica Miranda and Itsaso Arana, in the fourth episode of The Last Row, JULIO VERGNE/NETFLIX

For this trip, the group chooses Cadiz. The decision is not accidental and responds to several reasons. The series is set in June but filming had to take place outside of the high season between September and November and a location had to be found that recreated the summer feeling at that time. “I visited several areas in the south and Cadiz was love at first sight,” says Sánchez Arévalo. “There’s something about the spirit of these beaches, that freedom that creates a bubble between them that fits very well.” She also asked groups of friends where they were going on vacation, and Cadiz was one of the winning destinations. The team traveled there for three months to shoot at different points between Tarifa and Conil de la Frontera.

But first, the filmmaker had to face his greatest challenge: reflecting on the female world. “With a tennis expression, I felt my arm tight at first, I found it difficult to let go and hit, enjoy. I was a little scared because I really wanted to do it well so women could empathize so it didn’t come across as a man writing about women. To do this, he consciously tried to immerse himself in the female universe. Taking advantage of the fact that incarceration caught him writing the series, he approached his partner with a thousand questions so he could tell him all the details about what he’s talking about or what he’s doing with his friends. In addition, he had the help of an expert gender psychologist who reviewed scripts, characters and situations. And he asked both the actresses and the mostly female technical team to let him know if anything squeaked in the lyrics.

Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, in a corridor of the Netflix offices in Madrid. Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, in a corridor of the Netflix offices in Madrid. Claudio Alvarez

This process of working together with the actresses resulted in what Sánchez Arévalo singles out as his favorite scene of the series, a sequence from the third chapter in which the protagonists talk about their bowel movements. “I can say it’s my favorite sequence because I didn’t write it myself. I wanted to talk about it because it seems very taboo in the female universe, guys don’t have that much modesty. But it’s a topic that’s there and they recognized me that they’re all talking about it. For two days we started improvising while I was taking notes, and all the phrases that appear in that sequence were said by them, they wrote them.”

Just as the viewer doesn’t know until the very end which of the friends has cancer, neither did the actresses, who had to wait until the shooting of the final sequence, which had already been shot in Madrid, to reveal their identities. “I wanted to achieve the feeling that everyone experiences it in a very personal way. When you speak to associations that fight cancer and patients and patients’ families, it’s something that you experience very personally, and I wanted to reflect that pineapple that’s generated, that everyone suffers from it and embraces it and it’s all very close is on the surface.”

The protagonists of The protagonists of The last Row, in the fourth chapter of the series.JULIO VERGNE/NETFLIX

Although Daniel Sánchez Arévalo started in the world of screenwriting in the series with Antonio Mercero in Farmacia de Guardia to continue it in titles like Hermanas or Hospital Central, this is his first series as a creator based on his own idea. “There was one project where they asked me if I wanted to do it and I said yes, but I wanted to shoot it by hand in 16:9 and rehearse with the actors. You told me no to all three things. I felt the director was still nothing more than a filmmaker, so I wasn’t interested. After I made Azuloscurocasinegro, I went back to writing screenplays for series due to financial reasons.”

With The Last Row he was able to verify the differences between directing a series and a film. “The most complicated thing is the timing, 16 weeks of shooting, it’s like shooting more than two films. And the writing and the post-production… Also, I got caught as a father, I was shooting with my daughter who had just turned one year old. I remember one day when I had less than a week to shoot and I was at home on the playground, my daughter was sleeping, I was sitting and crying, a somewhat pathetic picture. Sara asks me what’s going on and I tell her I don’t think I’ll make it to the end. I released the tension. I made it, but the toll you have is not so much physical as mental, a lot of pressure.” Do you want to repeat this experience at the top of another series? “No, no, what’s the matter. I’ve got film mono, doing something more controlled, seven weeks of shooting… I’ve got it very clear. Although it was a wonderful, immersive, incredible experience,” he concludes.

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“The Ones in the Back Row”, Daniel Sánchez Arévalo’s journey into the female universe Read More »