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| Nerea Barros and Elías González in Berta Photo: Fantasia International Film Festival |
The story of a woman who enacts a daring plan in an attempt to overcome her trauma once and for all, Lucía Forner Segarra's short film Berta, which screened as part of Fantasia 2024, takes a fresh, very human approach to the matter of revenge. There are a lot of ideas concentrated in this 17 minute film, together with two decades of the heroine's struggles, which we see emerge in myriad ways as she endeavours to control the situation and make her point affectively. The film makes its point very well indeed, and I was delighted when Lucía agreed to answer some questions about it.
Jennie Kermode: There are lots of revenge films out there on similar themes but I liked this one because it seems to capture something that’s missing from them, where both characters are concerned. Did you start from the feeling that the story needed to be approached differently?
Lucía Forner Segarra: Thank you very much. It is indeed a revenge film, specifically one that could fall under the rape & revenge genre, and the truth is that I often find it difficult to connect with that type of film. Although the protagonists are usually women, they were often written, directed and shoot by male cinematographers… I'm not saying that only a woman can tell this story, but I find a lack of empathy on all sides in many examples I've seen. And it's curious because the ones I find more respectful usually have a woman behind them.
If we look at older examples like The Virgin Spring (1960, Ingmar Bergman) or Thelma And Louise (1991, Ridley Scott), although they were directed by men, they were written by women (Ulla Isaksson and Callie Khouri) and I think that shows quite a bit. Nowadays, fortunately, there are more and more women directing, writing and doing the cinematography of all kinds of stories, and I think there is greater empathy for the victim.
I wanted to tell this story; I didn't set out to approach it differently, but rather in a way that feels right to me and doesn't feel off. He is a monster to her, but he also has good qualities, like everyone. Even the bloodiest dictator we can think of is very different depending on the situation and the person they are dealing with.
JK: In most films like this, the heroine is confident and cynical. Here she seems much more realistically like somebody who has been damaged. Did you feel that was an important thing to represent?
LFS: Yes, I felt that, as you said, she had been hurt and she was a novice, and obviously when you do something for the first time, you're going to be more insecure. I try to put myself in the shoes of the characters I write, whether they are detestable or not. It's sometimes difficult, but if you don't, you end up with characters that are very one-dimensional. And here, the great work that Nerea Barros does is fundamental because you can write whatever you want, but without an actor who brings it to life the way you imagined, it doesn't serve much purpose.
JK: Many viewers will have learned, from cinema, to look down on people who use tutorials and therapy, read from prompt cards and so on. is this film intentionally working to reclaim respect for them?
LFS: Well, I think therapy and learning things through tutorials are positive. I wish everyone would go to therapy; the world would be less hostile, but between the taboo around mental illness and the fact that it's not cheap, not everyone can afford it, so that's not the case...
Although Berta may not be the best example of therapy because she doesn't use it for legal purposes… therapy can't work miracles either! We should educate people better so that they don’t abuse others and cause trauma.
JK: Alex complains about the “culture of complaining”. Did you consciously want to frame the film in the context of the #MeToo movement, and if so, how do you think that artists and creators can take that forward at this stage?
LFS: I didn’t consciously frame it that way; it's a story I wanted to tell. I like to write stories freely, and then if we want, we can find a framework for them… hahaha. In any case, I'm happy if it's included in the context of the #MeToo movement.
What Alex says in his lines is what someone who is unaware of the harm they've done and is a product of patriarchy would say. It's quite common in abuse within a close environment. I’m not sure if I can frame it within a movement that hasn't taken off strongly in the country I live in. In Spain, there have been complaints here and there, but it hasn’t exploded; there’s still a fear of reprisals. A few isolated cases have come to light, but with little power.
JK: Viewers may well be sympathetic to Alex at first because he’s so amiable, whilst Berta seems brittle and aggressive. Beyond the simple process of having Berta make her accusation, how did you approach shifting their allegiances?
