“I felt very safe filming ‘Creatura’ and it seemed strange to me that they said this was not normal.”. He says this innocently: Claudia Malagelada The person who answered this newspaper by phone from her high school during breaks and won Gaudí’s best new actress award for her role in Elena Martín’s film. Will compete in some of the same categories this Saturday Goya marked with #MeToo hashtag “Complete equality” among the team defines the 17-year-old Catalan actor, thanks to his performance in the aforementioned film, shot in a close working environment without hierarchies. They warned him that something wasn’t normal. Because there is no equality in the nominations 38th of the awards From the Film Academy for the first time in its nearly 40-year history.
For Malagelada, it was a comfortable and successful start in the film industry, where accusations of sexual violence against eminent filmmakers such as Carlos Vermut or Armando Ravelo are now surfacing, in a world of which he was completely unaware until a few months ago. . “Knowing that not all shots are like this, I realize how lucky I am And I hope I never have to suffer this pain,” says Malagelada from Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Thanks to this first contact with the audiovisual world, the artist notes that in the future it will be easy for him to identify when he feels “unsafe” or “weird things happen” on the set. ” he sees.
“I felt very safe filming ‘Creatura’ and it seemed strange to me that they said this was not normal.”
Like Malagelada, who is sure to continue working, New generation women in the world of cinema In the age of #MeToo, the fight against sexual violence in the audiovisual sector is growing strongly. For his part, he says: “We are not surprised when cases like the vermouth case arise”: Carmen GarridoThe producer and screenwriter of the movie ‘I Love You Madly’ was nominated for the best original screenplay award. “Women cannot avoid being a party to what is happening. “We must consider which side of history we want to be on,” he says.
#Finished
HE #FinishedAs a slogan that will appear at the Goya premiere in hundreds of countries resonates more and more strongly at events such as the major festival of Spanish cinema, more and more women are taking part in the event. positions of power in the industry and film feminine being. A perception that accepts nuances. Filmmakers still feel confident insecurity In sets where men are the majority. They represented only 37% of total professionals in the industry in 2022, according to the latest report from the Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media.
“Women are complicit in what is happening. We must consider which side of history we want to be on.”
This is even more so in certain fields, such as most technical fields, where female presence has historically been lower. According to CIMA data, they made up 36% of professionals responsible for editing and special effects, 28% for production, script and sound, 24% for directing and 19% for directing film photography. But creators and players also feel limited to certain stories and themes. established female stereotypes.
New generations will enter the world of cinemaToo much awareness of what is right and what is wrong“, says Malagelada. “Until now, people may have entered this industry accepting anything to gain access,” he explains of the paradigm shift. But one of the challenges in the world of cinema, according to one of the lead characters of ‘Creatura’, is that there is still equality, women Stop being a reference because of your gender, be a reference because of your job. “We should give more opportunities to female directors, not because they are women, but because they are very good professionals,” she says.
More assets and security
Garrido, who was born in Malaga 30 years ago, is trying to include more female presence in her sets. “I, who have some power, feel the responsibility Give opportunities to talented women“, he assures. He then says that it is easier for some of them to continue working in the industry, because it is very important for a professional to step in and show their worth so that he can call them to other projects. a year ago the percentage of Goya candidates with a female presence was 40%, increased to 61% in 2024According to CIMA data. Four years ago, female representation was only 20.4%.
The increase in women’s management positions brought a different energy, more sensitivity, intuition and empathy to the film. “Men see that we are indispensable,” says Clàudia Arribas, a 32-year-old filmmaker from Barcelona. A freer atmosphere is also created when the majority of the team consists of women: “Sometimes you come up with a good idea, but if you have a giant, one of the directors with all the awards, you keep quiet and don’t say it.. “We have internalized these dynamics.”
“Sometimes you have a good idea, but if you have a giant, a director with all the awards, you shut up.”
The director is part of the producer Bruna CooperativeHe is responsible for successful documentaries such as ‘No callarem’ which aims to create transformative stories. Your cooperative has its own action protocol against sexual assault. “It sucks that it exists, but It is important to internalize” she explains. Although there has been an improvement in equality in the world of cinema in recent years, there is still a “very masculine” grassroots structure, so the budget allocated to productions still does not follow a feminine cycle.”It’s clear that Netflix’s director is not a woman“says Arribas.
Recent sexual assault cases have shown this is necessary. action protocols in case of violence. Abuses occur in the profession, and they even become normalized and condemned. “There are situations that everyone in the industry knows about and are never reported. We need to start breaking the silences“, admits María Sangalli, editor of ‘Mano de Hierro’, a series that will soon be released on Netflix.
Film schools and fees
Opportunities for women in the audiovisual sector have been partially democratised. the rise of film schoolsA place where the majority of students are girls. Likewise, the implementation of the application Quotas to close gender gaps It made it easier for women to have more opportunities in the sector. “This is our space, and without such precautions it would not be possible to own it.. I hope there will come a time when this is not necessary,” says producer Carmen Garrido.
Again, sangalli believes women should be hired”It doesn’t really show up.“but they’re just trying to fill the quota. He experienced this firsthand on one of the projects he ran. Yes, it occurred to one guy to say that he hired her on a quota basis.”It’s a double-edged sword“, thinks the 25-year-old actor. Although it is “a little difficult”, this makes it easier to access big productions.
“Asian characters are always there to be funny, they have no personality or plot.”
To the gender divide we must also add the lack of diversity on screen and, above all, behind it. As translator Clàudia Malagelada Eat Xinyi, was nominated for the best new actress award at the Goya for her role in Arantxa Echevarría’s film ‘Chinas’. The 22-year-old actor said that Asian roles in Spanish cinema have always beencaricatured for entertainment purposes, without personality or plot, or just being aggressive gangsters“. You hope that racist characters will gradually disappear and Spain will be represented on the big screen as a “multiracial country”. A complaint with which director Clàudia Arribas agreed: “These people, a significant part of the population, are not represented on the screen.
Female filmmakers are starting to tell their own stories, but one of the challenges of feminism in the industry is whether women can achieve this. action or science fiction movies – with ever more male presence – and stop feeling obligated to talk about women’s issues. “We must create groundbreaking stories. The fact that we are women doing this would be something that would implicitly have a feminist perspective.“Details of Arribas.
“The recruitment of women is not done for real, but to meet quotas.”
The change is reaching screens and filming, but this is a progressive evolution. “Cinema always lags behind society. “Time is needed for the changes we see to be processed and normalized on our screens,” says the director. A film industry free of violence and inequality will exist when it is a reflection of an egalitarian society.