52 Films by Women Vol 10. 8. FORASTERA (Director: Lucía Aleñar Iglesias)
Pictured : Cata ( Zoe Stein ) and her grandfather, Tomeu ( Lluis Homar ) in a scene from Spanish writer-director Lucía Aleñar Iglesias ’ feature debut, ' Forastera '. Still courtesy of Alpha Violet I am tempted to describe Forastera , Spanish writer-director Lucía Aleñar Iglesis’ feature debut, expanded from a short film of the same name, as a ‘coming of old age’ story. In it, seventeen-year-old Cata (Zoe Stein) inhabits the spirit of her late grandmother, Catalina (Marta Angelat), having discovered her dead body face down outside her coastal Mallorca home. Told from Cata’s point of view, the film withholds some information – Cata’s sister, Eva (Martina Garcia) is thinly-sketched, the grief of her grandfather, Tomeu (Lluis Homar) only sensed through a narrow set of actions. For the most part, Cata is catalytic, provoking others through her version of cosplay, as she negotiates a suspended sense of grief. The film is more needlepoint than drama. For an audience to be emot...