A New Gaze: Women Creators of Film and Television in Democratic Spain

This book deepens the understanding of the work carried out by professional women in Spanish film and television since the arrival of democracy, a period of radical changes that saw an emergence of female talent. Although most of the literature on women and media deals with female film directors, this book also addresses television, a medium where the presence of women was significant throughout this period. This book makes an important contribution to the study of the history of women in Spanish media, focusing on the work of some well-known names, while also rescuing from oblivion others now forgotten. It brings together scholars from Spain, the United States and Ireland to analyze films and television programs written or directed by female professionals such as Pilar Miró, Josefina Molina, Cecilia Bartolomé, Rosa Montero, Carmen Martín Gaite, Cristina Andreu, Isabel Coixet and Paloma Chamorro. The book also includes four interviews with screenwriter Esmeralda Adam, television executive Carmen Caffarel, filmmaker Ana Díez and television director Matilde Fernández. Their reflections on personal and professional experiences shed light on the changes that took place in Spanish society during this period and the challenges they have faced in their careers.

Concepción Cascajosa Virino is Senior Lecturer at Carlos III University of Madrid, where she is a member of the research group TECMERIN and Director of the MFA Program in Screenwriting. She has written three books and more than thirty papers about media history, including articles in Studies in Hispanic Cinemas, Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies, and Journal of European Television History and Culture.

“All the essays are excellent, though their approaches are different according to the themes. […] Writers rank from very well known and respected scholars like Jo Labanyi to young researchers who dare to study new subjects in new ways. Diversity and academic value are added by the mixing of scholars from Spain, Europe and USA. I have no doubt that this collection of scientific essays will have a great success and it will be welcomed as an imperative contribution to a subject that is increasingly important.”
—Paul Julian Smith, Distinguished Professor, Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literatures and Languages, Graduate Center, City University of New York

“A New Gaze fills a significant void in the study of women’s audio-visual production in Spain. Building on existing research on female film directors, it broadens the scope to analyze the creative work of women in other spheres, most notably television, and across a range of both on-camera and behind-the-scenes roles. The book is notable for the new approaches it proposes to the careers of well-known women writers and directors like Carmen Martín Gaite, Josefina Molina, Pilar Miró and Isabel Coixet while focusing a welcome spotlight on less studied figures such as Ana Díez, Cristina Andreu or Helena Lumbreras. Integrating textual analysis with attention to the social, cultural and economic challenges facing female media professionals, A New Gaze provides a revealing path through the changing artistic and institutional dynamics of contemporary film and television production in the country.”
—Kathleen M. Vernon, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Hispanic Languages and Literature, Stony Brook University

“To the best of my knowledge, there is no other book in English that resembles this collection in scope and content. A New Gaze: Women Creators of Film and Television in Democratic Spain is a timely intervention towards the historiographical mapping of a neglected area of research, assembled by a reputed specialist in the field.”
—Belén Vidal, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, Department of Film Studies, King’s College London

Alicia Alvarez Vaquero

Asier Aranzubia

Sagrario Beceiro Ribela

Alicia Castillo Villanueva

Jacqueline Cruz

Carlos Gomez

Carmen Gonzalez Marin

Beatriz Herrero Jimenez

Paula Iglesias

Jo Labanyi

Natalia Martinez Perez

Trinidad Nunez Dominguez