A two-day symposium (20–21 March 2026), organised by the AHRC-funded project Leading Women in Portuguese and Spanish Film and TV (1970-1980)About this Event
Transitions and Beyond: Women's Work in Spanish and Portuguese Cinema & TV
(Scroll down for the full schedule)
The two-day symposium brings Spanish and Portuguese cinema and television into conversation by comparing the 1970s to the present day. It examines ‘then’ and ‘now’ by considering legacies, genealogies and trans-generational memory. It also reflects on patterns of mentoring, and inspiration, among women in these fields. It explores both individual, and indicative, instances of women as filmmakers or TV directors in the 1970s and after, as well as considering women’s work in its widest senses: in above- and below-the-line roles; curatorship; and journalism.
In addition to the papers and panels, the symposium includes two film screenings: , 2019) by Raquel Freire on Friday, March 20 and , 1978) by Cecilia Bartolomé on Saturday, March 21. Conference attendees are required to book their tickets for the screenings separately via the links provided.
Please note that by registering for any and all of the events you consent to be photographed for promotional purposes.
Please email Savina Petkova ([email protected]) with any further dietary or accessibility requirements.
Photography will take place during the event for use on our internal communications and/or social media channels. If you would prefer not to be photographed, please let us know in advance.
Conference Schedule
Day 1: Friday 20 March 2026
9:30 - 10:00
Coffee and registration
Location: Lubbock Room, Peterhouse
10:00 - 10:15
Welcome and introduction
(JD Rhodes, Co-Chair of Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics and Director of Cambridge Screen; Andy Parker, Master of Peterhouse)
Lubbock Room
10:30 - 12:30
Panel 1: Portugal
Lubbock Room
- ‘Sex on the side’: Portugal, Spain, and Post-censorship Cinema
Hilary Owen (University of Oxford)
- Women, Democracy and a New History of Portuguese Film
Mariana Liz (Lisbon)
- "I have always engaged in a variety of roles, moving from one profession to another": Rita Azevedo Gomes and cinema as a space of experimentation and creative practice
Caterina Cucinotta (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos)
Chair: Raquel Freire
12:30 - 13:30
Buffet lunch
Lubbock Room
13:30 - 15:30
Panel 2: Connecting Past and Present
Lubbock Room
- Bridging the gap with a screen: Repertory curatorial practices in Spain and Eastern Europe
Savina Petkova (University of Cambridge)
- Longing for belonging: exploring nostalgia in the affects of contemporary women filmmakers in Spain towards their counterparts in the 1970s.
Cristina Pujol (Open University of Catalonia)
- Visibility of feminisms in film and television as represent (post)-crisis female subjects in contemporary Spain
Abigail Loxham (University of Liverpool)
Chair: Eliana Maestri (University of Exeter)
15:30 - 16:00
Coffee break
Lubbock Room
16:00 - 18:15
, 2019), Dir. Raquel Freire. In Portuguese with English Subtitles. With introduction by, and Q and A with, Raquel Freire.
Peterhouse Theatre
Chair: Savina Petkova (University of Cambridge)
18:15 – 19.00
Drinks Reception
Lubbock Room
Conference Schedule
Day 2: Saturday 21 March 2026
9:00 - 9:30
Coffee
Lubbock Room
9:30 - 11:30
Panel 3: Spain
Lubbock Room
- “Primeras y, durante mucho tiempo, únicas.” Mariví Romero and Mari Carmen Izquierdo
Nuria Triana Toribio (University of Kent)
- “Sí se os podía dejar solos.” Documenting Politics: From Cecilia & José Bartolomé’s Después de…(1983) to Almudena Carracedo & Robert Bahar’s El silencio de otros (2018).
Elena Martínez-Acacio (University of Cambridge)
- Identity, Modernity and Touch: A Speculative Approach to Costume Designer Maike Marín’s 1970s Spanish Films
Sally Faulkner (University of Cambridge)
Chair: TBC
11:30 - 12:00
Coffee break
Lubbock Room
12:00 - 13:00
Round table discussion: the challenges of comparative work between Spain and Portugal
Peterhouse Theatre
Chair: Sally Faulkner (University of Cambridge)
13:00 - 14:30
Buffet lunch
Lubbock Room
14:30 – 16:30
Screening of ¡Vámonos, Bárbara! (Barbara, Let’s Go!, 1978), Dir. Cecilia Bartolomé, introduced by Isaías Fanlo (University of Cambridge). In Spanish with English Subtitles created by the Subtitling World Cinema Project (Universities of Cambridge and Exeter).
Followed by a Q and A on Subtitling with Eliana Maestri (University of Exeter), and members of the Subtitling World Cinema Project team.
Peterhouse Theatre
Chair: Isaías Fanlo (University of Cambridge)
16:30 - 17:30
Closing remarks & Closing Drinks
Lubbock Room
Event Venue
Peterhouse, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00










