Female producers fuel ‘boom’ of new Spanish cinema

Much has been said about it in recent years. explosion of female directors how they strengthened their presence in the film industry, a new generation of creators finding their way through stories told from their own perspectives and sensitivitiesexpands the range of themes and styles. It is no longer anything like it was twenty years ago. The army of women is expanding every year and is getting stronger by crossing borders thanks to their talents. This year, at the Berlin Festival, Carla Simón won the Golden Bear for ‘Alcarràs’ and presented it in the Panorama section. ‘Five wolves’, Alauda is Ruiz de Azúa’s first feature film. In addition to their international repercussions, both films managed to hit the Spanish box office, a real challenge in post-pandemic times, and have become increasingly long-running films on the billboard, which we used to call ‘sleepers’. find your audience. . They both have something in common that characterizes them that cannot be overlooked: mostly produced by women.

This is not a random event and has to do with the progress of time. Until recently, Spanish production was a predominantly male domain, monopolized by men making mostly male-directed films. Now, unrivaled producer/director duo. Most of them have a long experience behind them, but now their figures are starting to become visible. Many became independent and started their own companies, which they led and carefully selected their projects. Thus, behind ‘Alcarràs’ are María Zamora, behind ‘Cincolojitos’ are Marisa Fernández Armenteros, Nahikari Ipiña and Sandra Hermida, and behind ‘Las Niñas’ are Valérie Delpierre.

“Money and power are associated with men, and this continues to be present in the collective imagination.”

Maria del Puy Alvarado

Now it is they, the makers, who are responsible for modifying the model. Since they have few references, they built their own dynamics and intersections from scratch, always with respect and brotherhood.. This good cohesion is real and when carrying out projects, it turns into a pairing between them, as in the case of ‘CincoLobitos’ and creates a very interesting network of connections. “I believe there are many women who have a clear desire to tell stories that directly affect us. there is a will to justify and strengthen the group. I have a very clear line of references. Leire Apellanizleads ‘Senor y Señora’ with Aritz Moreno, which he co-produced ‘The advantages of traveling by train’ and ‘Apellaniz y de Sosa’, with Ion de Sosa behind one of the biggest revelations of the year, ‘Holy Spirit’By Chema Garcia Ibarra.

Authorship, but without a big budget

He is aware that it is not easy to bring these films to life in the national ecosystem. “I live in distrust, in struggle, because it is very difficult to raise what I do, because I advocate very specific voices acting in a very strange place, and there is no such profile in Spain: the author, but a big budget. You can be independent and make experimental films without commercial ambition, but like most European cinemas, if you want to make independent films over two million euros like the current Lanthimos or Östlund, for example, you have a budget. problem. ”, says Leire.

“The important thing is to surround yourself with the right people and we are a force in Spain because we have great technical teams.”

Sandra Hermida

The profile of the new female producer model is not just financial but above all creative, meaning they are responsible for accompanying the directors from the beginning to meet the needs of each project. Sandra Hermida From the aforementioned ‘Five Little Wolves’ to the series, he knows what it means to lead larger and smaller fictions from the inside. ‘Innocent’By, by Oriol Paulo ‘recovery distance’, From Claudia Llosa to movies J.A. Bayonne with Belén Atienza. An adaptation of Cristina Morales’ novel ‘Easy Reading’ is about to be published. Anna R. Costa made a series and ‘Rainbow’ by Paco León. “Actually it’s like parenting, they’re all my children, and every project has its challenges and requirements,” says Hermida from Argentina, where the ‘Snow Society’ resulted. “The important thing is to surround yourself with the right people and in that sense we are a strength in Spain because we have great technical teams that combine quality and warmth and make everything so much easier.”

“Most of us had to overcome difficulties, so we looked for other ways to produce differently”

Nahikari Rope

something similar happens Nahikari Ropeis the head of Sayaka, a production company he founded with classmates Nacho Vigalondo, Borja Cobeaga, Koldo Serra and Borja Crespo. He started making short films and became head of international production. ‘colossal’with Anne Hathaway. Since its inception, it has been adapting to all the crises that have shaken the sector in recent years. “Most of us have had to overcome challenges, paradigm shifts since the beginning, so we looked for other ways to produce different from the traditional ones,” Ipiña says.

“It may be a mundane or occasional occurrence for a production company to produce a director, but if you see films that surprise you, it’s a recurring tandem.”

Valerie Delpierre

Valerie Delpierre At the start of the filming of ‘20,000 species of bees’, another new director, already successful in short film, is Estibaliz Urresola’s debut (‘Cuerdas’ was at the last Cannes Festival), and Waiting for the premiere of ‘La Maternal’It is Pilar Palomero’s second film after the success of ‘Las Niñas’. “It may be a mundane or occasional occurrence for a production company to produce a director, but if you see films that surprise you, it’s a recurring tandem. It is not a random thing, it is the result of a will. In my case, they mostly convince me”. “Beyond the (feminine) gender, the themes they cover, the stories they want to tell, their suggestions and a sensitivity closer to mine make me want to start with them,” she says. Marisa Fernandez Armenterosone of the architects behind it since the recently created Buenpinta ‘Mole agent’By Maite Alberdi, who received an Oscar nomination.

“Beyond the (female) gender, I’m interested in the themes they cover, the stories they want to tell”

Marisa Fernandez Armenteros

Aid and quota policies were also decisive. It is now normal to find women at the head of departments such as photography, editing or sound, including special effects, which until very recently were traditionally directed by men. “Quotas, points, visibility, opportunity, and made it easy to show that there are professionals who can do it as well or better than men.. They have served to establish and consolidate a normality that does not yet exist”, continues Fernández Armenteros, who worked with Isabel Coixet on her next film.

“I realized that I was surrounded by very creative women, so I started with them”

Maria Zamora

Maria ZamoraLifting the Golden Bear for ‘Alcarràs’ this year with Carla Simón acknowledges that at the beginning of her career she was practically not given projects by women. That’s why she went looking for them. “It was like active awareness. I realized that I was surrounded by very creative women, so I started with them. Then I approached the schools, labs, workshops, CIMA and they were there, waiting to make a splash, to be given an opportunity”, says Zamora, Clara Roquet or Liliana Torres, who accompany filmmakers like Natalia Mateo, Beatriz Sanchís, Nely Reguera.

Where is your boss?

Many were not taken seriously at first. “Where’s your boss?”, they told María del Puy when a deal should be closed. “It was torture because you had to spend all your time justifying yourself, something our colleagues didn’t do. But since it is something that happens in life in general, there is no other choice but to move forward. What I did was surround me with people who weren’t giggling or gossiping all the time to meet up,” says Zamora. “New male producers (he mentions) Manu Calvo, Álex Lafuente or Tono Folguera) has also changed, you no longer need to prove anything, the relationship is horizontal. I don’t know if our generation has a glass ceiling, but what I do know for sure is that I hope the next ones will break it completely”, concludes Fernández Armenteros.

Source: Informacion

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