Focus on María Luisa Bemberg
“All of my protagonists are women who in some way break the mould and strive to live autonomously. Some fare better than others.”
Argentine director, producer and screenwriter, María Luisa Bemberg defied norms, censorship and (male) contemporaries in her home country and forged a career that spanned from 1971 to the early 1990s. Her films, often melodramas, offer distinctive feminist perspectives, sometimes drawing from Bemberg’s own upper-middle class background, and focusing on protagonists who reflect on and challenge their subordinate status within patriarchal society.
Invisible Women, along with Natalia Christofoletti Barrenha and Julia Kratje, present two newly restored films: Oscar-nominated and famously tragic Camila, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, and Miss Mary, led by Julie Christie.
Miss Mary
“What I wanted to demonstrate with this film, which was absolutely autobiographical, was the criminality of how well-bred girls were educated to become ‘an accomplished young wife’.”
Miss Mary follows a family who represented the ruling elite in Argentina for over 50 years; their patrician dream was shattered when Juan Domingo Perón came to power. The events, spanning from 1938 to 1945, are recounted by Miss Mary, played by a captivating Julie Christie, hired to teach and discipline the family’s three young children from childhood through to young adulthood. The film powerfully illustrates the repression of emotions within a rigid, male-dominated society and a family fixated on conforming to societal norms, even as the aristocratic world surrounding them collapses.
This film will be screened with specially commissioned caption subtitles for d/Deaf and Hard-of Hearing audiences.
Event/ The screening on Sat 20 Apr was introduced by Camilla Baier, co-founder of Invisible Women, with BSL interpretation. You can read Camilla’s notes on María Luisa Bemberg’s Camila and Miss Mary here.
You can now select your favourite seats in our cinema!
We’re rolling out reserved seating across our cinemas, starting with ¡Viva! This is to improve access for audiences and provide an even better customer experience.