Horror Girls: First day
2nd Meeting of European Female Filmmakers Specializing in the Fantastic Genre
Mònica Garcia i Massagué, General Manager of the Festival Foundation, presented yesterday's session, which was aimed at approaching the industry, with an important fact: “Films directed by women only have a third of the budget allocated to those directed by men.”
The round table discussion “Distributors are not Afraid: Putting Female Talent into the Market” kicked things off. Moderated by Roxana Ramos, founder of the Aramos Cine production company, it was attended by Antonia Nava, Manon Barat and Priscilla Ross Smith, three female executive producers who shared their point of view on the current situation in the production and distribution of films directed by women. All three agreed that in Spain, compared to the rest of Europe, the situation is comparatively less disadvantageous, since if you are a woman you receive a higher score when it comes to requesting financing, for example; on the other hand, in the U.S., in order to obtain financing, the essential factor is whether the director is already a well-known director or not. They highlighted the importance of having a diversity of voices, genders, ages and origins at the helm of projects, while also calling for the need for spaces for women to show what they are capable of and to tell their stories. As for the eternal debate between platforms and movie theaters, which arose over the course of the day, the guests pointed out that although platforms are currently functioning very well, there have also been partnerships between distributors to gain strength. On the other hand, as we all know, in recent years many movie theaters have closed, which is a clear symptom of the moment of change we are experiencing.
The second round table, “Female Massacre: Produce with a Woman Director, Why Not?”, was moderated by independent producer and Festival programmer Annick Mahnert, with the participation of producers Enrique López Lavigne, from Apache Films, and Núria Valls from Nostromo Pictures. The issue of the historical difficulties faced by women filmmakers was discussed, shedding light on the current panorama, where it seems to be somewhat easier in this regard. The guests commented that this has been a gradual transition: during the last ten years the fantastic genre landscape has become full of female gazes, also thanks to festivals and the conscientious support of institutions. According to both producers, horror films are beginning to conquer other spaces, such as the programming at A List festivals, and this is happening because, according to Valls, "genre can be the driving force to tell all kinds of stories". Lavigne added that "it serves to explain, through allegory, what's happening nowadays". Genre films made by women, they noted, are much more visual, subtle and nuanced, while men want to talk all the time, commented Lavigne, who assures that male directors have approached The Substance (Coralie Fargeat), one of the films of the year, with a certain lesson in humility. As producers, they have different ways of approaching projects. While Valls gives a great deal of weight to the script and prefers to visualize the aesthetics of the idea before deciding, Lavigne needs to get to know the person and see what his or her potential is.
The third round table, “From Final Girl to Killer”, with the participation of actress Lauren LaVera and filmmaker Iván Fund, was moderated by film critic Desirée de Fez. The three of them discussed the evolution of the final girl, using as a first reference slasher movies from the eighties. LaVera commented that she has always felt very inspired by this archetype and that, in addition, it's a type of character that offers the opportunity to really shine as a performer. They pointed out that today, the final girl is no longer the feminized virgin she used to be, but now she can even be ugly, imperfect and suffer from some kind of mental disorder and even make it visible. In fact, according to them, traumas help the heroine to survive, to confront the murderer. In order to prepare for the role of Sienna Shaw (Terrifier 3), LaVera explained that she revisited many of the classics, but that the two most powerful benchmarks were Lieutenant Ripley from the Alien franchise and Mia, the protagonist of the remake of Evil Dead (Fede Álvarez, 2013).
In the afternoon we were able to enjoy three conversations moderated by Rubén Gutiérrez, General Director of the SGAE.
In the first, Italian director Grazia Tricarico, who is presenting her film Body Odyssey at this year's Festival, and Paco Plaza, a Sitges regular, shared their own experiences as auteurs. Tricarico pointed out that over the last 15 years there has been a strong change in the perception of “women's cinema”, and that she hopes that in time this label will no longer be used. She insisted that not only female directors are needed, but that there are many spaces that have yet to be conquered, such as, for example, the world of cinematography. Plaza was particularly pleased that today's filmmaking classrooms aren't only occupied by men, as they were when he was studying. According to them, it's clear that women want to direct, but there is still a flagrant lack of female benchmarks, especially in horror. Plaza himself confessed that, as far as platforms are concerned, he has had a very good experience, and although the movie theater experience is irreplaceable, platforms create jobs and stability for many people. The Italian filmmaker pointed out that the new audience that is building its taste for cinema via platforms will determine the paradigm shift, the resolution of this crisis we mentioned before.
Afterwards, Ukrainian filmmaker Marysia Nikitiuk and Basque director Paul Urkijo talked with Gutiérrez, addressing the subject of artistic creation from territories in conflict. Nikitiuk, who is preparing a new film related to minefields, pointed out that genre films are based on reality, and that they draw from human nature. In fact, she compared zombie moviemaking with the war, which she said at all times was very present in her mind. On the other hand, Urkijo confessed that his taste for the mythological world dates back to his childhood, and that he uses the past as a scenario to talk about the present. Nikitiuk's presence was also an opportunity to ask her about the industry in Ukraine, to which she replied that right now everything is on pause, but that when she started there was no type of aids for male or female creators, that it was possible to make films, but without expecting anything in return. Both filmmakers emphasized the need for everyone to talk about what they know and to do so from their own point of view, because otherwise there will always be someone else who's going to do it for you.
The first day of Horror Girls sessions ended with a conversation between the directors of The Devil's Bath, Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, and director and screenwriter Danielle Krudy, during which they talked about what it's like to create while sharing the process with another person. Krudy pointed out that working in teams allows you to learn to do it collaboratively from the beginning, and in this way, you give a voice to many people without having a “genius” dominating the whole process from a position of power. Fiala added that in schools, the system tends to be very pyramidal, and that he has often found that people don't understand what it's like to work in pairs, because they always expect one of the two to be the leader. Franz pointed out that the advantage of working as a duo is that each has his or her own strengths, and that this always enriches projects. Krudy said she was convinced that a new way of doing things is being introduced into the market, a new model of alliance that breaks with the competition between women, which is very positive for the industry. In the case of Franz, who has worked with Ulrich Seidl (her partner), on many of his documentaries, no one has ever taken her into account. She really enjoys working, she said, but she is also tired of always being in the shadow of the auteur.