Antonio Chavarrías describes in 'La abadesa' an intra-historical character who rebels against her fate in the 9th century
The director Antonio Chavarrías has presented 'La abadesa', an immersive film portrait of an intra historical character that he found by chance in a history book that only dedicated one paragraph to her: a strong woman who rebels against her fate in the ninth century, a period little explored in film and surrounded by a harsh environment. With this new feature film, she competes in the Official Competition Section.
It is a Spanish-Belgian co-production, whose story focuses on the abbess Emma, the main character played by Daniela Brown. The abbess existed in real life, but there was little information about her beyond historical documents proving that she founded a village and a church.
She lived on the borderlands between Christians and Muslims in the 9th century, where she will have to overcome mistrust to challenge the power structures of the time. Brown is joined by Blanca Romero, Carlos Cuevas, Ernest Villegas, Berta Sánchez, Oriol Genís and Joaquín Notario, who round out the cast.
The fact of not having much information about this character could be a difficulty in creating the film. However, Chavarrías faced it as an opportunity to recreate the character from freedom, just as he could imagine her.
The shooting took place in the castle of Loarre for seven weeks, where the team faced difficulties such as bad weather during the harshest winter months and very dark lighting.
'What first attracted him to her was that at a very young age, 17 years old, she decided to use power, probably out of naivety, to rebel against her hostile environment and cause a whole storm around her, evading her own fate'. This is how Chavarrías explained the essence of the script, also written by him.
Brown has emphasised the challenge of playing a historical character without sounding contrived or falsely epic. To do so, she took historical religious figures such as St. Teresa of Jesus and Joan of Arc as references, but also powerful real-life women, even from her own family.
In the 9th century, 17-year-old Emma is appointed abbess with the aim of repopulating and Christianising territories in conflict with the Moors. When she arrives at the Abbey, she will have to overcome the mistrust aroused by a woman determined to fulfil her mission, which will lead her to confront the nobility, peasants, and the nuns themselves. Despite all of this, Emma will prove that, with determination and will, it is possible to challenge the established power structures. Although she will pay a high price to do so.
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