I am Nevenka
Soy Nevenka
Icíar Bollaín
© Épicentre Films
At the end of the 1990s, Nevenka Fernández was elected at the age of 25 as a councillor to the mayor of Ponferrada, the charismatic and popular Ismael Alvarez. This marked the beginning of a descent into hell for Nevenka, who was manipulated and harassed for months by the mayor. To escape this situation, she decided to denounce his actions and took him to court.
Cast : Mireia Oriol, Urko Olazabal, Ricardo Gómez, Lucía Veiga, Font García, Mabel del Pozo, Pepo Suevos
Scenario : Icíar Bollaín, Isa Campo
Cinematography : Gris Jordana
Sound : Iñaki Díez
Editing : Nacho Ruiz Capillas
Music : Xavi Font
Scenario : Icíar Bollaín, Isa Campo
Cinematography : Gris Jordana
Sound : Iñaki Díez
Editing : Nacho Ruiz Capillas
Music : Xavi Font
Production : Elkargi SGR, Feelgood Media, Film Factory, Garbo Produzioni
Distribution : Épicentre Films
Distribution : Épicentre Films
(...) The story had a huge impact in Spain, as Álvarez’s conviction in 2003 and his resignation were unprecedented in a country still marked by strong machismo. A caption at the end of the film states that the victim never found work again in her country. Following Juan José Millas’ book (There Is Something That Isn’t As They Say It Is: the Case of Nevenka Fernandez Against Reality, 2006) and Maribel Sánchez-Maroto’s three-part documentary (on Netflix) (2021), Icíar Bollaín’s fiction film starring Mireia Oriol continues this work of defining the contours of power, and the Spanish director does so with a dryness and precision that allows us to delve deeply into this mechanism of power and emotions based on the permanence of gender inequality, which is all the more striking given that she is working here in an environment of well-off people who generally consider themselves to be above everyone else. (Didier Péron; Libération)