''Libertad'' is a 2021 Spanish-Belgian

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film directed and written by

Clara Roquet Clara Roquet (born 1988) is a Spanish filmmaker from Catalonia. Biography Roquet was born in 1988. Reported birthplaces include Malla, Vic, and Barcelona. She studied at the Pompeu Fabra University and Columbia University. She made her writing ...

which stars María Morera and Nicolle García, also featuring

Nora Navas Nora Navas García (born 24 April 1975) is a Spanish actress. Biography Navas was born on 24 April 1975 in Barcelona. She has a distinguished and prolific career, ranging from theater to film, through TV movies and series. Her performance in ...

, Carol Hurtado and

Vicky Peña Maria Victòria Peña Carulla (born 11 January 1954) better known as Vicky Peña is a Spanish actress. She is one of the most important voice actors in Catalan and Spanish. Family and early life She is the daughter of the actors Felip Peña a ...

Plot

story portraying

class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

from the point of view of the privileged class, the fiction follows the friendship between Nora (a rich privileged girl) and Libertad (the daughter of Rosana, the family's Colombian

domestic worker A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

), as the former spends the holidays at her grandmother Ángela's summerhouse in the

Costa Brava The Costa Brava (, ; "Wild Coast" or "Rough Coast") is a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Whilst sources differ on the exact definition of the Costa Brava, it can be regarded as stretching from the town of Blanes, northeast o ...

Cast

Production

''Libertad'' (

's debut feature film) is a joint Spain–Belgium co-production and it was produced by Lastor Media and Avalon P.C. alongside Bulletproof Cupid with support from

MEDIA Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

, ICAA, ICEC,

Eurimages Eurimages is a cultural support fund of the Council of Europe, established in 1989. Eurimages promotes independent filmmaking by providing financial support to feature-length fiction, animation, and documentary films. In doing so, it encourages c ...

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española or RTVE, is the state-owned public corporation that assumed in 2007 the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service know ...

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso *Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala *Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...

Movistar+ Movistar Plus+ (formerly Movistar+) is the trade name of the subscription platform for digital television owned by Telefónica, which operates in Spain. The service is distributed via optical fiber and ADSL and as well as with satellites such as ...

and Catalan Films. Filmed in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

in the Summer of 2019, shooting locations included

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Blanes Blanes () is a town and municipality in the comarca of Selva in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. During Roman rule it was named Blanda or Blandae. It is known as the "Gateway to the Costa Brava". Its coast is part of the Costa Brava, which stretches ...

Garraf Garraf (), better known as El Garraf (), is a comarca (county) in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, northern Spain. It is named after the Garraf Massif. The GR 92 long distance footpath, which roughly follows the length of the Mediterranea ...

Lloret de Mar Lloret de Mar (; ) is a Mediterranean coastal town in Catalonia, Spain. It is south of Girona and northeast of Barcelona. With a population of 38,402 in 2021, it is the second largest town in the Selva comarca of Catalonia. Lloret de Mar attra ...

and

Sant Andreu de Llavaneres Sant Andreu de Llavaneres () is a municipality located 36 km north of Barcelona (Catalonia) (Spain), along the Mediterranean coast, between Mataró and Sant Vicenç de Montalt. It belongs to the Maresme comarca and the Barcelona province. The ...

Release

The film had its

world premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its f ...

in the 60th

Critics' Week Critics' Week (french: link=no, Semaine de la critique), until 2008 called International Critics' Week ('), is a parallel section to the Cannes Film Festival organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. It was created in 1962 after the Fre ...

at the

2021 Cannes Film Festival The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American director Spike Lee was invited to be the head of the jury for the festival for a second time, after t ...

on 8 July 2021. It also screened as the opening film of the 66th

Valladolid International Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

(Seminci) on 23 October 2021. Co-distributed by Avalon and Elastica, it was theatrically released in Spain on 19 November 2021.

Reception

Eulàlia Iglesias of ''

Fotogramas ''Fotogramas'' is Spanish digital and print film magazine which has been in circulation since 1946. It is one of the early film magazines in Spain. History Founded in Barcelona, it was first published on 15 November 1946 by Antonio Nadal-Rodó a ...

'' gave ''Libertad'' 4 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be "a debut film that brings to the surface with remarkable subtlety an everyday inequality". She highlighted María Morera and Nicolle García, whereas she negatively pointed out that the choice of characters exclusively speaking Spanish felt forced. Beatriz Martínez of ''

El Periódico de Catalunya ''El Periódico de Catalunya'' (, ), also simply known as ''El Periódico'', is a morning daily newspaper based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The paper publishes separate daily editions in Spanish and in Catalan. The two editions combined sell ...

'' gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, presenting it as "a perfectly woven story about class differences, inequalities, mother-son relationships, teen friendship and the youthful yearning to discover the world". Philippe Engel of ''

Cinemanía ''Cinemanía'' is a Spanish language monthly film magazine based in Madrid, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)( ...

