The plot of the acclaimed director María Ripoll’s new film, Yo no soy esa, opens with the waking up of a 17-year-old teenager, played by Verónica Echegui, after a two-decade coma. The story is about Susana’s adjustment to an unfamiliar world, now embodying an adult woman’s body in the year 2024.

On the sixth day of the Festival de Málaga, the film was presented by the director and part of the cast in the official Out of Competition section as a thoughtful comedy that goes beyond romantic conventions. Susana, faced with a completely alien society, is forced to mature, and fast, and discovers that the key lies not in romantic love or popularity, but in accepting and being true to herself.

During the discussion following the official presentation, María Ripoll shared her inspiration for directing the film, revealing that the story was a long time in the making. Motivated by the invasion of new technologies in her day to day, the director drew on real experiences to bring them to life and shape the depth of the characters. 

The actress Verónica Echegui, in comparing the two eras represented in the film, highlighted her preference for the era in which her character’s origin takes place, free of technological advances in communication. She pointed out the negative consequences that this entails; in her opinion, particularly with the loss of contact in personal relationships.

The film deals with the process of growing up and facing the responsibilities of the adult world, delving into the complexities of human relationships and physical contact. The Catalan director, a self-confessed romcom lover, highlighted the difficulties of making a comedy as opposed to a drama, although this is made up for by the exceptional nature of the actors who took part in the film. 

The cast of Yo no soy esa includes actors such as Silma López, Ángela Molina, Daniel Grao and Adam Jezierski, who join Echegui in bringing this story of maturity and self-discovery to life. 

María Ripoll, Enrique López Lavigne and Sony Pictures together form part of The Love Collection, an initiative that seeks to enrich the film scene with romantic comedies from a female perspective, supporting projects written and directed by women.