Lack of representation and glassceiling: getting a feel for spanish LGBTIQA+ films

Despite the progress made in terms of sexual intimacy and gender diversity in Spainish policies, the visibility of the LGBTIQA+ community in Spanish cinema remains minimal. The current minimum is not the same as that of 15 years ago, when Law 13/2005 had just been approved which amended the Civil Code of Spain to allow same-sex marriage. However, judging purely by the figures that show the presence of the LGBTIQA+ community in audio-visual fiction and non-fiction, we must admit that the data is frustrating. 

The Diversidad en Medios Audiovisuales (ODA) recently presented its third report on the representation of the LGBTIQA+ community, disabled people, and ethnic minorities through Spanish film fiction characters in 2021, which provided revealing data. Looking at the production of sci-fis, the report states that “the percentage of film characters from the community has significantly grown”, yet they are not evenly distributed, seen as “63% of all LGBTIQA+ film characters are found in only 3 out of the 51 films analysed: Cut! (¡Corten!), Polyamory for Dummies (Poliamor para principiantes), More the Merrier (Donde caben dos)”. 

As expressed by the community’s creators regarding their impressions on LGBTIQA+ cinema, and although the ODA’s figures only refer to last year’s fiction films; the big picture is not that different from that of 2020. In the same way that 2022 will not see a paradigm shift in relation to that of the previous year. 

In the dialogue between the various actors of the Spanish LGBTIQA+ film ecosystem, two key issues come up about the state of queer cinema and/or about the representation of the LGBTIQA+ community within Spain. The first issue is the underrepresentation of these realities in cinema, whether in fiction or non-fiction, and the second one is its glass ceiling. They used their experience, as well as these two issues to expose the existing creative status quo and the industry’s sense of diversity. 

New voices from the LGBTIQA+ community and new pathways for Spanish cinema

Mónica Rovira, Marc Ferrer, Adrián Silvestre, Jesús Pascual, Enric Ribes, Zaida Carmona, David Moragas or Alba Cros, among many other new voices, are all part of the current generational change that is feeding Spanish cinema with stories from the LGBTIQA+ community. This perspective from an author’s viewpoint has been included into independent film productions over the last decade. Adding new titles such as For 80 Days (Goenaga y Garaño, 2010), Ander (Roberto Castón, 2009), as well as names such as Valeriano López, Albacete and Menkes, Inés París, filmmaker Lluís Miñarro, or from a previous generation, Ventura Pons and Pedro Almodóvar, thus creating new stories about the community. 

This new wave begun to premier its works or was about to for the first time between 2021 and 2022, either at festivals or in theatres. Jesús Pascual won the Award for Best Film at the Seville European Film Festival in the Panorama Andaluz section with ¡Dolores, guapa!. Released in theatres last May, the documentary explores the common religious practices of the LGBTIQA+ community and dissidents in the Spanish region of Andalucía. 

In the same way, Enric Ribes, Zaida Carmona and David Moragas participated in the Barcelona International Film Festival with their various projects. The former presented a documentary from the author of Singing on the Rooftops’ (Cantando en las azoteas), which was released in theatres since July 1 of last year. Set during the golden years of Barcelona’s El Ravel neighbourhood, the documentary follows Gilda Love, legendary drag queen, and nearly last from line of artists in a fading cultural phenomenon. 

La comedia romántica ‘bollera’ La amiga de mi amiga, el debut en la ficción de Carmona, es uno de los hypes indies del año y, tras su éxito en el certamen barcelonés, premio de la sección Un Impulso Colectivo incluido, llegará a salas en otoño; mientras que Moragas fue reconocido con el Premio del público al mejor cortometraje del festival con la aproximación romántica intimista que protagoniza Demà ho deixem. 

With its success at the Barcelona International Film Festival and after winning an award in the Un Impulso Colectivo category, Carmona’s debut in fiction with her lesbian rom-com, Girlfriends Girlfriends (La amiga de mi amiga), is one of the indie hypes of the year – coming out this autumn. Meanwhile, Moragas won the Audience Award for the festival’s best short film with Demà ho deixem’s intimate and romantic approach. 

At the Málaga Film Festival, veteran Valeriano López’s Juana la Lorca was screened, starring transformist artist Juan Moreno, who takes us on a vindicative Lorca inspired journey of his view on homosexuality. The film will premiere in selected theatres after its screaming at the contest. Finally, Silvestre achieved great international recognition with Mi vacío y yo, an auto-fictional film starring Raphaëlle Pérez, coming out September 9. The author of the documentary Sedimentos (2021) continues his solid work which delves into the fundamental desires of six trans women. 

