Instituto Cervantes, FDCP Present Espacio Femenino Film Series

Wazzup Pilipinas!

In celebration of the International Women’s Month, Instituto Cervantes and the Film Development Council of the Philippines present Espacio Femenino, a series of women-themed Spanish films at the FDCP Cinematheque Centre Manila, Ermita, Manila.

The film series features four documentaries directed by female Spanish directors which highlight the role of women as drivers of political and social change.

“We are in full support of Instituto Cervantes for this continuing film series made by women and for women. We hope that through this, our own Filipino women audience here will be inspired and encouraged to not just celebrate their femininity but also use it to affect positive change in our society,” said FDCP Chair Liza Diño regarding the program.

Espacio Femenino films will be screened at the FDCP Cinematheque every Saturday from March 4 to 25, 6 p.m.:

March 4 – Las Constituyentes by Oliva Acosta

The documentary is about 27 women, members of parliament and senators, who were protagonists of political change during Spain’s transition towards democracy, because of the parliamentary role which they played during the first constituent term in office in 1977 after the transition to democracy. Through the personal experiences of these pioneering women, the documentary reveals a fascinating side to the history of women’s political involvement in Spain and it analyses its current state. The documentary also captures a meeting between present female members of parliament and politicians and the mothers of the constitution, which culminates in an intense debate. A cutting edge audio-visual work that until now is unprecedented in the history of Spain.

March 11 – Excluidas del Paraíso (Excluded from Paradise) by Esther Perez de Eulate

This film is a documentary that attempts to find an answer to the question of what mechanisms reproduce and perpetuate patriarchy in the 21st century through the voices of relevant feminist thinkers.

March 18 – La Fiesta de Otros by Ana Serret Ituarte

Verbenas, summer festivals on town plazas featuring dance bands, were an integral part of the filmmaker’s childhood in Asturias. Her documentary focuses on the “end of the party”—when the plaza falls silent and “music, summer, work, money all disappear when winter arrives for musicians belonging to a time that is slowly fading away.”

March 25 – El Lugar de las Fresas by Maite Vitoria Daneris

Lina is seventy years old and has always been a farmer. Every morning, she leaves San Mauro, the “strawberry town,” and goes to Europe’s biggest open-air market, Porta Palazzo in Turin, where she sells her fruit, vegetables and strawberries. Lina doesn’t have any children but she does have five dogs and a husband, who wishes she would stop working, but his request is ignored. Until one day, at the market, she meets Hassan, a young Moroccan immigrant looking for a job.

For more information, visit the Instituto Cervantes website (http://manila.cervantes.es), www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila or email cinematheque@fdcp.ph.