The Challenge is my adaptation of my father’s bestselling/blockbusting My Uncle Jacinto. In my adaptation, bullfighting becomes boxing, Madrid/La Quinta becomes Cape Town/Mandela Park, and the 1940s become the 2010s. I have submitted the script to IFFR/International Film Festival Rotterdam, where I applied for production grants to produce the film in Cape Town with Tim Spring (Raw Target, Reason to Die, etc.) as the director. They called it “a near miss” and "too Hollywood." The script is available only in English and Spanish.

                                                                                           1. SYNOPSIS

The Challenge is an adaptation of my father’s (Andres Laszlo Senior) bestselling My Uncle Jacinto/Mi Tio Jacinto, a blockbuster movie starring Pablito Calvo and directed by Ladislao Vajda. A prominent Paris newspaper wrote: ‘Nothing like this has been written since The Little Prince.’ In my hands, Mi Tio Jacinto’s Madrid, La Quinta, 1940s and bullfighting become Cape Town, Mandela Park, 2010s and boxing.

The story revolves around Tiger and Baba—a prematurely old, rheumatic, not particularly bright, drunken former boxing prodigy who only retains a hint of imaginary honour, remarkable speed, and the burden of justifying his existence through the upbringing of his nephew. In an ironic turn of events, Baba is mistakenly selected to participate in a ‘Challenge-the-Champ boxing extravaganza,’ where anyone from the public can challenge the old former champ. Baba, caught in a paradox—primarily to prove to his nephew, whom he believes he is looking after, that he is not the down-and-out drunkard that most people claim he is—accepts the challenge. Tiger—a cuddly, bright, fast, and fun-loving seven-year-old who has so far successfully evaded school and is undoubtedly the more street-wise of the two—knows he is looking after his uncle. The rest of the story unfolds as they scavenge for the money needed to rent the outfit and the boxing matches.

The beginning. It rains in Mandela Park township, and Tiger builds a waterwheel, nearly drowning his sleeping uncle. A letter from the boxing promoter arrives but is not taken seriously. Tiger and Baba travel to the town centre for their daily scavenging. While collecting cigarette butts, they spot a poster proclaiming Baba as the champ to be challenged: this can no longer be neglected. An upset Baba calls on the promoter to protest but ultimately accepts the champ role. Baba, too proud to receive assistance, claims he has the necessary boxing gear.

The middle describes the exigencies and tricks through which they ultimately manage to secure the funds needed to rent the gear, all while the threat of separation—in the forms of a fake-watch-puller, a musician, the police, a children’s court, a real criminal, etc.—draws ever closer. Their day unfolds against a backdrop of the full spectrum of Cape Town’s criminality, from reusing stamps to serious offences. As a last resort, Baba, dishonouring himself, attempts to sell a fake watch with Tiger’s assistance; they are caught. Baba is on the brink of going to jail, and Tiger is about to be sent to a children’s court. Dishonour and separation seem inevitable; the gear shop is about to close, and Baba—amicably, logically, and convincingly—is told that he should ‘give the poor kid a chance’: that he’s no good for the boy.

The end begins with Baba, devastated, being sent off with a warning. Next, Tiger manages to extricate himself from trouble, persuades the gear renter to extend credit to Baba, finds Baba, and takes him to the clothes shop. We then follow them, with Baba dressed for battle, on the bus to the stadium, where Baba successfully faces his first opponents—he still has his speed. However, he becomes carried away by his desire for honour and makes the mistake of accepting the challenge from an athlete twice his size, who has been sent to kill him; in this challenge, the danger of separation takes its final physical form. Baba puts up a famous fight but is ultimately down, out, and made to look foolish. Baba has lost what justified his existence—his honour—and the boy has witnessed his ultimate humiliation. Baba hesitantly approaches to bid farewell to his crying nephew. Don’t be silly; of course, it has a happy ending… if you choose to interpret it that way.

NB 1. The book contains 70 excellent illustrations that can serve as ‘a version 1 storyboard’.

NB 2. I have written (an illustrated children’s book available in six languages) inspired by My Uncle Jacinto, which I have turned into a script. However, if this is legally regarded as a remake of My Uncle Jacinto (blockbuster movie 1956), the rights to the remake may not belong to me but to Enrique Cerezo Torres (Atletico Madrid’s manager).

NB 3. My father’s movie—My Uncle Jacinto, which inspired this book and script—must be one of the most popular children’s movies ever, not animated.