LFS: It seemed natural to me. He is someone who has done something wrong, but like most monsters, he also has a charming side because people are full of nuances. As Renoir said, "a murderer isn't a murderer every day; there are many moments when they're not." So it seemed logical that she would be nervous and insecure because it's her first time, and he would bring out his charm to avoid losing his car.
JK: How important is the humour in the film and how did you make sure it came through at the right times?
LFS: I like to tackle serious topics with a touch of dark comedy to help make them easier to digest. Life is already very dramatic, so why not season it with a bit of comedy? And the truth is that it comes naturally to me… I add those touches where I feel they belong, and some might find them appropriate, while others might not. What I wouldn’t want is to make any abuse victim uncomfortable; if it offends others, well, you can't please everyone.
JK: Nerea Barros handles a lot of complicated emotions in the lead role. How did you go about casting her?
LFS: Nerea is a well-known actress in Spain and continues to do short films (which, to me, says a lot of good things about an actress). I liked her because I had seen her in various works, and the production director (Sofía P Jordan) knew her, and luckily, Nerea liked the script and joined the project. It's a challenging role, and she had never played a character like this before, and I think she nailed it. I love her gaze and everything she brought to the character.
JK: What was shooting like, how long did you have and how did you manage the chaos often created on set by messy special effects?
LFS: The shoot went very well. I like to shoot with friends (I have a lot of friends from film shoots because I pay my bills and fund my short films by working as a video assist operator on other productions). And it’s a good way to ensure things go smoothly. I also shot in Elche (my hometown), and my aunt Elvira and my mother always help me take care of the crew and take care of me as well, so it's a real luxury…they make the set feel like home.
We had four days of shooting; five would have been better, but you always have less time because every day of shooting costs money.
As for the FX... since it wasn’t my first time with blood, I knew what it entailed… You spend more time, need several changes of everything, and a lot of patience. The one who handled the chaos was Maria Ferrer (first assistant director). I think the ones who suffered the most with the blood were Leonor Díaz (art director and wardrobe) and Celia Cobos (practical FX on set)—if I specify why, I’ll spoil the plot, but both did their jobs excellently.
JK: Berta is the final film in a trilogy. How important is its connection to the previous two films?
LFS: I'm not sure if it’s really a trilogy… hahaha. What’s clear is that it’s the third short film I’ve made about an empowered woman who does what she wants (and those things are illegal and morally questionable), with a woman’s name as the title. The feature films I’m preparing are also about empowered women doing illegal things… hahaha.
But they are very different... Marta (2017) was about a girl who wanted to be a serial killer and decides to capture a skinny guy because she can carry him; she doesn’t want revenge on anyone. Dana (2020) is a vigilante, and Berta is about a very calculated revenge.
JK: How do you feel about Berta screening at Fantasia?
LFS: I’m thrilled, especially because we were able to attend in person along with Claudia Rodríguez (the cinematographer) and Norah Alexandra Vega (the composer and performer of the end credits song)! Dana was screened in 2021, and we couldn’t attend due to the Covid restrictions.
Fantasia is an amazing festival, so it’s an honour to have been selected and to have premiered there. It’s a festival with a large audience, and the short has been well-received. Mitch Davis and his team have a passion for cinema, and they show it in every interaction.
JK: Can you tell me anything about the feature film that you’re working on now?
Well, I already have a feature-length script written (Maria Jesús), a dark comedy about the character from the short film Marta years later when she wants to stop killing. And I’m writing another feature film now (Elisa), which is about a mother who wants to get her daughters out of a cult, and it’s not easy... Elisa is a thriller with some touches of dark humour.
I also have another short film project (Alicia Ha Cambiado), but until I recover financially from this one, I won’t be able to make it, and I won’t say anything about it because it’s only six pages, so it’s very easy to spoil. What I’m missing is a producer who wants to bring these screenplays to life and provide the necessary funding!
