The Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media selects two alumni projects TAI through the Cima Impulsa program
In its commitment to the development and visibility of projects created by female screenwriters, the program top drives selects, in its second edition, two feature films from four alumni of the University School TAI. This program, which has the collaboration of Netflix and Ministry of Culture and Sports, has become a highly important initiative at the national level. In only its second edition, it has received more than 200 applications, an encouraging picture that represents the increase of more women in the audiovisual sector.
Cima Impulsa receives feature film and series projects, both fiction, documentary or animation. On this occasion, 20 projects have been selected, of which Aida y Nena they are part. The producer Alejandra Gómez and the scriptwriter and director Alba Herrera, graduates of film degree, they developed Aida as a TFG project in TAI and now they have made the leap to their next realization. Nena, on the other hand, has been developed by the scriptwriter and director Ana Liébana and the producer Marcela Arismendi, two filmmakers who took the Master by script en TAI, whose project also emerged as a final year project and has gone through several changes until it reached Cima.
Motivations
The creation of the cinematographic scripts, originated during the courses of the filmmakers in TAI, have emerged around the social motivations that give presence and importance to women's stories. Such is the case of Aida, a story that has “social relevance”, in the words of Alba Herrera. The film's screenwriter, Alejandra Gómez Pinilla, has pursued her personal interests in creating it: “I have always liked Latin American cinema and political social cinema; and I have always wanted to talk about my country, Peru”. For this reason, the filmmaker wanted to represent the journey of her character Aida de ella, an idea that arose through "a road trip from Lima to the department of Amazonas".
“I have always liked Latin American cinema and political social cinema; and I have always wanted to talk about my country, Peru”
As for the Nena, the motivations of the screenwriter Ana Liébana have had a very natural and personal background. “I wanted to do a story about family, about the emotional heritage of being in a family, and I wanted it to be a gritty, female-led comedy”. The filmmaker has many women in her family environment and she affirms: “His experiences influence me a lot when writing stories”. This motivation has empathized with the spirit of Marcela Arismendi, who assures that when listening to the script of the film in TAI, three years ago, "I was crying with laughter". The filmmaker and producer of Nena, ensures that “I had no doubt that Nena was a film that was going to end up on the big screen”.
“I had no doubt that Nena was a film that was going to end up on the big screen”
Gateway to the audiovisual industry
For all the filmmakers, Cima Impulsa has represented a privilege and a necessary experience for the development of their projects and their personal and professional lives. The producer of Aida, Alba Herrera, has described her participation in the program as a "privilege". For the producer, in tune with the others, he has expressed that Cima “It gives women in the audiovisual sector the opportunity, an essential help in promoting the development of written projects like this one”.
The program, which has months of advice to enrich each project, has also meant a gateway to the audiovisual industry. Marcela Arismendi, producer of Nena, has pointed out that it is “A huge door that opens to the industry to meet professionals and women who have generated deep admiration and respect for me”. It has been an experience that “She gets in touch with many women in the media, with producers, with directors of photography”, where “You receive a lot of training; They are really enriching months", added Ana Liébana.
“A huge door that opens to the industry to meet professionals and women who have generated deep admiration and respect for me”
Towards the democratization of cinema
A program like Cima Impulsa, which gives voice to women's stories, has arrived at the right time and on the right side of history and, although the road is long, the foundations it is building are fundamental and appreciated by audiovisual creators.
The filmmaker Alejandra Gómez considers that “We are advancing towards a democratization in the cinema and in the world in general, but there is still a long way to go to reach equality”. Among what is needed, Arismendi has exposed: “There is still a lot of work to do to make the issue of quotas a normality. A parity both on screen and in the budgets given to female directors and producers”.
One solution proposed by these emerging filmmakers lies in "Bet on female team leaders in the film industry and gradually raise that percentage that is so minority that women have in the audiovisual sector", has expressed Alba Herrera. Specifically, Ana Liébana has added that “There is a lack of women in positions of power, with the capacity to give the green light to projects and there is a need to equalize the budgets”. Necessary changes for which, in the words of Marcela Arismendi, "You have to keep insisting and creating no matter what".
A discipline that begins in training
The filmmakers appeal to the trust between colleagues to carry out their projects since the young filmmakers are being trained and to absorb knowledge from different artistic areas.
Addressing the students of TAI, have expressed advice that can add to the development of their projects. "Everything I'm getting ahead of I do it involving the people around me because I think you shouldn't underestimate everything that the people in your network have to offer", Liébana commented. This network of contacts, which begins to be created in the formative years, should ideally include artists from other disciplines: “Cinema is a joint thing for many people; so you have to interact with those of music, with those of fine arts, with those of dramatic art, with those of photography, with everyone, to be able to bring your projects to light”, has highlighted Alba Herrera.
Regarding the creative process, Marcela has considered perseverance a key piece: “Keep telling the stories because the stories that are told with passion are the ones that are worth it. Lean on your peers, on your peers and keep creating no matter what ". A very important piece of advice because through that discipline you will be able to pass "for many bad ideas before arriving at a good one, an idea that we like"; an idea that motivates and empowers "to launch calls, laboratories and contests", as Alejandra Gómez has highlighted.
"Everything I'm getting ahead of I do it involving the people around me because I think you shouldn't underestimate everything that the people in your network have to offer"
