Motherhood | |
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Spanish | La Maternal |
Directed by | Pilar Palomero |
Screenplay by | Pilar Palomero |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Julián Elizalde |
Edited by | Sofie Escudé |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | BTeam Pictures |
Release dates |
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Country | Spain |
Language | Spanish |
Motherhood (Spanish: La Maternal)[1] is a 2022 teen drama film written and directed by Pilar Palomero starring Carla Quílez and Ángela Cervantes.
The plot tracks Carla, a 14-year old pregnant girl placed in a centre for teenage mothers where she hangs out with other teen classmates (Raki, Estel, Claudia, Jamila and Sheila).[2][3] She also has to deal with the vicissitudes of her fraught relation with her mother Penélope.[3][4]
The screenplay was penned by Pilar Palomero.[5] La maternal (Palomero's sophomore feature after Schoolgirls)[6] is an Inicia Films and Bteam Prods production, with the participation of RTVE, TVC, Televisión de Aragón, and Movistar+ and support from Creative Europe's MEDIA, ICAA and ICEC .[4][7] Julián Elizalde worked as cinematographer.[8][9]
Shooting took place in late 2021 and lasted for 8 weeks.[10] Shooting locations included Los Monegros and Barcelona and its surroundings.[7]
The film made its world premiere at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival's official selection on 20 September 2022.[11][12] It will have its international premiere at the Zurich Film Festival.[1] Distributed by BTeam Pictures,[2] it is set for an 18 November 2022 theatrical release in Spain.[13] Elle Driver acquired rights for worldwide sales outside Spain and France.[2]
According to the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 92% approval rating based on 13 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.9/10.[15]
Jonathan Holland of ScreenDaily deemed the film to be "superbly directed by Palomero, who seems to have a special gift for seeing the world through children's eyes".[16]
Raquel Hernández Luján of HobbyConsolas rated the film with 65 points ("acceptable") deeming it to be more interesting by its subject than by its forms, praising "the reality that [the film] makes visible" but pointing out that "the style is too crude, it is an unbearable film at times".[17]
Juan Pando of Fotogramas rated the film 5 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be "one of the best films, if not the best, [in 2022 Spanish cinema]", praising "that true prodigy named Carla Quílez" as the best thing about the film while citing the film's excess length as a negative point.[18]
Sergi Sánchez of La Razón rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, positively highlighting Quílez's naturalness while pointing out that "a certain capacity for synthesis is lacking" in the film.[19]
The film appeared on a number of critics' top ten lists of the best Spanish films of 2022:
Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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2022 | 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival | Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance | Carla Quílez | Won | [27] |
2023 | 15th Gaudí Awards | Best Non-Catalan Language Film | Nominated | [28] | |
Best Director | Pilar Palomero | Nominated | |||
Best Original Screenplay | Pilar Palomero | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actress | Ángela Cervantes | Won | |||
Best New Performance | Carla Quílez | Won | |||
10th Feroz Awards | Best Director | Pilar Palomero | Nominated | [29] | |
Best Actress in a Film | Carla Quílez | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actress in a Film | Ángela Cervantes | Nominated | |||
2nd Carmen Awards | Best Non-Andalusian Film | Nominated | [30][31] | ||
78th CEC Medals | Best Director | Pilar Palomero | Nominated | [32] | |
Best New Actress | Carla Quílez | Won | |||
37th Goya Awards | Best Film | Nominated | [33] | ||
Best Director | Pilar Palomero | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actress | Ángela Cervantes | Nominated | |||
31st Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role | Ángela Cervantes | Nominated | [34] |