Carmen de Carabanchel

After being very lucky and seeing a number of superb titles at VIVA:The 29th Spanish & Latin American Manchester Film Festival, I got set to end my run at the event, by meeting Carmen.

View on the film:

Revealed in the introduction that the film maker shot and edited this, her second student movie whilst pregnant, the screenplay by writer/ director Cecilia Bartolome displays a thoughtful, clear sketching out of the major themes and motifs that would be explored across her future short and feature movie works from the first notes of amusingly mangled editions of compositions from the Georges Bizet Opera Carmen, skillfully used by Bartolome to slyly highlight the restrictions placed in General Franco era Spain, on the rights of women.

Filmed in Carabanchel and featuring a wonderful non-professional acting cast, Bartolome stages stylish French New Wave - inspired fluid, hand-held camera moves going behind the bedroom door, that is opened with a sharp screenplay by Bartolome which explores Carmen (played by a terrific Pilar Romero) battling through men and the state attempting to surround her, and block any notes of reproductive rights, from reaching Carmen.