The 2019 film “El Hoyo” broke new ground with its unflinching metaphor for inequality. Trapped in a towering prison with cells stacked upon cells, inmates relied on a mysterious platform carrying food to survive each month. But the meager meals dwindled by the time they reached the facility’s lowest depths, leaving those below to unimaginable means to find sustenance. While shocking in premise, it tapped into real social failures that kindled moral outrage.

This setting served as a launchpad for profound questions about humanity. What drives us to turn on one another in dire straits? Can community overcome our base instincts? The film stirred lively debate that a work of fiction rarely achieves. It painted our system’s flaws in stark relief and challenged viewers to envision alternative ways of organizing ourselves.

Naturally, such a thought-provoking premise demanded further exploration. Its director, Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, recognized potential to broaden the story...