MAIN DRAMATIC COMPETITION “MAKING WAY”

CALLADITA

2023 / 94 min / color

Ana ( the intriguing Paula Grimaldo) has recently arrived from Colombia and taken a job as a maid at a luxury villa on the Spanish Costa Brava. The place is owned by well-to-do art collector Pedro and his wife Andrea, who spend their summer holidays there. The protagonist works hard from sunrise to sunset, enticed by visions of better conditions and growing prospects. However, Ana soon realizes these are just empty promises, and being treated instrumentally by her wealthy employers only intensifies her dissatisfaction. She finds understanding, but also moments of sincere joy, during quick cigarette breaks with Gisela, who does the same work as she does, only at the house next door. The protagonist’s growing awareness of the status and luxury of her employers’ lives, as well as a taste of it, however limited, gives Ana the courage to start fighting for herself, and certainly to have fun. Behind this engaging and nuanced tale of social inequality and rising to break the rules is Miguel Faus, whom the prestigious Variety magazine included in its 2021 list of ten Spanish directors worth watching.