# Motherhood (2022 Spanish film)

Motherhood (Spanish: La Maternal) is a 2022 teen drama film written and directed by Pilar Palomero starring Carla Quílez and Ángela Cervantes.

## Plot

The plot tracks Carla, a 14-year old pregnant girl placed in a centre for teenage mothers where she hangs out with other teen classmates (Raki, Estel, Claudia, Jamila and Sheila). She also has to deal with the vicissitudes of her fraught relation with her mother Penélope.

## Cast

* Carla Quílez as Carla
* Ángela Cervantes as Penélope
* Jordan Dumes
* Pepe Lorente
* Olga Hueso
* Rubén Martínez
* Gal·la Sabaté
* Neus Pàmies

## Production

The screenplay was written by Pilar Palomero. La maternal (Palomero's sophomore feature after Schoolgirls) is an Inicia Films and Bteam Prods production, with the participation of RTVE, TVC, Televisión de Aragón, and Movistar+ and support from Creative Europe's MEDIA, ICAA and ICEC [ca]. Julián Elizalde worked as cinematographer.
Shooting took place in late 2021 and lasted for 8 weeks. Shooting locations included Los Monegros and Barcelona and its surroundings.

## Release

The film made its world premiere at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival's official selection on 20 September 2022. It will have its international premiere at the Zurich Film Festival. Distributed by BTeam Pictures, it is set for an 18 November 2022 theatrical release in Spain. Elle Driver acquired rights for worldwide sales outside Spain and France.

## Reception

According to the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 92% approval rating based on 13 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.9/10.
Jonathan Holland of ScreenDaily deemed the film to be "superbly directed by Palomero, who seems to have a special gift for seeing the world through children's eyes".
Raquel Hernández Luján of HobbyConsolas rated the film with 65 points ("acceptable") deeming it to be more interesting by its subject than by its forms, praising "the reality that [the film] makes visible" but pointing out that "the style is too crude, it is an unbearable film at times".
Juan Pando of Fotogramas rated the film 5 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be "one of the best films, if not the best, [in 2022 Spanish cinema]", praising "that true prodigy named Carla Quílez" as the best thing about the film while citing the film's excess length as a negative point.
Sergi Sánchez of La Razón rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, positively highlighting Quílez's naturalness while pointing out that "a certain capacity for synthesis is lacking" in the film.

### Top ten lists

The film appeared on a number of critics' top ten lists of the best Spanish films of 2022:
* 2nd — El Confidencial (Marta Medina)
* 2nd — El Cultural (Begoña Donat)
* 3rd — El Español ('Series&más' critics)
* 3rd — Cadena SER (Jose M. Romero)
* 4th — Cadena SER ('El cine en la SER' critics)
* 4th — ABC (Oti Rodríguez Marchante)
* 6th — Vanity Fair (Juan Sanguino & Paloma Rando)
* 7th — Cadena SER (Pepa Blanes [es])
* 8th — El Cultural (Carlos Heredero)
* 7th — Cadena SER (Elio Castro)
* 9th — El Cultural (Juan Sardá)
* 10th — El Cultural (Carlos Reviriego)
* 10th — El Periódico de Catalunya (critics)

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| 2022 | 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival | Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance | Carla Quílez | Won |
| 2023 | 15th Gaudí Awards | Best Non-Catalan Language Film | Best Non-Catalan Language Film | Nominated |
| 2023 | 15th Gaudí Awards | Best Director | Pilar Palomero | Nominated |
| 2023 | 15th Gaudí Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Pilar Palomero | Nominated |
| 2023 | 15th Gaudí Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Ángela Cervantes | Won |
| 2023 | 15th Gaudí Awards | Best New Performance | Carla Quílez | Won |
| 2023 | 10th Feroz Awards | Best Director | Pilar Palomero | Nominated |
| 2023 | 10th Feroz Awards | Best Actress in a Film | Carla Quílez | Nominated |
| 2023 | 10th Feroz Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Film | Ángela Cervantes | Nominated |
| 2023 | 2nd Carmen Awards | Best Non-Andalusian Film | Best Non-Andalusian Film | Nominated |
| 2023 | 78th CEC Medals | Best Director | Pilar Palomero | Nominated |
| 2023 | 78th CEC Medals | Best New Actress | Carla Quílez | Won |
| 2023 | 37th Goya Awards | Best Film | Best Film | Nominated |
| 2023 | 37th Goya Awards | Best Director | Pilar Palomero | Nominated |
| 2023 | 37th Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Ángela Cervantes | Nominated |
| 2023 | 31st Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role | Ángela Cervantes | Nominated |