The cultural world in our country has awakened to the sad news of the loss of an irreplaceable figure. Josefina Molina passed away this Saturday in Madrid. at the age of 89She leaves behind a legacy measured not only by films and series, but also by the barriers she broke down for those who came after her. The Film Academy confirmed her passing, describing her as a visionary and determined woman who never backed down in an industry that, when she started, was almost exclusively male.
Born in Córdoba at the dawn of the Spanish Civil War, this multifaceted creator knew from a very young age that her calling was storytelling. Although she grew up in a comfortable middle-class family, where her father's shoe and drugstore business ensured stability, it was her mother who instilled in her a thirst for intellectual pursuits. She refused to accept the destiny of housewife that postwar society had reserved for her and, after being captivated by the big screen upon seeing Jean Renoir's 'The River', she decided that His place was behind the cameras, beginning an adventure that would lead her to become one of the most authoritative voices in European audiovisual media.
A training marked by self-improvement and talent
Her time at the Official Film School wasn't exactly a bed of roses, but her determination was unbreakable. In 1969, she made history by becoming the first woman to achieved the title of Director at that institution, a milestone that at the time raised some eyebrows among the more conservative sectors. Far from being intimidated by the criticism of some professors, Molina used her first short films to explore topics that no one wanted to touch, always putting at the center women who broke the molds and stereotypes of the Franco era.
Before making the leap to the big screen, she honed her skills at Televisión Española (TVE), where she adapted works that are now considered true gems of Spanish public television. From the complexity of Kafka's 'The Metamorphosis' to the local color of Miguel Delibes' 'El camino', Josefina demonstrated a special sensitivity for translating literature into visual languageIt wasn't just impeccable technique; it was a way of looking at the world with a relief and depth that, according to her, humanity lacked because it had spent too long ignoring the female perspective.
Works that broke taboos and marked an era
If there's one title that comes up in every conversation about her talent, it's undoubtedly 'Función de noche' (Night Function). Premiered in 1981, this work occupies that blurred boundary between documentary and fiction, showing Lola Herrera and Daniel Dicenta in a raw and heartbreaking conversation about her failed marriage. It was an unprecedented cinematic experiment that brought to the table issues such as female sexual dissatisfaction and the burdens of patriarchy in intimacy, something that in the Spain of the Transition caused a real cultural and social earthquake.
Nor can we forget her foray into the life of Saint Teresa of Ávila, where she enlisted the help of a Concha Velasco at the height of her powers to humanize the saint of Ávila. Molina didn't want to create a conventional hagiographic portrait; she was looking for the rebellious and intelligent woman who confronted the established powers of the 16th century. This feminist and down-to-earth approach is what made the series connect so massively with the public, demonstrating that it was possible to make high-quality, profound television with a fully cinematic production without losing the audience's favor.
The firm commitment to equality and the birth of CIMA
But Josefina Molina didn't just dedicate herself to filmmaking; she also took on the challenge of making things a little easier for those who came after her. In 2006, she was one of the founders of the Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media, known by the acronym CIMA. Along with other greats like Isabel Coixet and Icíar Bollaín, she set out to combat the gender gap in a sector where budgets and opportunities still had male names, assuming the honorary presidency as a position from which to continue fighting.
She often remarked with a touch of bitterness that being 'the first' or 'the only' wasn't a badge of honor she liked to wear, but rather a reminder of how much work still needed to be done. For her, equality wasn't a matter of quotas, but of social justice and... enrichment of one's own cultureHe always argued that if the talent of fifty percent of the population was not taken into account, the reality we saw on screens was incomplete, lame, and ultimately, we were missing out on wonderful stories because of prejudices that it was time to bury once and for all.
Well-deserved recognition and a retirement among letters
Awards soon followed to recognize such a consistent and brilliant career. In 2012, she became the first female director to receive the Goya Award for Lifetime Achievement, an award she dedicated with great emotion to all her female colleagues who They were left behind along the way for not having the same opportunities. She was also awarded the National Film Prize and the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts, in addition to being the first female filmmaker to be admitted to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, breaking one glass ceiling after another until the end of her days.
In his later years, although he stepped away from the spotlight of filmmaking, he never stopped creating. He found refuge in literature, publishing historical novels and memoirs that afforded him a creative freedom that cinema, with its enormous budgets and crews, sometimes denied him. He lived discreetly in Boadilla del Monte, enjoying a active retirement surrounded by books, always willing to lend a hand or give advice to the new generations of female directors who came to her as if consulting an oracle of wisdom and experience.
The passing of this universally acclaimed Cordoban artist leaves a huge void in the art world, but her legacy lives on in every woman who picks up a camera in Spain today without feeling like she's invading someone else's space. Her wake, which will take place this Saturday at the Boadilla funeral home, will be the meeting point for friends, family, and colleagues to bid a final farewell to a creator who He made the impossible possible. Thanks to her stubbornness and talent, we are left with her films, her books, and above all, that clear and courageous gaze that taught us to see the world with both eyes, asserting that the voice of women is, quite simply, essential to understanding who we are.