The director Bàrbara Farré presented her first feature film Mala Bèstia, an emotionally charged thriller that delves into human reactions to fear, pent-up rage and survival, and with which she is competing in the Official Competition of the Festival de Málaga.
 
At a press conference with the main actresses, María Schwinning and Iria del Río, the director explained that her debut film explores identity, female resilience and violence through the story of two women trapped in an extreme situation. The origin of the project stems from her interest in exploring how people react when faced with extreme situations. The film is thereby not only a tense story, but also a reflection on how violence can be unleashed in contexts of panic, pressure or mere survival.
 
"The title of the film plays precisely on the idea of the beast we all carry inside us that can appear when social norms cease to offer protection", the director explained. In this regard, he also clarified that the story seeks to question the line that separates the victim from the aggressor, and to pose uncomfortable questions to the viewer, without clear answers, about defence mechanisms and the decisions that are made in extraordinary situations.
 
For Farré it was very important to construct her film from the female and ambiguous point of view of her main characters. To this end, the script - which she co-wrote with Alberto Dexeus -is underpinned by the emotional complexity of two characters, who must confront not only a hostile environment, but also their own fears, contradictions and moral limits. In this respect, Farré clarified that "the atmosphere is the most important part of his feature film, even more so than the narrative". Through it, the feelings of the main characters, including their most visceral emotions, are revealed.
 
Maria Schwinning, who is making her acting debut, highlighted the acting challenge of bringing to life a character under constant pressure throughout the story. One of the most interesting aspects of the project was precisely to explore the psychological evolution of the character and the way in which circumstances transform her way of acting.
 
The film takes viewers on an intense emotional journey wherein the characters are forced to make decisions they never imagined they would ever have to make. This ongoing tension is the backbone of the narrative pulse of the feature film, inviting the viewer to experience the story from the inside.
 
For her part, actress Iria del Río highlighted the complexity of the bonds established between the characters and the way in which the story captures the dynamics of power, fear and solidarity that can arise in extreme situations. For the actress, one of the challenges of filming was to maintain the emotional intensity necessary to convey the sense of danger and vulnerability that remains intrinsic throughout the script.
 
Del Río also stressed the team's commitment to a very realistic approach to the acting work so as to avoid minimising the characters’ emotions. From her perspective, the film raises questions about how far a person may go when they feels threatened, and how the survival instinct can alter the perception of what is right, the established morality or one's own criteria of what is just or unjust.
 
The plot focuses on Athena, a teenager who lives in a boarding school, clinging to the idea of not growing up. When a couple decides to take her in, it opens up the possibility of a home she is unwilling to lose. Soon, the fear of being replaced will awaken in Athena an instinct that will push her to do the unimaginable.
 
Following its screening at the Festival de Málaga, the feature film is scheduled to be released in Spanish cinemas on 31 March.