A Meeting of Titans: Margarethe von Trotta and Isabel Coixet in Conversation About Their Careers

Date and time: Wednesday, Oct. 28th. 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Espacio Fundación Telefónica

Tickets: Free admission with prior registration at:

www.espacio.fundaciontelefonica.com

Simultaneous translation, in sign language and streaming.

 Participants:

• Isabel Coixet (Spain): film director

• Margarethe Von Trotta (Germany): film director

Moderator: Elena Manrique (Spain), film director and producer and member of the Festival's Programming Committee.

Isabel Coixet (Barcelona, 1960) is a renowned Spanish director and screenwriter and an eight-time Goya Award winner. She developed a passion for cinema from an early age, influenced by her grandmother, who worked as a cinema ticket seller, and began her career in advertising and film criticism. She made her filmmaking debut in 1984 with the short film Mira y verás. She gained recognition with My Life Without Me(2003) and The Secret Life of Words (2006), both starring Sarah Polley. Her other notable films include The Bookshop (2017), Elisa & Marcela (2019), A Romantic Exile (Un amor, 2023) and her latest film, Tre Ciotole (2026). She has directed the series Foodie Love(2019) and Alguien debería prohibir los domingos por la tarde (2026). She has also directed documentaries such as Invisible Women (Invisibles, 2007) and Listening to Judge Garzón (Escuchando al juez Garzón, 2011). Among other accolades, in 2015 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Málaga Film Festival and recognition from the French Ministry of Culture. In 2022, she received a Career Achievement Award from the Cine por Mujeres Madrid Festival.

Margarethe von Trotta (Germany). After completing her studies in acting and working at theatres in Dinkelsbühl, Stuttgart and Frankfurt, Margarethe von Trotta appeared from 1967 onwards in numerous films of the New German Cinema, including films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder (for example, The American Soldier, 1970), Herbert Achternbusch (for example, Das Andechser Gefühl, 1974) and Volker Schlöndorff, with whom she also co-wrote several films (for example, Strohfeuer, 1972) and co-directed The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (1975).

Her first solo directorial film was The Second Awakening of Christa Klages (1978). This was followed by such widely debated works as The German Sisters (1981), Rosa Luxemburg (1986) and The Promise (1995), as well as the multi-part television adaptation of Uwe Johnson’s Jahrestage(2000). Her films consistently return to an interest in reflecting on the past, both on an individual level and in its political and social dimensions, and in attempting to approach it critically.

In 2003, she directed Rosenstraße and, following the psychological drama I Am the Other Woman (2006), returned to a historical subject with Vision (2009), devoted to the life of Hildegard von Bingen. The film portrays the life and development of the legendary mystic, renowned both for her medical knowledge and for being an early advocate of women’s rights.

In addition to her extensive filmography, Margarethe von Trotta has regularly directed theatre productions at venues across Europe.