WXFF 2020: Itxaso Díaz
Women X is almost here and today we have an interview with Itxaso Díaz, the director of the incredibly powerful documentary, The Story of All of Us Women., screening in our Striking Perspectives selection. Here, Itxaso discusses the courage of her three protagonists, the life of socially ostracised women, and the resilience of women no matter the circumstances.
Tell us about yourself and the work you do.
ID: I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a PhD candidate in Art and Technology. I have been working in audiovisual production and cultural management since the early 2000s. I am specialized in video portraits and life stories
What is your proudest moment of your career so far?
ID: Every time I receive an award at a video festival, it is a moment of pride and recognition for the work done
What themes do you want to explore in your future work?
ID: I am very interested, and I have been working for a long time, on issues related to women, aging, migratory movements and the working class. My goal is to continue working on these lines
How did you come to hear about the stories of Elsi, Cinthia, and Mariana?
ID: The documentary work "The story of all us women" is commissioned by the NGO Mundubat, which has a delegation in El Salvado. The project is the continuation of a previous documentary entitled "The decided women" that we recorded in Honduras and El Salvador in 2017. In 2019 we returned to the field (El Salvador) to make a documentary based on the life stories of three women who had been in jail and saw their fundamental rights violated while accused of abortion. Thanks to the collaboration with women's organizations from San Salvador, we were able to learn about the cases of Elsi, Cinthia and Mariana.
The film focuses on a controversial and sensitive subject matter in El Salvador – did you face any issues whilst developing and creating this film?
ID: The theme of the documentary is a sensitive issue in El Salvador. We are talking about a very religious society, and as such, against abortion. We were not welcome in some contexts and sometimes we had to hide the subject of the documentary.
The three protagonists of the documentary, Elsi, Cinthia and Mariana, have been very brave in showing their faces in a subject (maybe’ matter’ would be better in this case) so stigmatized and socially criminalized
Have you had any follow up on their stories or stories from other women within El Salvador?
ID: We are in contact with Elsi, Chintia and Mariana since we met last October 2019. We communicate each selection in festivals, each projection and discussion that is generated around the theme. They feel very proud to be part of the project and for contributing to make visible this grand injustice against women
What three things do you always have on your bedside table?
ID: A lamp with warm and soft light, a bottle of water and a digital alarm clock
Tell us three things you're grateful for?
ID: I am very grateful to my parents for giving me the opportunity to study Fine Arts at the University of the Basque Country.
I am very happy to be able to dedicate myself to what I am passionate about: audiovisual and culture.
And I am grateful for being born where I was born (Europe), being a woman and in the time in which I was born ... A time full of opportunities for us women.
What are you working on at the moment/next?
ID: I develop and direct a video festival with a labor theme (maybe explain the theme in more detail?). I coordinate a video creation cycle with a cultural center in the city of Bilbao. Next month I will give a video workshop for women and I am finishing a documentary on new job typologies.