Quantity, yes. What about the quality of the diversity? 

However, and as supported by the ODA’s data, the film industry still does not reflect the reality of sexual intimacy and gender diversity within Spain. Although there has been an increase in the number of creators and stories from the LGBTIQA+ community, there are still few and far between. “They’re creating a new gaze”, explains Carmona in relation to the film industry’s current state concerned with the representation of the LGBTIQA+ community; he also adds that “references are still missing”. “Three of the community’s voices instead of one is progress, but they are still few”. He insists on us remembering that when it comes to the lesbian community, “representation has always come from an exploitative gaze”.  

In this sense, quantity is not always synonymous with quality. On this issue, Jesús Pascual reflects: “there are more references than when I was younger, but it’s important to think about stories, and how we want to represent the LGBTIQA+ community”. The filmmaker believes that we must go beyond the typical stories that are associated with the community – dramatic introduction and coming out stories for example – and to think about the more complex stories with “less monolithic” and “less angelical” characters. 

“Independent films will always suffer the consequences of a current crisis”

For Valeriano López, “industrial films include more LGBTIQA+ characters, although more stereotyped”. The Spanish artist from Granada considers the sum of a new audience to be good news but deplores that the storylines are always about the same “rough stereotypes, rejection and painful lives”. He further adds that deep down “there is no forethought about the queer”. 

Moragas is as equally critical and believes that the current Spanish film industry is limited to very specific representational codes. He notes: “in Spain, there is a systemic editorial line that affect the films we make. Not just queer films, independent films too will always suffer the consequences of a current crisis”.

His words align with journalist Borja Terán’s statement at the ODA on July 6, where he expressed his concerns about the current state of independent LGBTIQA+ cinema. At the event, the journalist pointed out: “we are missing out on a wonderful independent culture with real author diversity, because we are letting independent cinema become invisible”. 

Leaping over to the big hurdle 

With his complaints about what he sees as “conservative independent films”, Moragas allows us to reflect on how much it takes for LGBTIQA+ creators to take the leap towards their first feature film, or to continue with a second one, as well as how exhausting it must all be. Moragas, who’s first feature film, A Stormy Night, was well received by indie circles, points out the bottleneck of feature films in Spain as a glass ceiling: “the range of feature films does not match the diversity that does exists in short films”. 

Both the data and sources confirm that the true problem for Spanish LGBTIQA+ cinema is the lack of feature films that relate to its community. Looking back at the various attempts made by past histography, or from critics and academia to map out Spanish queer cinema, which put certain norms in place, also confirms what could be seen as the industry’s historical resistance when it comes to addressing these realities. 

Jorge Vaño, co-coordinators at FIRE LAB!! laboratory with Jorge Humberto for the development of LGBTIQA+ films for Mostra FIRE!!, an LGBTIQA+ film festival organised by the Casal Lamda cultural association in Barcelona, explains the situation very clearly: “because of the low production, it’s quite difficult for us to set up Spanish LGBTIQA+ films”. Vaño explains that this is the reason why FIRE LAB!! has been held back for the past two years. Their main objective has been to create feature films about the LGBTIQA+ community and its realities.

This is not the only initiative taken by festivals whose aim is to support new LGBTIQA+ film writers. The LesGaiCineMad festival in Madrid has been organising the QueerCineLab for a third year, opening its doors to pre-productions, feature films and short films; and the Zinegoak Film Festival has been running the ZGPRO/WIP professional selection. These three contests are the only spaces specifically dedicated to giving advice to state LGBTIQA+ projects, as well as collaborating with each other to promote the effective growth of the works they support. 

“There are filmmakers who want to tell their stories, but don’t get to”

Other similar spaces such as Abycine Lanza, The Screen, Mafiz–Festival de Málaga, las Residencias de la Academia del Cine Español or its Campus de Verano, a newly released programme, are all similar movements that give advice and help the development of independent films. More and more inclusive spaces exist which show stories about sexual intimacy and gender diversity directed by LGBTIQA+ filmmakers. 

«Las historias están ahí. Hay cineastas que quieren contar sus historias, pero no llegan», señala Vaño, quien detalla que, en su primera convocatoria, FIRE LAB!! recibió 37 propuestas; un número que aumentó hasta 41 en su segunda edición, celebrada este 2022. Como aspecto relevante, recuerda la infrafinanciación con la que salen adelante las propuestas: «Muchas de estas películas son muy underground, hechas en el marco de la universidad, como trabajos académicos, o mediante crowdfunding, y eso es algo de la industria que nos preocupa».

