Carla Simón Pipó is a Spanish writer, director, and screenwriter, known for directing two films that received a lot of attention at different film festivals, Summer 1993 and Alcarràs. The former is her debut film, from 2017, made in the Catalan language and nominated as Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards; the latter is a more recent feature and won the Golden Bear at the 72nd Berlinale.
CARTA A MI MADRE PARA MI HIJO opens with Carla, the protagonist, pregnant and naked. Free and feminine in her authenticity, while she mimics her mother’s poses when she was pregnant herself with her. The shot captures a light that flashes through the windows. From Carla’s body, the narrative shifts to scenes of everyday life of ordinary people, mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers. The story returns to the protagonist, a young girl who lives her life and grows over the years, goes through different stages of her womanhood until she meets Carla again along with her newborn baby.
According to Simón, movies and cinema in general play an important role in people’s inner lives, sometimes even seeming to have the power to compensate for a lack, as in the case with Carla, in fact both of her parents died of AIDS when she was only six years old, so there are few memories she has of them. Throughout her creative process she wanted to pay tribute, in an imagined but deeply felt way, to her family. A collection of sweet hopes despite the pain of loss. A collection of real and imaginary memories of the past to build the future. A collection of a fragmentary and fleeting vision that encapsulates the authenticity of a woman, first a daughter and then a mother.
“With this film for Miu Miu Women’s Tales, I tanto to give my son what i didn’t have: a family history.”
The new episode of Miu Miu Women’s Tales premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 3, 2022 and will also be available soon on Miu Miu’s digital channels. As of September 5, it is online in global streaming on the MUBI platform.
