De igual manera, podemos decir que a pesar de todos los problemas que ha traído el 2020, también se han estrenado un buen número de películas con directoras femeninas, no solo en el territorio nacional sino también en Hollywood y el resto del mundo.
Empezando en casa, España ha visto en sus carteleras este año algunas de sus mejores producciones de la mano de mujeres cineastas, entre ellas cabe destacar la ópera prima de Lucía Alemany “La inocencia” que pone bajo el foco a una adolescente cuyo sueño de ser artista de circo y salir de su pueblo se ve truncado por su prematuro embarazo. Esta obra fue un completo descubrimiento del festival de San Sebastián y se granjeó el apoyo de la crítica y cineastas con varias nominaciones a premios como los Goya o los Gaudí.
Otro gran descubrimiento del cine nacional ha sido “Las niñas” de Pilar Palomero, una cinta que conforma un bonito retrato de la infancia y paso a la adolescencia de una niña en un colegio de monjas a principios de los noventa cuya sencillez y naturalidad le ha permitido ganarse el apoyo de la critica y el público que han logrado sentirse identificados con la protagonista y han podido rememorar sus propias infancias a través de las vivencias de la protagonista.
La tercera película para destacar en España es “La boda de Rosa” de Icíar Bollaín, una historia sobre la liberación de una mujer que vive para satisfacer las necesidades de otros, a través de un matrimonio consigo misma. A partir del personaje de Rosa, Bollaín logra representar de forma muy sencilla y cercana el proceso de compromiso y reconciliación de una mujer con ella misma.
A partir de películas peninsulares tanto de éste 2020 como de los pasados cinco años, podemos ver como la taquilla española se va llenando poco a poco de mas producciones dirigidas y protagonizadas por mujeres, sobre todo dentro el cine independiente que se esta paulatinamente convirtiendo en el terreno de exploración de novedosos y conmovedores temas como la sexualidad, el feminismo, la maternidad que, tomados desde el punto de vista de directoras femeninas, crean una sensación de intimismo y comprensión entre el espectador y el autor y resulta prometedor para el futuro del cine nacional.
Otro ejemplo es, la nueva interpretación del clásico de Disney “Mulan”, que bajo las riendas de Niki Caro narra el cuento popular chino de como una mujer se hace pasar por hombre para salvar a su padre de ir al frente, y se acaba convirtiendo en una guerrera.
Además, la aclamada “Wonder Woman 1984”
es el nuevo éxito que esta arrasando en cines estas navidades llegando a ser
una de las películas mas vistas del año, es la secuela de la película que se
estreno en 2018 “Wonder Woman”,
ambas dirigidas por Patty Jenkins que
consiguió dar vida a la famosa heroína de DC bajo la premisa de un mujer
feminista y guerrera.
El cine “indie” americano también ha contado con varias producciones femeninas entre las cuales cabe destacar la nueva película de la directora Eliza Hittman que tras su debut con “Beach Rats” salta de nuevo a la gran pantalla con “Nunca casi nunca, a veces siempre” en la que una adolescente tras descubrir su embarazo busca abortar por miedo a la respuesta de sus familiares. Este también ha sido el año del ansiado regreso de Sofia Coppola con su nueva película para Apple tv “On the rocks” en la que Rashida Jones y Bill Murray dan vida a un padre y una hija que buscan reconectar después de muchos años. Así como de “Queen and Slim” que ha significado el debut en el largometraje de la realizadora Melina Matsoukas y, partiendo de la idea de la idea de el autor de best-sellers James Frey muestra el racismo que la población afroamericana sufren en Norteamérica a partir de la historia de una pareja que en su primera cita es parada y atacada por la policía americana.
“La asistente” de la
directora australiana Kitty Green ha sido
una de las grandes sorpresas internacionales del año y lleva a la gran pantalla
el escandalo de delitos sexuales que cometió el productor americano Harvey
Wenstein. Es considerada como la mayor representante del movimiento “Me too” y
cuenta con una base real ya que Green entrevistó a mas de 100 personas para
crear esta historia en la que vemos como una joven asistente de un productor de
entretenimiento se enfrenta diariamente a todo tipo de abusos y acosos
sexuales.
Por ultimo, desde Georgia, otra producción
que ha arrasado en los festivales este año ganando premios como FIPRESCI
en el festival de Toronto y otros galardones en los festivales de San Sebastián
y Adelaide ha sido el filme “Beginning” de Déa Kulumbegashvili que narra el ataque que sufre una comunidad de Testigos de Jehová en un
pequeño pueblo.
Con estas obras el papel de la mujer en el cine internacional se continúa
expandiendo, en algunos países, mayormente occidentales, la producción
cinematográfica femenina va en aumento con el paso de los años y esta
consiguiendo ocupar una posición de importancia en la industria. Aunque,
siempre en detrimento con la, claramente mas abundante, producción masculina se
podría afirmar que el cine femenino está viviendo su época de mas esplendor y
crecimiento.
Como conclusión, podemos dictaminar que, aunque este ha sido un año duro
para todos los sectores incluyendo el cinematográfico, las creadoras y
directoras del mundo han sabido adaptarse y seguir produciendo obras de calidad
que aportan una nueva perspectiva desde el punto de vista femenino al
cine.
Laura Sánchez
Best Movies of the Year Directed by Women
The year 2020
was proclaimed as “The year of women in cinema” since it was going to be the
one with most films directed by women to date, surpassing 2019. However, with
the coronavirus crisis, many of the films planned for this year have been
postponed to the next, which prevents it from surpassing last year's record.
