Queer Female Directors in Spanish Cinema: Between Authorship and Industry

Abstract The concept of double discrimination faced by lesbians, bisexuals, or female asexuals—both as women and as individuals deviating from heterosexual norms—finds its epitome in cinema, a historically significant medium of expression and visibility. The aim of this paper is to trace the genealogy of queer female authorship in Spanish cinematography and identify characteristics that the corresponding film productions potentially have in common. The article shows a sparse number of openly queer female filmmakers in Spanish cinema: from the 1990s onwards only five can be found who have directed at least one feature film. In our research, these five filmmakers, Marta Balletbò-Coll, Zaida Carmona, Alba Cros, Arantxa Echevarría, and Sonia Sebastián, are interviewed about their creative processes and their relation with the Spanish film industry, evincing similarities closely related to their identities of queer and female creators. Despite the years separating some of their works, our study highlights the multiple challenges they have faced trying to establish themselves within the industry, working mainly with limited budgets and strategies such as crowdfunding. Only one of them, Arantxa Echevarría, has managed to maintain a continuous career alternating commissioned films with personal works, despite releasing her first feature film at the age of fifty.