Festival In Focus: Why Female Directors & Producers Are Leading The Charge For A New Wave Of Spanish Cinema
deadline.comSpanish cinema has undoubtedly been making a strong imprint on the international film festival circuit throughout the last few years and, crucially, there’s a new wave of female filmmakers that are driving this charge.
Carla Simon’s Alcarràs took the Golden Bear in Berlin last year, while Elena Lopez Riera and Clara Roquet debuted their respective films The Water and Libertad in Cannes as well as Elena Martin’s feature debut Creatura, which played in the festival’s Directors Fortnight section this year.
So at this year’s San Sebastian International Film Festival, it’s unsurprising that the trend is continuing as three Spanish films in official competition this year are directed and produced by women: Isabel Coixet’s Un Amor, based on a bestselling novel by Sara Mesa, which is produced by Marisa Fernández Armenteros and Sandra Hermida; Sultana’s Dream, the debut feature from Isabel Herguera which is produced by Chelo Loureiro of Abano Producíons; and The Rye Horn from director Jaione Camborda, which counts Elastica Films’ María Zamora as its Spanish co-producer. “At the moment, cinema in Spain is very strong but the situation is changing for women at the moment, which is really encouraging,” says San Sebastian International Film Festival director José Luis Rebordinos.
It’s been an intentional push from the Spanish government, which has implemented strong policies in the last few years to increase gender parity for female filmmakers in Spain.
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