Similarly,
we can say that despite all the problems that 2020 has brought, a good number
of films with female directors have also been released, not only in the
national territory but also in Hollywood and the rest of the world.
Starting at
home, Spain has seen on its billboards this year some of its best productions
by female filmmakers, including Lucia Alemany's debut
feature "La Inocencia"
which focuses on a teenager whose dream of being a Circus performer and leaving
her village is cut short by her premature pregnancy. This work was a complete
discovery of the San Sebastián festival and won the support of critics and
filmmakers with several nominations for awards such as the Goya and the Gaudí
awards.
Another
great discovery of the national cinema has been "Las niñas"
by Pilar Palomero, a film
that forms a beautiful portrait of childhood and adolescence of a girl in a
nuns' school in the early nineties whose simplicity and naturalness has made
her allowed to win the support of the critics and the public who have managed
to feel identified with the protagonist and have been able to recall their
childhoods through the experiences of the protagonist.
The third
film to stand out in Spain is "Rosa's Wedding"
by Icíar Bollaín, a story
about the liberation of a woman ,who lives to satisfy the needs of other, through marriage to herself. With the
character of Rosa, Bollaín manages to represent in a very simple and close way
the process of commitment and reconciliation of a woman with herself.
Based on
peninsular films from both this 2020 and the past five years, we can see how
the Spanish box office is gradually filling up with more productions directed
and starring women, especially within independent cinema that is gradually
becoming an area of exploration of novel and raw themes such as sexuality,
feminism, and motherhood that, taken from the point of view of female
directors, create a feeling of intimacy and understanding between the viewer
and the author which is promising for the future of national cinema.
On the
other hand, we can affirm that women have also swept the US box office, in
productions such as "Birds of Prey",
the first solo film of the DC Comics villain Harley Quinn after her separation
from the Joker, whose director is the Sino-American Cathy Jan.
Another
example is the new interpretation of the Disney classic “Mulan”,
which under the direction of Niki Caro, tells the
Chinese folk tale of how a woman pretends to be a man to save her father from
going to the front and ends up becoming a warrior.
Besides,
the acclaimed “Wonder Woman 1984”
is the new success that is sweeping theaters this Christmas, becoming one of
the most viewed films of the year, it is the sequel to the film that premiered
in 2018 “Wonder Woman”,
both directed by Patty Jenkins who
managed to give life to the famous DC heroine under the premise of a feminist
and warrior woman.
2020 would
have been the year in which more women would be under the reins of large
productions since large studios and film franchises had assigned the direction
of large-budget films to several directors, not only female but from different
cultures and ethnic groups, which would lead to an enormous cultural richness
for the cinema of 2020. Among them were, in addition to the aforementioned Jan,
Caro, and Jenkins, some directors who,have managed for the most part to finish
filming their respective films, but due to the closure of Theaters with the
coronavirus, have been forced to postpone their premieres to 2021. Some
examples are the solo film of “The Black Widow”
at the hands of Cate Shortland or “Eternals”
by Chloé Zhao, both
productions of Marvel Comics.
American “indie”
cinema has also featured several female productions, including the new film by
director Eliza Hittman who, after
her debut with “Beach Rats”,
jumps back to the big screen with “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
which follows a teenage girl that, after discovering her pregnancy seeks to
abort for fear of the response of her relatives. This has also been the year of
the long-awaited return of Sofia Coppola with her
new film for Apple tv “On the rocks”
in which Rashida Jones and Bill Murray
give life to a father and a daughter who seek to reconnect after many years. As
well as “Queen and Slim”
that has meant the debut in the feature film of the director Melina Matsoukas
and based on the idea of the best-selling author James Frey, shows
racism that the black population suffer
in North America with the story of a couple who are stopped and attacked by the
American police on their first date.
Finally,
facing the rest of the world, we can appreciate one of the best international
productions of this year among which is, “The Perfect Candidate”,
the work of Haifaa Al-Mansour who was
the first female filmmaker in Saudi Arabia and has managed to give her leap to
Hollywood after directing “Mary Shelley”.
Her newest film tells the story of a woman from Saudi Arabia who is prevented
from traveling by plane because she does not have a male tutor and as a result,
she begins to create a movement against the sexism in her country.
“The assistant”
directed by the Australian, Kitty Green has been
one of the biggest surprises of the year that brings to the big screen the sex
crimes scandal committed by American producer Harvey Wenstein. It is considered
the greatest representative of the “Me too” movement and has a legitimate base
since Green interviewed more than 100 people to create this story in which we
see how the young assistant of an entertainment producer faces all kinds of
sexual abuse and harassment on a daily basis.
Lastly,
from Georgia, another director who has swept the festivals this year, winning
awards such as FIPRESCI at the Toronto festival and other awards at the San
Sebastian and Adelaide festivals has been the film "Beginning"
by Déa Kulumbegashvili
that narrates the attack suffered by the community of Jehovah's Witnesses in a
small town.
With these
works, the role of women in international cinema continues to expand in some
countries, mostly Western, female film production is increasing over the years
and is managing to occupy an important position in the industry. Although,
always to the detriment of the clearly more abundant male production, it could
be said that female cinema is living its time of greatest splendor and growth.
Finally, we
can conclude that although this has been a tough year for all sectors,
including the film industry, the world's creators and directors have known how
to adapt and continue to produce quality works that bring a new perspective
from the female point of view to cinema.
Laura
Sánchez
