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MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN
(“A Mi Madre Le Gustan Las Mujeres”)
A FILM BY
INES PARIS and DANIELA FEJERMAN
STARRING
Leonor Watling
Rosa Maria Sarda
Silvia Abascal
Maria Pujalte
A Norador Productions Release
Distribution Contact:
Norador Productions
101 W. 79th Street
Suite 21C
New York, NY 10024
212-877-6417
212-877-1949
noraspers@aol.com
Publicity contact:
Lauren Hyman Publicity
336 W. 37th St
Suite 902
New York, NY 10018
Tel. 212-643-8234
Email. LSHyman@optonline.net
MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN
(“A Mi Madre Le Gustan Las Mujeres”)
CAST
LEONOR WATLING Elvira
ROSA MARIA SARDA Sofia
MARIA PUJALTE Jimena
SILVIA ABASCAL Sol
ELISKA SIROVA Eliska
CHISCO AMADO Miguel
ALEX ANGULO Editor
AITOR MAZO Psychologist
XABIER ELORRIAGA Carlos
CREW
DIRECTORS
Ines Paris and Daniela Fejerman
SCREENWRITERS
Ines Paris and Daniela Fejerman
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Beatriz de la Gandara
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Marta Miro
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
David Omedes
MUSIC
Juan Bardem
EDITOR
Fidel Collados
ART DIRECTOR
Soledad Sesena
SOUND
Julio Recuero
COSTUME DESIGNER
Vicente Ruiz
A Norador Productions release
Aspect ratio: 185
Unrated by the MPAA
In Spanish with English subtitles
Running time: 93 minutes
“MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN”
SYNOPSIS
MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN (“A Mi Madre Le Gustan Las Mujeres”) is an uproarious comedy about three sisters whose lives are thrown off-kilter by their mother’s sudden sexual awakening.
“Sofia,” (Rosa Maria Sarda from “All About My Mother”), a renowned pianist, is long separated from the daughters’ father. It is on the occasion of her birthday that she delivers a stunning announcement: she has fallen in love again. Clearly smitten, she begins to describe her new lover: somewhat younger…also a pianist. The daughters, thrilled and eager to hear more, are interrupted by the doorbell. A woman walks in.
The daring feature debut of Spanish directors Ines Paris and Daniela Fejerman, MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN traces the emotional landscape of a “modern” family that nevertheless registers seismic shock at this unexpected news. Sofia’s daughters are the children of left-wing intellectuals. Yet, even their progressive background hasn’t prepared them for the emotions they experience when their mother brings her new lover into their lives.
Leonor Watling (“Talk to Her.” “My Life Without Me”) leads the engaging ensemble cast in her role as the beautiful, neurotic daughter “Elvira.” Elvira’s shrink (Aitor Mazo) has been advising her to quit her job in publishing to write novels full time. He urges her to approach her mother about a temporary loan, but it appears that most of Sofia’s funds have already gone to pay off loans for “Eliska,” (Eliska Sirova) her Czech lover. Sister “Sol” (Silvia Abascal) the edgy lead singer of a rock band, sees her mother’s new sexual orientation as inspiration for her songwriting. And “Jimena,” (Maria Pujalte), struggles with her own preconceptions, resulting in a face-off with her conventional husband.
Screwball comedy takes hold as the daughters begin to feel threatened by their mother’s new lifestyle. The daughters suspect that Sofia’s lover might be a gold-digger, thus hurtling them into a frenzied effort to “rescue” her. Their hilariously calibrated plot to separate the lovers involves Sol’s vixen-like seduction of Eliska whom they lure to a fresh-air outing. When it becomes clear that the real spark exists between the serious and sensitive Eliska and the literary Elvira, the sisters pressure Elvira to carry out the seduction. This throws the already-imbalanced Elvira into a profound crisis of sexual identity. It also compounds her confusion about her growing feelings for the impossibly wonderful “Miguel,” (Chisco Amado), who could potentially be the love of her life.
After a few disastrous attempts to pursue a “healthy” relationship with Miguel, Elvira ends up at a bar with Eliska. Elvira finds comfort in their new friendship, but having drunk too much, an embarrassing encounter ensues and the two women pass out at Elvira’s apartment.
The next morning when Eliska returns home, she finds a distraught and accusatory Sofia. Feeling horribly misunderstood, even though she is still desperately in love with Sofia, she flees to her homeland.
Having succeeded in their frivolous plot, the daughters soon see the folly of having tried to separate their mother from her true love. Sofia is inconsolable and unproductive.
