Women is losers

"Women is losers
Women is losers, oh
Say honey women is losers
Well, I know you must try, Lord
And everywhere
Men almost seem to end up on top " - Janis Joplin

This year the SXSW festival was the perfect showcase for American independent cinema and above all allowed us to discover new directors like Lissette Feliciano who signs with Women is losers her first. Inspired by women who existed and the homonymous song by Janis Joplin, Women is losers is certainly one of the must-see films of this festival.

The original and strong direction of Lissette Feliciano allows the characters to express themselves directly to the audience and above all this film pays tribute to the courage of some women of the 60's and 70's advocating their independence and really wishing to be free in a society that had not yet fully recognized their rights in front of a society in which men lead and have the most important positions.

In 1960s San Francisco, Celina Guerrera (Lorenza Izzo), a bright and talented student at a Catholic school, survives a difficult family life by following the rules. Until an indiscretion leads to a series of devastating consequences. As Celina faces the cumulative obstacles of her youth and loneliness, she sets out to rise above the oppression of poverty and invest in a future that sets new precedents for the times.

Brimming with energy and ongoing creativity the film resembles its heroine played by the superb Lorenza Izzo (The Green Inferno (2013), Knock Knock (2015), The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018) and Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)). While independent cinema tends to remain too classic in its approach, Lissette Feliciano's dynamic direction proves to be a winner and we follow Celina's evolution between parents who seem overwhelmed by events, her worries between a boss who is a little too present and with the father of her child.

We follow Lissette's journey from 1967 to 1973, precisely the day the Supreme Court issued its decision in Roe v. Wade (a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that the U.S. Constitution protects a pregnant woman's freedom to choose to have an abortion without undue government restriction). Unlike Janis Joplin's song, this film shows that a determined woman who is able to constantly rise above the blows society deals her is indeed capable of succeeding by dint of courage and persuasion.

The strong message of the film is to denounce the numerous inequalities of which women are victims at this time between laws which hardly help women to succeed in their career, prejudices of outdated social codes and concerns of ethnic integration, Women is losers is certainly one of these strong films of this year 2021.

Women is losers
Written, directed and produced by Lissette Feliciano
Starring Lorenza Izzo, Bryan Craig, Chrissie Fit, Simu Liu, Steven Bauer, Liza Weil, Cranston Johnson, Alejandra Miranda, Shalim Ortiz, Lincoln Bonilla
Music by Frederik Wiedmann
Cinematography: Farhad Ahmed Dehlvi
Edited by John-Michael Powell
Production companies :
Distributed by
Release date :
Running time : 84 minutes

Seen on March 16, 2021 (SXSW 2021 festival)

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