Isabel Coixet and the Goya nominees, against Erice, Bayona or David Trueba: do women win?

The filmmakers Isabel Coixet, Estíbaliz Urresola y Elena Martin They are nominated in the 38th edition of the Goya Awards for their work in 'Un amor', '20,000 species of bees' and 'Creatura', respectively, and they do so against Víctor Erice, JA Bayona and David Trueba, for their works ' Close your eyes', 'The Snow Society' and 'You know that'. In the opinion of the filmmakers, a “change” is occurring in the industry when it comes to nominating women.

The filmmakers Isabel Coixet, Estíbaliz Urresola and Elena Martín are nominated in the 38th edition of the Goya Awards for their work in 'Un amor', '20,000species de bees' and 'Creatura', respectively, and they do so against Víctor Erice, JA Bayona and David Trueba, for their works 'Close your eyes', 'The Snow Society' and 'They Know That'. In the opinion of the filmmakers, a “change” is occurring in the industry when it comes to nominating women.

“There is no ceiling for what women can do. To break that ceiling, I have not taken into account that there was a ceiling or that it was made of glass, as if it were made of reinforced concrete. It is fair and logical that women also count the world. I think that at the level of telling things and telling them with talent, we don't have to prove anything else,” said Isabel Coixet.

In the case of the Goya for Best Director, this year the equation from the previous quote is repeated and two female directors are once again nominated against three male directors. A situation that, for Urresola – nominated in her case for Best New Director – represents a “transformation”, since in the past “maybe there was only one woman or none at all.”

“Without focusing on what happens this year or the previous one, I think there is a change that is strongly felt. In fact, perhaps we have been smaller in number, but in recent editions I think that women have won more awards,” he said. noted in an interview with Europa Press.

In this sense, Coixet also sees a change in the film industry and remembers that in 2023 the film that has grossed the most is 'Barbie' by Greta Gerwig. “Now the public needs to embrace women's films and open up to them. Something that has already happened as a commercial sociological phenomenon,” she noted.

However, for Elena Martín there is still a glass ceiling and she argues that both she and Coixet do not start as “favorites” to take the Goya in a better direction. “There is a difference in budgets in the ability to make a film great, which is still more difficult when you are a woman,” she stated.

Diversity comes to the Goya

On the other hand, the filmmakers agree that the 38th edition of the Goya Awards is marked by the diversity that is reflected in the nominations, such as that of La Dani, a non-binary actor, for best new actor, or the nominations for 'I'm loving you 'crazy' LGTBI style. But there are also nominated actors Julio Hu Chen, Xinyi Ye and Yeju Ji, nominated for Best Actor and New Actress for the film 'Chinas', by Arantxa Echebarría, or 'Brianeitor', in the same category, for 'Campeonex', by Javier Fesser.

For Urresola, this is due to the “generational change” that is allowing “the issues to be reviewed and reinterpreted.” In the case of Coixet, the filmmaker praises the greater role of social films under the female gaze. “The world without the gaze of women is incomplete. We are half of the world and the rational thing is that we tell what is happening in the world,” she adds.

In this regard, Elena Martín believes that “there is still a lot of work to do,” but she praises the fact that there are new proposals that aim to “reach and be understood by a larger audience.” “It is still difficult for there to be films produced in another way or with lesser-known names that are recognized by the Academy,” she points out.

The filmmakers have also given their opinion on nominations for 'The Snow Society', by JA Bayona, produced by Netflix, and which quickly jumped from theaters to the streaming platform.

“I believe that a film is a film. Regardless of whether it is shown on a platform or in the cinema. All filmmakers want our films to be shown in a cinema because we were born with that, we think it is the best way to see a film , but the large or small window that it has had in theaters does not prevent the film from having its merits and in that sense I do not see a difference,” Coixet pointed out.

Elena Martín assures, for her part, that it is a “very complicated” debate because the awards must value “the artistic content” and at the same time she believes that protection of the rooms should be advocated. “I understand that 'The Snow Society' has to be valued as a film, wherever it is shown. But, on the other hand, I understand that movie theaters must be protected,” she says.

Censorship does not influence creators

Finally, when asked about possible self-censorship during the creative process, the creators appeal to “maturity and critical sense” to be able to address any topic. In this sense, Elena Martín affirms that the questions she has asked herself in relation to the content of her productions have to do with “respect.”

“I do not feel censored for reflecting on whether I am representing something fairly or not. I believe that you can talk about anything when you do it with maturity, a critical sense and with respect. And for me that is not censorship. Censorship is that they remove a play because it talks about LGTBI rights or that a film is censored because there is a trans character,” he argued.

Meanwhile, Coixet has joked that if she had “self-censored” she would not leave her house. “I'm not going to censor myself, not now or ever. If I was ten years old and I didn't censor myself, imagine now,” she adds.

In the case of Urresola, the director assures that she has worked “completely independently” and specifies that in '20,000 species of bees' she has left out some approach, but in a “conscious” way. “There are elements that I consciously wanted to leave out, but it does not imply censorship but rather an approach or a point of view from where I want to tell it or why I want to tell it that way to also generate new stories and new narratives around a topic,” he concluded. she.