Two mature women. An elegant hotel room. Very dim light. Pantyhose between sheets and love in the air. The atmosphere that director and producer Cecilia Gessa (Madrid, 1977) creates in Despierta speaks to us of passion after 60 but also of courage in the face of difficult decisions. In this short film, performed by Mónica Bardem and Eulàlia Ramon, the awakening is twofold: sex and a change of life. One has already done it, the other does not dare to come out of hiding. "It's a story of courage and being selfish for good things. Of saying 'I don't care what others think, my children are great and I want to live life now, I want to resume my sexuality, resume my passion, live, feel'. Mónica's character bets on living but Eulàlia's doesn't want to give up her status, to what they will say, she doesn't want to give explanations... In short, cowardice".
Mónica Bardem (Madrid, 1964), María in Despierta, is the one who has sacrificed a marriage to use to be free in the love she has just discovered in Ana (Eulàlia Ramon) and shows that eroticism lives on in maturity If the mind has a desire, the body follows it: "I am 60 years old and I believe that sexuality does not end at any moment, but it must be accompanied by maturity, sensitivity, respect. It's no longer sex for sex's sake, but sexuality is more demanding because we're older, we know, we've eaten at other dishes and I'm not satisfied with less. But it exists. And there is the desire, the desire for skin and the desire to feel wanted, celebrated and respected. And partying with another person, of course."
Gessa, an actress in theater and television who decided to invest the money to be able to produce her ideas and those that occur to others and that she wishes had been hers, has just directed the short films Nuestros hijos and the renowned and award-winning Princesa - which will have a long version –, she is satisfied with the success of Despierta in up to 25 film festivals where it has already been screened, although she points out that there is still a lot of work to be done when the international tour, particularly in the USA ( New York, Miami, Seattle, Dakota, Connecticut...) is paired with competitions with the gay friendly label. "As long as there are people who do not see a relationship between two women or two men as good, this type of festival must continue to exist, as there are sections for female directors or specific themes. However, this work talks about many other things: love, sex, sexuality, age, courage...".
Mónica found in the late Pilar Bardem, winner of a Goya and Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts, the best teacher she could have had. This is his legacy. "When I asked him something about a character, he said: 'All the women are in you. Look for them because they are all in you: from the cruelest, the sweetest, the most satanic, the most violent, the most submissive, they are all in you because we have been through it all.' The roles they are offering me - thank God they are offering me very beautiful roles - have to do with women that I have not lived but that I try to find in myself. My mother gave me the keys to many locks and I thank her for that. I love him". Surely, the man of her life, of the two, is Carlos Bardem: a solid performer and in recent years a renowned writer ( Badaq is his latest novel), he is Mónica's older brother and the partner of Cecilia "One of the most wonderful things is that he knows a lot, explains himself incredibly well and has an immense human quality. The conversations with him are always very constructive, enriching", explains a dazed Cecilia. “What my brothers have is supernatural. Javier is a super observant person, maybe that's why he is the best actor in the world, and Carlos is a brilliant man who could mesmerize us with his conversation but with the humility not to bewilder and a sense of humor so brilliant that it's almost hypnotic."
