Marilyn Solaya: In Search of a Space for the Coral at the Film Festival

December 12, 2019

Cuban filmmaker Marilyn Solaya hits the mark again. Her documentary short film "In Search of a Space" was included among the select group of works with sufficient quality to compete for the coveted Coral at the 41st International Festival of New Latin American Cinema.

The filmmaker has significant documentaries such as "In the Wrong Body" (2010), which four years later led to the notable fiction feature film, her directorial debut, "Wedding Dress".

Now she arrives as director, screenwriter, and art director of this 52-minute documentary that is based on the book by doctor Julio César González, "In Search of a Space. History of Women in Cuba".

Marilyn commented to our publication the reasons that compelled her to address this topic: «I was struck by Julio César's book and it was an additional incentive to have him as a friend and advisor for the documentary, he has made the entire journey through Cuban feminists. The book is called "In Search of a Space" and that's what I named the documentary, because it's true, at all times women have been searching for that space that has been denied to us, we have been relegated to the background, even though we are half the population».

Solaya clarified that it is about «rescuing historical memory, but also about feminism, because in our country this concept has been demonized». She appreciated that «these are complex topics, you're working about women who have been made invisible their entire lives, they don't appear in textbooks, these women are not talked about and now we hear their voices that also connect with the current moment, with the present, with Latin America, where women still fight for the right to abortion, to divorce».

The documentary has a strong presence of photos found in newspapers of the era, archival images, old films that addressed those topics, caricatures that are inserted from the present and also performances by actresses Isabel Santos, Amada Morado and Andrea Doimeadiós, who give substance to feminists who defied the prejudices of their time.

Regarding the technical team, Marilyn considered that «it is a sui generis team, colleagues from Icaic along with those from Todas productions, that we have created precisely to speak about this topic that has no end. We are already with the stories of history and we will continue with women in science, art, sports, all aspects of society».