Icíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez (born 12 June 1967) is a Spanish filmmaker and actress. She is best known for directing ''
Te Doy Mis Ojos'' (''Take My Eyes''), which won 7 Goya Awards.
Bollaín has won other awards for acting and script-writing, as well as for directing.
Early life and education
Icíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez was born in Madrid on 12 June 1967. She was one of twin girls to a father who was an
aeronautical engineer
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...
and a mother who was a music teacher. She grew up in a liberal household in which each member was allowed to follow their own inclination. Icíar and her twin sister Marina showed an early interest in the arts; Icíar was inclined towards filmmaking while her sister studied to become an operatic singer. Bollaín was cast in
Víctor Erice's ''
El Sur'' (1983), for her acting debut.
Career
Since then Icíar Bollaín has acted in fourteen films. At age 18, with her twin sister Marina, she was cast by their uncle Juan Sebastián Bollaín in two films: ''Las dos orillas'' (1987); several years later the twins appeared in ''Dime una mentira'' (1992). Icíar Bollaín also took roles in films directed by Felipe Vega,
Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón and
José Luis Borau. Her red hair was partly what led
Ken Loach
Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a retiredhttps://variety.com/2024/film/global/ken-loach-retirement-the-old-oak-jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-1235956589/ English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views ar ...
to choose her for his film, ''
Land and Freedom'' (1995), about the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
. Her experience working with Loach led her to write the book: ''Ken Loach: un observador solitario.''
Bollain at age 23 formed a production company which she named ''La Iguana,'' and made two short films: ''Baja Corazón'' (1992) and ''Los Amigos del muerto'' (1994). With support from
Fernando Colomo, she made her first feature film as director: ''
Hola, ¿estás sola?'' (''Hi, are you alone?'' in English) (1995), a story about two young girls who dream of finding an earthly paradise and undertake a long trip towards the sea.
Her second feature film was ''
Flores de otro mundo'' (''Flowers from another world'' in English) (1999), which she co-wrote with
Julio Llamazares. It is the story of three women who travel to rural Spain with the hopes of finding love.
Her film ''
Te Doy Mis Ojos'' (''Take My Eyes'') (2003) won seven
Goya Awards
The Goya Awards () are Spain's main national annual film awards. They are presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain.
The first ceremony was held in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Ar ...
, including Best Film and Best Director.
Starring
Luis Tosar and
Laia Marull, the movie is about a man's abuse of his wife during their marriage, and their struggles to change the pattern of their lives.
Her 2010 film ''
Even the Rain'' (''Tambien la lluvia'')
was selected as the Spanish entry for the
Best Foreign Language Film at the
83rd Academy Awards.
In January 2011, the film made the final nine shortlist.
A film within a film, it is set in the Bolivian highlands in 2000. A Spanish film company's work on Columbus' arrival in the New World gets caught up in local violence related to current exploitation of peasants. It stars
Gael García Bernal
Gael García Bernal (; born 30 November 1978) is a Mexican actor and filmmaker. He is known for his performances in the films ''Amores perros'' (2000), ''Y tu mamá también'' (2001), ''Bad Education (2004 film), Bad Education'' (2004), ''The Mot ...
as the director and
Luis Tosar as the film producer. Carlos Aduviri, an
Aymara who plays a native leader in the "film," takes the lead in organizing a resistance to water privatization; he was nominated for a Best Newcomer Award at the
Goya Awards
The Goya Awards () are Spain's main national annual film awards. They are presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain.
The first ceremony was held in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Ar ...
. In 2020, she was invited to membership in the
AMPAS
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...
.
Representative films
Flowers from Another World (Flores de otro mundo) (1999)
This movie can also be seen as a means of instruction for foreign students. It shows several key aspects of both the history of
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and the socio-cultural evolution of the country. It tells the story of three women, Milady, from Cuba, Patricia, from the Dominican Republic and Marirrosi, from Bilbao. They have several existential problems and concerns regarding their future. These problems are similar to those suffered by three young men from Santa Eulalia, a village from the
Province of Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a province of Spain, belonging to the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. As of 2019 it had a population of 258,890 people. The population of the province has grown in the last 10 years. It is located in the centre ...
, which is an unimportant small town without marriageable women. Damian, Alfonso and Carmelo (these young men) come into contact with the three women at a party organized by single people of the village. There they got to know each other and this gives place to a bittersweet story.
