Emotional and sexual relationships in adolescence are the focus of the second edition of the 'Ulls de Dona' film series.

PalmThe 'Women's Eyes' film series, organized by the Estudi General Lul·lià, begins its second edition next Monday, November 17th, and runs until Thursday the 20th. This edition focuses on how teenagers experience their emotional and sexual relationships.

In this second edition, 'Women's Eyes', a space where cinema is approached from a female perspective as a meeting place and alliance to generate critical thinking, takes a further step by adding an innovative initiative to the screening of the selected films: the filming of a series of short films during the main feature. Sílvia Ventayol, director of the Estudi General Lul·lià and head of the film series, emphasizes that 'Ojos de Mujer' (Women's Eyes) – sponsored by the Baltasar Coll Foundation – "has an intergenerational, local, and socially committed focus. We propose a new way of experiencing cinema. We go beyond the theater seat and the screen, seeking an experience where women are the protagonists. Therefore, this year, female perspectives will primarily engage with the perspectives of teenagers: on love, identity, desire, and the challenges of growing up."

The films included in the series and the subsequent discussions share the common thread of sexual violence against women, mainly during adolescence, and the difficulties experienced during this stage of life, which then carry over into adulthood when navigating relationships. Although the screenings and activities are open to the public, there is a specific session where the guests will be teenagers and young adults, making them the true protagonists of the discussion.

The role of teenagers will be even more prominent, and they will experience it firsthand on the mornings of the 17th, 18th, and 19th, when the Estudi General Lul·lià will be transformed into a real film set where they will shoot their own short fiction films. This is the 'TEEN: Building Cinema on Gender Violence' project, conceived by the Estudi General Lul·lià and made possible through the collaboration of the La Caixa Foundation and the Balearic Institute for Women. A total of 50 students from the following schools will participate in this experimental edition of 'TEEN': IES Inca, IES Mossèn Alcover in Manacor, and CEIP Gabriel Vallseca in Palma.

They will be accompanied by professionals from the audiovisual sector, who will guide them in the different areas of film production: screenwriting, directing, camera operation, sound, lighting, staging, characterization, set design, and privacy coordination. The objective of this experimental initiative is for teenagers to express, through film narrative, how they approach emotional relationships and to become aware during the creative process of the extent to which these relationships are permeated by violence, and specifically by violence against women.

Films and popular culture with a backdrop of sexual violence against women

The journey proposed by 'Eyes of Women' begins this Monday, November 17, with the screening of Bonjour Tristese (1958), directed by Otto Preminger and based on the novel of the same name by Françoise Sagan. The film explores the emotional confusion, the search for identity, and the existential emptiness that accompany the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Following the screening, a discussion will be held with participants from the book club led by screenwriter, philology professor, and audiovisual script consultant Carme Morell.

As part of the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25), the feature film will be shown on Tuesday the 18th. Doll, one thriller A feminist film directed by Andrea Jaurrieta. The film is part of the 8th National Film and Rural Women Cycle organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The protagonist is a woman who returns to her village to settle scores with the man who sexually assaulted her in her adolescence.

On this occasion, the subsequent discussion will also be generated through music and popular culture. Bárbara Duran (PhD in Art and Musicology and author of the essay Music for a crime. The Ballad of Jordi Roca and the Madonna of Es CaparóThe debate will explore how popular culture reinforces patriarchal stereotypes and leads to a whitewashing of reality in collective memory, to the point where the murdered woman is perceived as guilty while the man appears as a victim of his emotions. Cultural norms, myths about rape, and victim blaming (Secondary victimization) reduces the likelihood that women will report sexual assaults. To what extent is this impact present in adolescence?

On its third day (Wednesday the 19th), 'Women's Eyes' focuses on the pressure teenage girls face to lose their virginity. It does so through the short film The Last VirginDirected by Bárbara Farrè, a new voice in Spanish cinema, the film will be screened. The subsequent discussion will be facilitated by psychologist Roberto Fernández and educator Victoria Quesada, and will include the participation of teenagers in the audience. The central theme of this discussion will be the main question of this second edition of the film festival: What do teenagers talk about when they talk about love? Appearance, online image, early sexuality, the need to belong to a group, vulnerability, self-harm, and the feeling of losing one's own will will also be part of the answer. To highlight that women are also affected by violence in film and how new alliances are changing this paradigm, the film festival will close on Thursday, November 20th, with the presentation of its latest report. After the silence Prepared by CIMA (Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media) on abuse and sexual violence against women in the film and audiovisual industry. To discuss what continues to happen behind the scenes and how reality is changing after actresses, producers, filmmakers, etc., have broken their silence, Alba María González (director, screenwriter, and managing director of CIMA) and Raquel Colera (also a filmmaker) will speak with attendees. The full program can be found at [website address missing]. https://estudigeneral.com/ca/activitats