Determined to undo their bad deed and see their mother happy again, Elvira, Sol, and Jimena set off on an impulsive journey to the Czech Republic to win Eliska back.
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“MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN”
NOTES ON PRODUCTION
“MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN is a comedy about the new kinds of relationships, that have come about with the dawn of this century,” says director Daniela Fejerman. The core of the film - how three daughters react to the news that their mother has fallen in love with another woman – provides a means of exploring how it is possible to navigate a world where the family is not what it was. MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN is not so much about lesbianism per se, but about “new families” and the changing of traditional social and sexual modes.
“The idea of addressing the relationship we both maintain with our parents was very much with us during the making of the film, “ says director Ines Paris. “Both of us are daughters of progressive parents and have lived with the experience of having parents who, no matter how hard we try to surpass them, are always more modern than we are. “We belong to a generation that is accustomed to questioning established values,” says Fejerman. “This is part of the inheritance our parents have left us. For that reason, MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN is dedicated to them.”
The challenging of some of those traditions was also reflected in the film shoot itself. The crew was composed mostly of women; from the directors and executive producers, to the art directors, production assistants and make-up artists.
The filmmakers enlisted a sublime ensemble cast for the film. The screenwriters/directors chose to tell the story of MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN through their protagonist, Elvira, played by Leonor Watling. “Because Elvira is on the point of turning thirty, she is a resonant character who centers the plot; her mother’s announcement only heightens the turmoil in her unsettled, neurotic life,” says Paris. Watling, in a radical departure from her role in “Talk to Her,” was the first actress the filmmakers approached for the role. “Leonor imbued her character with an enormous range of gestures and an original ‘soul.’ She has the ability to take risks and try all possible registers for the character,” says Fejerman.
Sofia’s other daughters are played by Silvia Abascal who plays “Sol,” and Maria Pujalte who plays “Jimena.” “We were astonished by Silvia’s ability to transform herself into a provocative rocker – on stage, proving that she not only acts, but can sing and dance like a star, “ says Fejerman. As for Maria, the directors enjoyed seeing her construct a character that is so far removed from past roles.
Rosa Maria Sarda, well known for her role in Almodovar’s “All About My Mother,” plays “Sofia.” Paris describes Sofia as “a women who has always faced the challenges in her personal and professional life with courage. She’s capable of being a mother and an artist without denying her ‘self.’” “Rosa and Eliska Sirova were successful at communicating the quiet truth and tenderness of their love story in front of the camera,” says Fejerman.
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INES PARIS AND DANIELA FEJERMAN
DIRECTORS OF
“MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN”
Ines Paris and Daniela Fejerman are the screenwriters and directors of MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN. As a team they have worked together since 1993, having directed prize-winning short films and writing for film and television. MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN marks the first Spanish feature film that was co-directed by two women.
Paris and Fejerman directed their first short film, “How Did I Get Mixed Up In This?” in 1997 for which they garnered impressive awards. This led to their second directing effort in 1999: “Let’s Leave It,” a short which also won several awards.
Among their screenwriting credits is the highly acclaimed “Se Quien Eres,” directed by Patricia Ferreira, which finished 2nd place for the Audience Award at Berlin and won Best Screenplay at the Tudela Festival. They have written scripts for directors Emilio Martinez Lazaro and Enrique Urbizu as well as the upcoming “La Mirada Violeta” for director Nacho Perez de la Paz and Jesus Ruiz. In 2003, they won 2nd prize at the Television Academy Awards for “Pringado,” a script about the world of television.
Paris and Fejerman’s extensive television credits include the Taller de Comedias de Situacion (Sitcom Workshop) run by TVE, where they wrote numerous series between 1989 and 1993. Since 1993, they have written for Spanish television channels, writing dramas like “Mar De Dudas,” directed by Manuel Gomez Pereira, and comedies like Todos los hombres sois iguales” produced by Bocaboca for Tele 5, and “Famosos y familia” directed by Fernando Colomo.
Their academic backgrounds in Philosophy (Paris) and Psychology (Fejerman) strongly influence their work. They both trained and began their professional involvement in the theatre, first as actresses and later as a writer (Fejerman) and stage designer (Paris). They have taught scriptwriting at Carlos III University in Madrid, at the San Antonio de los Banos Film School in Cuba, and at the Videoteca in Madrid.
They are presently in production on their second feature film: “Semen, “a frenetic romantic comedy about artificial insemination which is also produced by Fernando Colomo.
