In just over a month “The Bookshop” hits U.S. theaters, but writer-director Isabel Coixet is already well on her way to completing her follow-up project. The Spanish filmmaker is currently in post-production on “Elisa y Marcela,” or “Elisa and Marcela,” a film about Spain’s first lesbian marriage. Cineuropa reports that Coixet has been developing the pic for years and was finally able to shoot it in May after receiving backing from Netflix.
Penned by Coixet, “Elisa y Marcela” tells “the astonishing story of the first lesbian wedding to take place in Spain, at the start of the 20th century, when two women successfully got married – through a church service – thanks to one of them passing themselves off as a man,” according to the source.
Natalia de Molina (“Food and Shelter”) and Greta Fernández (“Embers”) star.
“For me, ‘Elisa y Marcela’ is a project I’ve dreamed about, envisioned, and wanted to make for a long, long time,” said Coixet. “When I stumbled upon the real-life case of these two women who defied society, the Church, and conventionalisms at that time, with such incredible bravery, courage, and passion, I knew it was a story I wanted to, and had to, tell,” she explained.
Netflix is distributing the pic and plans to release it simultaneously in 190 countries next year.
“Why does everybody talk about the lack of female directors and nobody does a damn thing?” Coixet asked back in 2015. “We need action. We need film financiers with a true and sincere sense of what they can and must do — and do it. As they say in ‘Jerry Maguire,’ ‘Show me the money.’ Maybe this is asking for something impossible. Sincere financiers, I mean … We are a shocking minority. And what’s worse, a diminishing minority. And our salaries are always lower than our male counterparts. I will never stop fighting to make films. Never. It’s my life,” she emphasized.
Coixet’s other credits include “Learning to Drive,” “The Secret Life of Words,” and “Elegy.” Her latest offering, “The Bookshop,” opens in U.S. theaters August 24. Set in 1959, the drama tells the story of a woman (Emily Mortimer) who opens a bookshop in a small town despite resistance and threats from locals. The film won three Goya Awards — Spain’s equivalent to the Oscars — including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
