I Am Nevenka

A film about something that happened in Spain. Nevenka is twenty-seven and studied economics. She returns to her home town and becomes the councillor responsible for finance; the person who called her into office is the mayor. A relationship begins after a while. When Nevenka wants to end it, he will not accept. From there the film shows how harassment works. Constant phone calls, humiliation in meetings, powers taken away, calls outside working hours. Nobody intervenes; the people around see it and say nothing. She resigns and makes a complaint. The last section is the court and the town. While the trial goes on there are demonstrations in support of the mayor; Nevenka's own party is not beside her either, and she has to leave the country. What the narrative is interested in is not the crime but the environment: the film is about not one man but everyone who protected him. It happened in 2001, and the case was the first in Spain in which a politician was convicted of sexual harassment. The film could not be shot in the town where it happened. The team asked for permission and received no answer; it was filmed in another city. Mireia Oriol plays Nevenka and Urko Olazábal plays the mayor. Ricardo Gómez is in the cast. Icíar Bollaín directed. The film was shown at the San Sebastián Film Festival. Who it is for: anyone who likes Spanish drama drawn from real events. Who it is not for: anyone the subject would weigh on; the narrative shows the harassment and the campaign that followed it directly.