This cinematographic work is useful from an academic point of view, not only for its historical value, but also because it is presented as an open window that allows the viewer to take the place of the characters, suffering with them the same surprises and impressions, since the point of arrival of the women to Santa Eulalia. Other essential aspects of the film are that it offers the opportunity to understand one of the main points of the novel: the problems of the Spanish countryside. At the same time, Icíar Bollaín preserves the classic stereotypes of the typical Spanish town, where the bar is the most important forum for meetings and ideological defenses. But Bollaín doesn't leave behind the important issue of the leading sexism of the time, and she is also concerned to mitigate it largely by introducing characters like Doña Gregoria, who is the mother of one of the young men and also the reflection of the rural matriarchy.
Foreignness is another key point in this story. At the beginning of the film, with the arrival of the three women to the village, the feeling of strangeness and rejection towards the foreigners appears. However it starts disappearing with the development of loving relationships between them and the young men of Santa Eulalia. This is a clear solution to the problem of foreignness. Icíar Bollaín doesn't present a problem without the corresponding solution, introducing an integrative ideology that breaks with cultural and racial barriers, which is another important pillar of the film that is a recognized pedagogical intention.
Bollaín sets the film during the
Spanish property bubble to reflect the issues and consequences that even today directly affect Spanish society. Flowers from Another World analyses not only the racial issue but also the role of women at that time. This can even be compared to other similar cases in which women start a movement for social integration, as in the case of the Mexican immigrant women in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Everything is portrayed through the figures of the three women who star in this story.
Take my eyes (Te doy mis ojos) (2003)
Source:
This film is characterized for introducing a new element: the
Painting
Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
. The use of pictorial art enriches the staging and the story itself, analyzing the narrative function that the works of this style can have within the Cinematography. While the painting does not carry a major role in the story of Pilar, a victim of
domestic violence
Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...
, it is crucial to the development of the main character. Thus, the Painting may be seen as a connector rather than a main narrative axis.
Somehow, through the painting, it is observed throughout the film how Pilar gets rid of the chains of the violence and abuse made by her husband. As Icíar Bollaín said, "Pilar meets art and thus begins to grow up emotionally and as a result she escapes from her difficult situation".This could be taken as an example for all the women who have the same problem, so that they can stop the abuse and free themselves from those chains as Pilar does in the movie. Throughout the film different pictures (mainly
Mythology
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
ones) are used to reflect the development of the main character on a personal and social level.
Even the Rain (También la lluvia) (2010)
This film by Icíar Bollaín could be perfectly defined as a "film within a film" because it uses two storylines to tell the tense situation that exists in Bolivia. All related to the heritage and colonial legacy. On the one hand, in this film, there is a low budget film about
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...
and the Discovery of America in 1492 being recorded. While, on the other hand, the famous
Water War (Bolivia) of Cochabamba (April 2000) is taking place. What Icíar Bollaín tries to represent using a historiographical discourse and filmic fiction, is the intersectionality between the European conquest and colonialism of 1492, the rise of
neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pe ...
in impoverished nations in the late 20th and early 21st century (in Bolivia the privatization of public resources, like water). Added to this analysis is the irony that the film company that is creating a revisionist historical drama, intended to bring light to the rape, enslavement, and genocide of Caribbean indigenous peoples by Columbus, is perhaps perpetuating
neocolonialism
Neocolonialism is the control by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony) through indirect means. The term ''neocolonialism'' was first used after World War II to refer to ...
through a process of film-making that commodifies indigenous peoples of Bolivia. Contributing to their poverty and oppression, directors of the film refuse to pay them a living wage while acting in their film. At the same time, indigenous populations revolt due to said privatization. However, by the end of the film, the director realizes his mistake and in a moment of compassion, and at the risk of his own life, saves the daughter of his star actor. The director uses creative license to create a historical drama that fictionalizes characters and narrative details, while presenting a broader historical truth.
Filmography
As director
As actress
Music Videos
Awards
Bibliography
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References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bollain, iciar
1967 births
Living people
Spanish film actresses
Spanish women film directors
Spanish film directors
Spanish women writers
Best Director Goya Award winners
20th-century Spanish actresses
21st-century Spanish actresses
21st-century Spanish screenwriters
Writers from Madrid
Actresses from Madrid
Spanish twins
Female twins