'' gave it 4½ out of 5 stars, considering that Roquet "constructs a prodigious visual and sound montage". Anton Merikaetxebarria of ''

El Correo ''El Correo'' (; ) is a leading daily newspaper in Bilbao and the Basque Country of northern Spain. It is among best-selling general interest newspapers in Spain. History and profile The brothers Ybarra y de la Revilla – Fernando, Gabriel and ...

'' gave the film 2 out of 3 stars, considering that the director resolves the underlying coming-of-age story with the required "sensitivity and good taste". Reviewing for ''

Mondo Sonoro ''Mondo Sonoro'', sometimes shortened to ''la Mondo'', is a Spanish magazine established in 1994 which focuses on current alternative, popular and indie music, as well as national emerging bands. Co-founded by Sergio Marqués and Jose Macarro in Ba ...

'', J. Picatoste Verdejo, gave it 8 out of 10 points; they presented Libertad as a film about oblique affections, considering however that the entanglement of unrequited affections laid out in the plot is presented in a measured balance. Wendy Ide of ''

ScreenDaily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'' wrote that Roquet's "filmmaking is light of touch and instinctively perceptive, honing in on the tiny details which are magnified through the lens of adolescence", likening her craft to that of

Céline Sciamma Céline Sciamma (; born 12 November 1978) is a French screenwriter and film director. She is especially known for her films Girlhood (film), ''Girlhood'' (2014), ''My Life as a Courgette'' (2016), and ''Portrait of a Lady on Fire'' (2019), winni ...

and

Lucrecia Martel Lucrecia Martel (born December 14, 1966) is an Argentine film director, screenwriter and producer whose feature films have frequented Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto, and many other international film festivals. Film scholar Paul Julian Smith w ...

Accolades

, - , align ="center" rowspan ="29" , 2022 , , rowspan ="4",

9th Feroz Awards The 9th ceremony of the Premios Feroz, known as the Feroz Awards 2022, presented by the Asociación de Informadores Cinematográficos de España, took place at the Auditorio de Zaragoza in Zaragoza, Spain, on 29 January 2022, to recognize the bes ...

, , colspan ="2" , Best Drama Film , , , , rowspan="4" , , - ,

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

, , Clara Roquet , , , - ,

Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

, , Clara Roquet , , , - , Best Film Poster , , Jordi Trilla , , , - , rowspan = "5" , 77th CEC Medals , , colspan = "2" , Best Film , , , , rowspan = "5" , , - , Best New Director , , Clara Roquet , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Nora Navas , , , - , Best New Actress , , Nicolle García , , , - , Best Cinematography , , Gris Jordana , , , - , rowspan ="6",

36th Goya Awards The 36th Goya Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AACCE), honoured the best in Spanish films of 2021 and took place at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia on 12 February 2022. The ceremony ...

, , colspan ="2" ,

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, , , , rowspan="6" , , - ,

Best New Director ''Best New Director'' was an award given by the New York Film Critics Circle from its first inception in 1989 until discontinuing in 1996. There was no award in 1993. 1980s 1989 *Kenneth Branagh – ''Henry V (1989 film), Henry V'' **Runners-up: St ...

, , Clara Roquet , , , - ,

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

, , Clara Roquet , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Nora Navas , , , - , Best New Actress , , Nicolle García , , , - ,

Best Cinematography This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, , Gris Jordana , , , - , rowspan = "12" ,

14th Gaudí Awards The 14th Gaudí Awards, organised by the Catalan Film Academy, will be presented at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, MNAC's Oval Room in Barcelona on 6 March 2022. History The nominations were read by Francesc Orella and María Molins a ...

, , colspan = "2" , Best Non-Catalan Language Film , , , , rowspan = "12" , , - , Best Director , , Clara Roquet , , , - , Best Screenplay , , Cara Roquet , , , - , Best Actress , , Maria Morera , , , - , Best Art Direction , , Marta Bazaco , , , - , Best Editing , , Ana Pfaff , , , - , rowspan = "2" , Best Supporting Actress , , Nora Navas , , , - , Vicky Peña , , , - , Best Original Music , , Paul Tyan , , , - , Best Cinematography , , Gris Jordana , , , - , Best Makeup and Hairstyles , , Barbara Broucke, Jesús Martos , , , - , colspan = "2" , Public's Choice Special Award for Best Film , , , - , Spanish Screenwriters' Union Awards , , Best Screenplay in a Drama Feature Film , , Clara Roquet , , , , , - , 9th Platino Awards , , Best Ibero-American Debut Feature Film , , Clara Roquet , , , ,

References

External links

''Libertad''
at ICAA's ''Catálogo de Cinespañol'' {{authority control 2021 films 2021 drama films 2020s Spanish-language films 2020s coming-of-age drama films Spanish coming-of-age drama films Belgian coming-of-age drama films Films about social class Domestic workers in films Films set in Catalonia Films set in the Mediterranean Sea Avalon films Films shot in the province of Barcelona Films shot in the province of Girona 2020s Spanish films 2021 directorial debut films