One of the most anticipated Spanish films in this year’s main competition in San Sebastian, “I Am Nevenka”, by Iciar Bollain, has a trailer, shared exclusively with Selection.
Written with Isa Campo, co-author of two San Sebastian Golden Shell winners, 2011’s “The Double Steps” and 2018’s “Between Two Waters,” and purchased by Movie Manufacturing Facility Leisure, “I Am Nevenka” is inspired by real events: the case of Nevenka Fernández, a member of the Ponferrada City Council who in 2001 became the first woman in Spain to win a sexual harassment lawsuit against a high-ranking politician — her ex-boyfriend and all-powerful mayor of Ponferrada, Ismael Alvárez.
She won, however, at a price, stopping her case almost on her own, in the face of opposition from most of her colleagues and branded a social climber or a prostitute by the media. She ended up leaving Ponferrada for London.
Much of what is seen in the trailer. Caught on the set of “I Am Nevenka,” Bollaín instructed Selection that “I Am Nevenka” will activate “the abuse energy, the way it works with someone. When the abuser paralyzes that individual, makes that individual defenseless.”
The trailer captures physical abuse—Álvarez’s attempt to grope Fernández under a table—and psychological manipulation, as he confronts her on the street with a long-standing accusation made by men about women, calling her a baby by the diminutive Quenca and accusing her, as men often do, of losing her psychological way.
“You are so foolish, Quenca, and so childish. Stop this nonsense, you are so bitter,” Alvárez scolds her.
“Bullying happens because others don’t say anything,” Bollaín instructed Selection on set. So in “I Am Nevenka” “her whole milieu” is one part sexual harassment, “another part,” she added.
Tellingly, in many trailer shots, Fernández is alone. Typically, the real protagonists of a scene are in the background, similar to the sympathetic, almost smiling response shots of Fernández’s colleagues when she is named councilor and given two of the Council’s top positions: Treasury and Commerce.
“I Am Nevenka” is produced by Movistar Plus+ and Kowalski Movies and Feelgood Media, forming part of the long-standing energy push towards auteur event films, featuring some of Spain’s most exciting directors.
“‘The Nevenka Case,’ as it is known, took place 20 years ago. While Nevenka fights for justice, her sense of self and, most particularly, she emphasizes, 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 young women who are going through the same thing as you?” a reporter asks Nevenka as she leaves the courtroom. “Don’t be silent! Speak up!” she replies.
27 women died from gender-based violence in Spain in 2024. “I Am Nevenka” pays tribute to a woman who was brave enough to speak out at a time when this was almost inconceivable in Spain.
I am Nevenka
Copyright: David Herranz