''Matria'' is a 2023 Spanish social drama film directed by Álvaro Gago (in his feature debut) which stars María Vázquez. It is shot in Galician.

Plot

Set in a Galician fishing village, the plot follows the plight of Ramona, a financially-insecure working woman struggling to stay afloat.

Cast

Production

The story is freely based on the life of Francisca Iglesias, a woman who took care of Gago's grandfather, and who starred in Gago's short film of the same name. María Vázquez took over the protagonist role (Ramona) for the feature film, playing a younger version of the character. Iglesias plays a minor role in the film. The film was produced by Pontevedra's Matriuska Producciones, Madrid's Avalon PC, Valencia's Elastica Films, and Barcelona's Ringo Media. Fully shot in Galician, María Vázquez (raised in the

province of Lugo Lugo is a province (Spain), province of northwestern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense Province, Ourense, Ponteved ...

) faced the challenge of adapting her Galician to the variety from the

Rías Baixas The Rías Baixas ( Galician for "Lower Rias") are a series of four estuarine inlets located on the southwestern coast of Galicia, Spain. They are the Ría de Muros e Noia, the Ría de Arousa, the Ría de Pontevedra, and the Ría de Vigo.Me ...

Release

The film made its world premiere on 17 February 2023 at the

73rd Berlin International Film Festival The 73rd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale (), took place from 16 to 26 February 2023. It was the first completely in-person Berlinale since 70th Berlin International Film Festival, the 70th in 2020. The fe ...

, screened in the festival's Panorama lineup. Prior to its domestic theatrical release, it was presented at the 26th Málaga Film Festival on 11 March 2023. It was released theatrically in Spain on 24 March 2023 by Avalon.

Reception

Jonathan Holland of ''

ScreenDaily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned ''Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involve ...

'', warning that "anyone looking for a plucky, against-the odds storyline told through the eyes of a victim of injustice has come to the wrong place", highlighted one of the film's key virtues being that he protagonist"is fallible and self-destructive". Marta Bałaga of ''

Cineuropa Cineuropa is an online information portal dedicated to the promotion of European cinema. It publishes daily news, reviews, interviews, and industry reports and maintains a database of information. It is available in four languages: English, Fre ...

'' deemed the film to be "a welcome take on social cinema", otherwise featuring a protagonist amonathat "feels real and ''fun'' to follow, even though one can run out of breath". Andrea G. Bermejo of ''

Cinemanía ''Cinemanía'' is a monthly film magazine based in Madrid, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost po ...

'' rated the film 3½ out of 5 stars, considering that Vázquez nails each the nuances of her character.

Accolades

, - , rowspan = "3 , , , 26th Málaga Film Festival , , Silver Biznaga for Best Actress , , rowspan="5", María Vázquez , , , , , - , 49th

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...

, , Ibero-American Competition Special Jury Prize - Actress , , , , , - , 29th Forqué Awards , , Best Actress in a Film , , , , , - , rowspan = "15" , , , 11th Feroz Awards , , Best Actress in a Film , , , , , - , rowspan = "2" , 38th Goya Awards , , Best Actress , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - ,

Best New Director ''Best New Director'' was an award given by the New York Film Critics Circle from its first inception in 1989 until discontinuing in 1996. There was no award in 1993. 1980s 1989 *Kenneth Branagh – ''Henry V'' **Runners-up: Steve Kloves – '' ...

, , Álvaro Gago , , , - , rowspan = "12" , 22nd Mestre Mateo Awards , , colspan = "2" , Best Film , , , , rowspan = "12" , , - , Best Director , , Álvaro Gago , , , - , Best Screenplay , , Álvaro Gago , , , - , Best Actress , , María Vázquez , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Susana Sampedro , , , - , rowspan = "2" , Best Supporting Actor , , Eduardo Alberto Rodríguez Cunha 'Tatán' , , , - , Santi Prego , , , - , Best Cinematography , , Lucía C. Pan , , , - , Best Editing , , Ricardo Saraiva , , , - , Best Production Supervision , , Nati Juncal , , , - , Best Sound , , Xavier Souto, Diego Staub , , , - , Best Makeup and Hairstyles , , Sonia García , ,

References

External links

* {{authority control Galician-language films Films set in Galicia (Spain) 2023 drama films 2023 films Galician films Spanish drama films Films about social realism Avalon films 2023 directorial debut films 2020s Spanish films