Her second feature film, ‘Creatura’ begins with the image of a girl looking at her genitalia and several scenes later the girl confesses: “My vulva is throbbing& rdquor;; As an adult, she contracts a strange skin disease probably related to that part of her anatomy. And, while looking at the character at those two ages and also during adolescence, this intrepid film asks uncomfortable questions about our problems as a society when it comes to assuming sexual impulses, especially infantile and feminine ones. It has just been presented at the Cannes Film Festival.
Sexual desire is very present in many films, but it is difficult to remember one that, like ‘Creatura’, speaks of that drive during childhood.
When we are girls and boys, we are taught that desire is something uncomfortable, even punishable, and that therefore it must be repressed. Self-restraint is used as if it were a form of protection. And that generates very strange internal sensations, because sexual desire is a vital impulse, and it always finds ways to manifest itself.
What challenges did you encounter when putting that impulse into images?
It turned out to be something both easy and difficult. The main challenge, because it is a very delicate subject, was to approach it from an approach that was not perceived as morbid or gratuitously provocative, but also from a natural and tender point of view. On the other hand, the lack of cinematographic references gave us freedom, because there were no rules to respect.
What preparation process did you carry out in this regard?
We were doing interviews with all kinds of people, we asked them about their sexual awakenings, their relationship with masturbation, their hidden desires… And we realized not only that everyone has a very complex relationship with sex and wish, but that most of our wishes and fears are very similar. That we all feel similar things, the same thing happens to all of us, but even so we are unable to talk about it without feeling uncomfortable.
And, as the film shows, it’s a discomfort that transcends ideologies…
I did not want to raise a situation of repression within a Catholic family, because it was not the subject that interested me. The taboo affects even parents who try to be understanding, present, and progressive. It is difficult to relate when children grow up, partly because of the fear that situations will be misinterpreted. It is true that things are changing, that people of my generation who are fathers and mothers are beginning to ask questions and change their approach. But the taboo continues.
What reactions do you expect ‘Creatura’ to provoke?
There will be people who will feel uncomfortable, I know, but in any case I trust that the film will be seen not as an aggressive provocation but as a stimulus, which helps to open many eyes. If we weren’t still in a place where talking about these things is difficult for us, this film would probably not make sense. I’m really looking forward to it being released in theaters, to participating in discussions about it and having conversations with people.
As she already did in her first film, ‘Júlia Ist’ (2017), she is the protagonist of the film as well as its director. How did she combat modesty when it came to putting herself in front of the camera?
I must confess that I am not very modest. The decision to act in the film responds above all to my desire to embody a character that I really like; It’s wrong for me to say it, since I’m the one who wrote it, but that’s the way it is. Perhaps my presence on both sides of the camera may suggest connections to my own life, but it is not an autobiographical film. Using my own body seemed very nice to me.
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The irruption of female directors in Spanish cinema has served to solve an anomaly and, at the same time, to open the door to stories that were not told before. How do you position yourself in that process?
For me it is important to relativize it and not wear medals. It is obviously a positive trend, because it represents an artistic and industrial renewal and enrichment. But personally, I feel the need to go much further, to risk more and commit myself more. This is just the beginning.