Mujeres de Cine 2023: We Count

The Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain in Washington, D.C. presents the 8th edition of “Mujeres de Cine,” entitled “We Count”, with in person and online screenings available throughout the US.

After 7 years celebrating the best cinema created by Spanish women in Washington, D.C., the eighth edition of Mujeres de Cine offers a hybrid festival to bring Spanish cinema all over the US. Under the title We Count, in 2023, Mujeres de Cine presents a film series in which the protagonist is the creative voice. In this way, the female directors of the four proposed films also act as screenwriters, presenting themselves within the cinematic work as creators and essential parts of the narrative. In this case, the narrative itself implies an honest commitment to creation, either through their own voices or the voices of others.

Whether it approaches the intimacy and sense of belonging to the land of the Solé family in the case of Alcarràs; peering into the mysterious figure of Isabel Santaló, an elderly artist now forgotten, in the case of La Visita y un Jardín Secreto; or delving into the life of a small rural town, the paradise of a city girl and the cage of a local teenager, with two stories unfolding in tobacco dryers during the same summer in Secaderos; or even exploring the intersection of fiction and documentary, in the form of an audiovisual collage where Helena de Llanos delves into the figure of her grandfather, Fernando Fernán Gómez, through the archives of the house he shared for decades with his beloved Emma Cohen in Viaje a alguna parte.

All of them approach their work from various perspectives and invite us to listen to their voices beyond the history itself.

Alcarràs

• On Monday, November 6 at 7 pm. At AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
• Directed by Carla Simón, Spain/Italy, 2022, 120 minutes. Original title: Alcarràs.
• In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.
• Buy tickets.

The sun-dappled village of Alcarràs has been home to the Solé family for generations. A decades-old handshake deal allowed their family to blossom on borrowed land, tending to a lush peach orchard for an annual summer harvest. But their way of life is threatened when the estate owner dies, and the new heir wants to raze the farm to make way for solar panels. Without a formal land contract the Solés have no say in the matter, and their family begins to fracture under the stress of the impending eviction.

Tobacco Barns

• On Thursday, November 16 at 6.30 pm. At the Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain, 2801 16th St NW Washington, DC 20009. Free, RSVP required.
• November 23–30. Free online screening.
• Directed by Rocío Mesa, Spain, 2022, 95 minutes.
• Original title: Secaderos.
• In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.

The landscape of a rural area is filled with mysterious tobacco barns. Three generations spend the summer uncovering the secrets of these structures in a little town that is a childhood playground, a teenage cage, and an elder’s memory.

The Visit and a Secret Garden

• November 23–30. Free online screening.
• Directed by Irene M. Borrego, Spain, 2022, 64 minutes.
• Original title: La visita y un jardín secreto.
• In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.

Little is known about the mysterious figure of Isabel Santaló, an old artist, today fallen into oblivion. But occasionally some visitors come to her flat. Through them and the voice of Antonio López (Dream of Light, Víctor Erice), the only painter who remembers her, we shape a multifaceted film. This is a cinematic portrait, a film that reflects on memory and oblivion, art and the creative process – posing the question of what it means to be an artist and a woman.