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The Director Laura Hojman and the producer Sara Gomez have been the protagonists in the afternoon of this Thursday in the opening session of the eighth edition of WofestHuelva. The opening ceremony is the official starting signal for three days dedicated to promoting, disseminating and boosting the cinema made by women thanks to an extensive program in which, in addition to film screenings, education and training activities are added, such as the Masterclass on the construction of female characters in the cinema given by the screenwriter Ana Graciani at the UNIA headquarters in La Rábida this morning.
Laura Hojman, director of the documentary ‘A las mujeres de España. María Lejárraga’, which will be screened at the University of Huelva and in educational centers in the province, has been present at this inaugural session, in which she was especially excited to be in Huelva and to be able to present her documentary and participate in a discussion in college. “When I started writing the documentary, not even in my wildest dreams would I have thought of everything that was going to happen, how people would also understand that it was not about the story of a single woman, but that it was about our story, our genealogy, our memory and our story”.
Sara Gómez was the other protagonist of the night, since she was presenting the film ‘Secaderos’, directed by Rocío Mesa, and of which she highlighted that it is a “very personal” film in which the director “has put all her soul and his love.” Gómez expressed her gratitude to all the people and institutions that have made this film possible and hoped that the large audience present at this opening session would enjoy “as much as Rocío has done directing it.”
Sarah Gomez.
For her part, the director of WofestHuelva, María Luisa Oliveira, highlighted in her speech that, when the exhibition started for the first time in 2016, the directors were less than 20% of the total at the national level while “now in 2023 we are in a 21%, so not much progress has been made, although progress has been made in quality and in obtaining awards”. According to her, she pointed out that the organization of Wofest is very happy that the eighth edition is taking place “but the truth is that this exhibition would not have to make sense.”
“So, as Alfonso Sánchez said at the Goyas, let’s not talk about fighting, let’s talk about camaraderie, let’s talk about giving up places and sharing,” he added. He also wanted to express his gratitude to the sponsors and collaborators who have made this edition possible and to the public for their constant support of the show.
The inaugural session was presented by Laura Cárdenas and Pilar Osso and the finalists of the ‘Made in Huelva’ Short Film Competition also took part, who highlighted how important these types of awards are to promote the work of women in the cinematographic field and encourage new vocations.
The event was also attended by the representatives of the sponsors of this edition of the exhibition, specifically the Deputy Mayor for Culture of the Huelva City Council, Daniel Mantero, the president of the Huelva Provincial Council, María Eugenia Limón, the territorial delegate of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía in Huelva, Teresa Herrera, the vice-rector of the University of Huelva, Joaquina Castillo, the secretary of the Social Council of the UHU, Susana Duque, and the rector of the International University of Andalusia, José Ignacio García Pérez.
The event was also attended by Inés Romero, co-director of the documentary ‘Generación Jarcha’, which will be screened tomorrow at 6:00 p.m., and representatives of Huelva’s cultural sphere, such as the director of the Huelva Ibero-American Film FestivalManuel H. Martin.
