One of the most anticipated Spanish films in the main competition at this year's San Sebastian Film Festival, “I Am Nevenka” by director Isier Bolin, has a trailer shared exclusively with diverse.
“I Am Nevenka,” a book written in collaboration with Iza Campo, who co-wrote two San Sebastián Golden Award-winning films, 2011’s “Double Steps” and 2018’s “Between Two Waters,” is being sold by Film Factory Entertainment. It is inspired by real events: the case of Nevenka Fernández, a Ponferrada city councilor who in 2001 became the first woman in Spain to win a court case for sexual harassment against a high-ranking politician—her former boyfriend and powerful Ponferrada mayor Ismael Álvarez.
But she won at a high price, fighting for her cause almost alone, in the face of opposition from most of her colleagues, and being described in the media as a social climber or a prostitute. She ended up leaving Ponferrada for London.
Much of that is evident in the trailer. Pauline, who was filmed on the set of “I Am Nevenka,” said: diverse “I Am Nevenka” will deal with “the abuse of power, how it works with someone. When an abuser paralyzes that person, it makes them defenseless.”
The trailer depicts physical abuse—Alvarez tries to touch Fernandez under the table—and psychological manipulation, as he confronts her on the street with an age-old accusation that men make against women, addressing her like a child using the little name Cuenca and accusing her, as men often do, of losing her mental bearings.
“You're so stupid, Cuenca, and so childish. Stop this nonsense, you're so bitter,” Alvarez scolds her.
“Bullying happens because other people don’t say anything,” Pauline said. diverse On set. So in “I Am Nevenka,” “the whole environment” is part of the sexual harassment, “another element,” she added.
Fernandez is clearly alone in many of the commercials. The real protagonists are often in the background, as in the sarcastic reaction shots of Fernandez’s colleagues when she is appointed chancellor and given two prominent council posts: Treasury and Commerce.
Produced by Movistar Plus+, Kowalski Films and Feelgood Media, “I Am Nevenka” is part of the former company’s active push into auteur films, with some of Spain’s best directors.
“The Nevenka case, as it is called, happened two decades ago. As Nevenka struggles for justice, her sense of her own identity, and especially her dignity, there is a strong sense that the film, like all films, is being made with an eye to the present.
“What would you say to women who are going through the same thing as you?” a reporter asked Nevenka as she left the courtroom. “Don’t be silent! Speak up!” she replied.
27 women died in Spain due to gender-based violence this year 2024. “I am Nevenka” honors a woman who was brave enough to speak out at a time when it was almost unthinkable in Spain.
I am Nevenka
Copyright: David Herranz