Vaño states: “the stories already exist. There are filmmakers who want to tell their stories, but don’t get to”. He details that in its first year, FIRE LAB!! received 37 offers, a number that increased to 41 when it was held the following year in 2022. As a relevant aspect, he recalls the underfunding with which the proposal went ahead: “Many of these films are very underground, produced within a university framework, as academic work, or through crowdfunding, and that is a part of the industry that worries us”. 

Looking for new and different LGBTIQA+ stories 

“With no stories to tell, you are nobody. The LGBTIQA+ community has stories, but they haven’t been told” says Almudena Monzú. The filmmaker and third at the top of the Amor y lujo film production company, along with Andrea Herrera Catalá and Javi Ferreiro is setting up her own space thanks to her productions which focuses on the stories of those within the LGBTIQA+ community or with non-normative gender identities. 

Among other works, Maja Borg’s documentary Passion about the emotional parallel between BDSM practices and Christianity, was showcased at numerous international film festivals, Herrera Catalá’s short film Las infantas competed at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Valladoid Film Festival (Seminci), and was nominated at the Gaudí awards for the best short film of 2021. Currently in the making, the series Picadero is a detective thriller directed by Isabel Coixet, and documentary Otherness (Alteritats) by Alba Cros and Nora Haddad investigates the diversity in the expression of sexual intimacy within the lesbian community. 

Amor y lujo, whose female creators and employees do not feel like they run an “activist production company” within the Spanish LGBTIQA+ film industry could be seen as an example of new pathways. Of course, difficulties and doubts still exist and Monzú addresses them head-on as she admits: “we find ourselves in the tension between creating LGBTIQA+ audio-visual content and achieving a universal appeal of those stories”. However, there is no doubt that they are opening new paths step by step. 

“The challenge is to make these stories feel like they haven’t been crammed in”

Nevertheless, Monzú says that the greatest challenge the film industry will face in terms of LGBTIQA+ representation is that while “there is an obvious increase in its presence, the challenge is to make the stories feel like they haven’t been crammed in. It’s something that happens when, someone who does not belong to the community, decides to spice up their stories with a touch of diversity –a vision that remains very superficial”. 

“Another risk”, he adds, “is the paternalism of the characters who belong to a minority. It’s easy to fall into the temptation of being overly nice with those characters, because the reality is already so fucked up that you start to see them as the oppressed minority and not for their humanity”.  

Categories with no limits

Jesús Pascual also warns us about the protectionism that happens when it comes to imagining LGBTIQA+ fictions, as it restricts the representation of sexual intimacy and gender diversity. Laying down a controversial aspect that is not talked about, he mentions: “I would like for the problems of the gay community to be addressed with all their depth, and for the characters to stop being mere archetypes. For example, I would like for the misogyny that exists within the community to be addressed in films”. 

“There are more and more opportunities, but it’s true to say that they come from the more marginal and independent circles”, reflects Valeriano López. Optimistic and combative, he trusts that when it comes to the representation of LGBTIQA+ identities, the film industry’s bravery will translate itself into a cinematographic language of bravery. He also has faith that a sense of normalisation will come with the new generations who experience gender and different sexual intimacies in a more lenient way. 

“People are surprised because my film is a comedy about lesbians. In 2022!”

“I have an optimistic vision”, says Zaida Carmona, “although it really strikes me that people are surprised because my film is a comedy about lesbians. In 2022!”. Despite the expectations created by her debut film, the director, screenwriter, and actress, still has her feet on the ground. “You cannot leave reality behind once you come out the other side after your first film. What about the second and third ones which are usually more elaborate and therefore more complex? It’s important to keep pushing because we will never have too many references”. 

Moragas shares the same opinion as Carmona about continuing to seek a space and creating cultural references, although his final reflection is somewhat sceptical. “The creative process of making an audio-visual fiction is a very slow and long process, and it’s impossible for the cinema to be able to get a feel for our society’s dynamics”. “I always bet on the public”, he trustingly concludes.  

Finally, Monzú says that “in the case of Amor y lujo, diversity forms part of our world”. Her intention is “not to be champions of anything” but to trust the power of fiction to reach and move others. “We simply want to share our stories with other human beings through good characters, whether straight or part of the LGBTIQA+ community, as long as they are good characters”. Categories exist, but we don’t want them to impose limits, we want to be able to do what we want with them”. 

Cover photo: My Emptiness and I (Mi vacío y yo), by Adrián Silvestre.