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LEONOR WATLING
“Elvira”
Leonor Watling is the actress of the moment in Spanish cinema. Born of a Spanish father and an English mother, Leonor was a dancer and a singer before becoming an actress. After suffering a knee injury, and forced to stop dancing, she made her theatrical debut at the age of fifteen.
Although Leonor starred in her first feature film in 1993 in Pablo Llorca’s “Jardines colgantes” (“Hanging Gardens”), she became widely known early in her acting career for roles in several extremely successful television series. The first of these was Antonio Mercero’s “Farmacia de guardia” followed by “Hermanos de leche” and “Querido maestro.” It was, in fact, Mercero who awarded her the lead role in his feature film “La hora de los valientes” (“Hour of the Brave” 1998), alongside Gabino Diego, a part that was to lead to her first Goya nomination for Best Actress. The director Pablo Llorca worked with Leonor again in “Todas hieren” (1997) and “La espalda de Dios” (“Behind God’s Back” 1999).
Leonor starred in her first English-language production, a spaghetti-western for TNT called “The Long Kill” with Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson in 1998. Her flawless English served her well as a voiceover actress; she dubbed the voices for Aitana Sánchez Gijón and Penélope Cruz when their films were translated into English.
With the series “Raquel busca su sitio” for RTVE, anyone who had yet to notice her soon discovered her, and Leonor quickly became one of the most admired actresses of Spain. The director Bigas Luna, after a long hiatus from filmmaking, selected her to play the lead in “Son de mar” (“Sound of the Sea,”) alongside Jordi Moyá Luna. As a result of this role, she was awarded the Sant Jordi cinematographic award for Best Spanish Actress in 2000.
The year 2002 was a banner year for Leonor, with three hit films at the box office: Pedro Almodovar’s “Hable con Ella” (“Talk to Her”), Gerardo Vera’s “Deseo’” (“Desire”), and MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN. “Talk to Her” enabled Leonor to achieve the international exposure that almost all of the Oscar-winning director’s films command; Almodóvar was awarded his second Golden Globe for this film.
Spanish critics have called Leonor’s role in MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN “a hybrid of any of Woody Allen’s best parts.” In addition, her performance as the neurotic “Elvira” won her a Goya nomination in 2002 for Best Actress, and the Best Actress award at the 2002 Miami Latino Film Festival.
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ROSA MARIA SARDA
“Sofia”
Rosa Maria Sarda is one of the most popular and beloved actresses working in Spain today. She has been acting steadily in films and television since she began her career in 1965.
After becoming emblematic for her leading roles in several Spanish television series, she began her film career in Ventura Pons’ “El Vicari D’Olot” in 1981. Her extensive filmography includes such well-known titles as “Allegre Ma Non Troppo” and “The Butterfly Effect,” both directed by Fernando Colomo. Her long association with Pons continued as she starred in his “Actrices” (1996), “Caricias” (1997), “Amic Amat” (1998), and most recently in “Anita No Pierde El Tren” (2000).
Rosa Maria is perhaps best known to U.S.audiences for her role as Sister Rosa’s (Penelope Cruz) mother in Pedro Almodovar’s 2001 film “All About My Mother.”
Rosa Maria won a Best Supporting Actress Goya Award in 1992 for her extraordinary performance in “Why Do They Call It Love When They Mean Sex?” directed by Manuel Gomez Pereira and she has presented and directed several television shows including the Goya Awards ceremony on several occasions.
SILVIA ABASCAL
“Sol”
Born in 1979, Silvia Abascal was only thirteen when she made her acting debut on the wildly popular Spanish television series “Un Dos Tres.” She went on to star in several television series that made her instantly recognizable throughout Spain.
Since her film debut in Manolo Iborra’s “El Tiempo De La Felicidad” in 1996, she has carried lead roles in “Don Juan Tenorio” (1997), “La Fuente Amarilla” (1998) “La Voz De Su Amo (2000), and MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN.
MARIA PUJALTE
“Jimena”
Maria Pujalte has had an illustrious career in Spanish cinema and television. She began her film career with a role in Pedro Carvajal’s “Martes De Carnaval” (1990) and went on to star in “El Baile De Las Animas” (1993), “Entre Rojas” (1994), “Libertarias” (1995), “El Grito En El Cielo,” “Insomnio,” and Perdona Bonita Pero Lucas Me Queria A Mi,” (all in 1996), and “Los Lobos De Washington” (1997) before she assumed the role of “Jimena” in MY MOTHER LIKES WOMEN.
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