Great women movie director: they exist indeed!

2020 was a disastrous year for humanity from all points of view, but especially for global health and global economy. The film industry has been particularly affected, with the stoppage of shooting, poor box office results and the consolidation of new platforms, which have seen their role reinforced during confinement. No one doubts that we are facing a new audiovisual order that is challenging the traditional model of circulation of audiovisual production and the cultural consumption habits of the viewers. It was decided to delay the release in theaters of big movies, or it was chosen to premiere them directly on digital platforms, while viewers stayed at home. Many people are afraid of seeing movies in theaters, and furthermore, they are replacing watching feature films with series. It seems that the previous scheme of circulation of films by festivals -> premiere in cinemas -> sale of rights to televisions or platforms, is also in crisis. However, in parallel, we are in a sweet moment for production: at this moment more than 4,600 series are being produced in the world of which 75 are Spanish. A whole paradigm shift which we still don't know how to tackle. 

It seems that these transitions are here to stay and, of course, they have also been reflected in the nominations for the Goya Awards 2021, in which the strong entry in the main categories of smaller films or first operas has attracted attention, compared to previous years in which Spanish blockbusters dominated the nominations, and of course, the high female presence has been noted.

When the film industry is in turmoil ... the benefit goes to women working in it: 41% of the nominations went to women compared to 21.5% in the past year 2020. These Goya Awards 2021 would pass the Bechdel Test (1). In 9 categories, 50% or more of the nominees are women; The Best Direction of Photography has been taken, for the first time, by a woman, Daniela Cajías for Las chicas. In addition, although for 4 editions the award for Best New Direction had already been awarded to women directors (Carla Simón, Arantxa Echevarría, Belén Funes), in this edition the film Las niñas, by director Pilar Palomero, has won both the award for Best Original Screenplay and for Best Film, equaling Pilar Miró, Isabel Coixet and Icíar Bollaín, and obtaining, in addition, 4 Gaudí Awards.

We also noticed the change in the award-winning films in the most important international festivals of 2021, since in all of them the great prizes (Best Film and / or best direction) have gone to women:

- Sundance Festival: “CODA” by Sian Heder, which will open our 4th edition

- Oscars: Chloé Zhao's “Nomadland”

- Cannes Film Festival: “Titane” by Julia Ducournau

- Venice Film Festival: “The Event” by Audrey Diwan

- San Sebastian Festival: “Blue Moon” by Alina Grigore

Given that the presence of women in the cinema is still far from balanced, it is worth asking what is the real reason for this sudden increase: Is this trend the result of the struggles for the presence of women in the audiovisual world? Is it the consequence of the normalization of a natural process of greater parity in the sector? In Spain, is it the product of the new valuation quotas for the participation of women in technical teams by the Institute of Cinematography and Visual Arts (ICAA)? Or is it, as the filmmaker Belén Funes suspected, because male directors “left the party”? She stated “I feel that it is a very odd year to be evaluated in normal terms. Men have saved their big budget movies to be released next year because there weren't going to be people in theaters this year. We are at a party where those who usually come are not there”.

We believe that this good harvest of 2021 has been the result of the sum of all these factors. There’s no doubt this year's awards are sending a powerful signal: the movies industry is beginning to change course towards a destination in which the women have a lot to say. THEY EXIST INDEED.

Carlota Álvarez Basso, Diego Mas Trelles
September 2021 IV edition

(1) Created by the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, the test measures the gap of women representation in fiction. It requires at least two women talking to each other about something other than a man.

(2)  Relevo en la dirección novel: "El cine es una cuestión de sensibilidades, no de géneros".