Women over 50 are no longer menopausal, they are now ‘metacyclical’. This new word refers to the vital and stigmatized transition that all women go through after the age of 50 and aims to break with the pejorative meaning of menopause. Through a photographic exhibition that features Catalan actresses Sílvia Abril, Pepa López, Silvia Marsó, Laia Marull, Vicenta Ndongo and Vicky Peñathe interpreters claim ageism after seeing job offers in the audiovisual world reduced over the years.
The creator of this new word is Lydia Zimmermandirector, actress, artist and activist, who, together with Queralt Reig (Ralda World), Sandra Forn (Films de l’Orient) and Theresa Enrich (Productions Link-Up), has launched this multidisciplinary project, which also has the support of the Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC). It is a awareness campaign through a photographic exhibition and a video with the participating actresses.
Eliminate menopause
“The metacycle is the vital stage that we women encounter when we lose our period. It is name a reality of life and destigmatize it“explains Zimmermann, the project director, who clarifies that the word is not intended to be “claimant”, but rather “inventive”. “It seems that when you enter menopause, as a woman you no longer exist.but we still have a lot to give,” says producer Reig.
‘Metacyclics’ seek to eliminate the stigma hidden behind the word ‘menopause’. “The important thing about inventing a word like this is to make a language review. It’s okay to eliminate things that have a pejorative tint for future generations. It is a very important cycle for women and it must have a positive tone,” explains actress Pepa López. Likewise, Laia Marull points out that the problem “It’s not the word, but the label you put on it.“. “If you change the word it is a good path, but if the hanging label remains the same, it is of no use,” he adds.
No characters
With this exhibition, the actresses claim the absence of characters for them in the world of acting after a certain age. “There are no good roles for women our age in the audiovisual world“, denounces Marsó. For his part, Marull also confesses to having gone through prolonged breaks from work that have coincided “with a certain age.”
“Women go from young and beautiful to disappearing in the movies“, explains Reig. “You realize that they do not have leading roles, but are relegated to the mother of one of the characters, the mother-in-law or the witch. Why can’t there be complex roles like the women who are on the street? “She questions.
Awareness campaign
The exhibition has 12 portraits of the six Catalan actresses (two for each). The first with a washed face, without masks or character, and the second is born from a question: What character would you like to play that no one is writing? From their answers, a portrait of the imagined character emerges, like a frame from an existing film, which opens a world of possibilities so that the performers can let their imagination fly.
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April has become the actress Maria Casares; Marull, in a Baghdad club prostitute del Raval; López, in a orchestra director and mother; Ndongo, in a dancer, singer and activist for the rights of black people; Marsó, in a street singer; and Peña, in the Polish poet Wisława Szymborska.
“All the characters have come from our creativity with Lydia, none is imposed. Therefore, they are characters that They don’t have a past, but they can have a future,” Marsó explains. Her character is a woman who, after years of working, realizes that her passion is music and leaves everything to go sing in Plaza Catalunya in Barcelona, surrounded by pigeons. “I like the metaphor and symbolism of birds with wings, the beginning of something,” says the interpreter herself.