Fina Torres
(Josefina Torres Benedetti)
Born October 9, 1951 – Caracas, Venezuela
Torres studied design, photography and journalism in Venezuela and earned her bachelors degree in cinematography at the Institute de Hautes Etudes Cinematographiques in Paris. After graduating, she worked as a film editor, camera operator, and script supervisor and also made short films and documentaries. Her debut feature “Oriana� (which she directed, wrote, and produced) won the Cannes Festival Camera d’Or and international acclaim. In 2001, she directed the romantic comedy “Woman on Top� starring Penelope Cruz, which was nominated for Best Director at the 2001 Alma Awards.
Examples of Her Work
Woman on Top (2000) - Executive Producer, Director
Isabella is a great cook, making her husband's restaurant in Bahia, Brazil, a success. To control her motion sickness, she must do the driving and be on top during sex, which drives her macho husband, Toninho, to infidelities.
Celestial Clockwork (1993) - Screenwriter, Director, Producer
Ana bolts from her wedding altar and flies from Venezuela to Paris (in her wedding gown) to realize her dream of becoming a great opera star.
Luna Llena (1991) - Producer
Love blossoms among two unruly patients of a mental hospital.
Oriana (1985) - Screenwriter, Director
A young girl is sent to a South American hacienda, where she learns about the life of her reclusive aunt, Oriana.
(Thanks to IMDB)
Reflections on her work
I have unfortunately not viewed any of Fina's films, but here are links to a review of Woman On Top by Roger Ebert and a New York Times review on the same film. Also, a brief clip from YouTube:
Where is her work?
Her first film, Oriana in 1985, appears to have only been shown at the Toronto Film Festival, New York Film Festival, and in France. Meanwhile, Woman On Top was distributed in 2000 by Fox Searchlight Pictures in an extensive list of countries and has been presented at numerous festivals including the Cannes Film Festival, Munich Film Festival, Aichi International Women's Film Festival, Bergen International Film Festival, and Tokyo International Kanebo Women's Film Festival.
Finding a W.O.C. Filmmaker
I came across Fina Torres by randomly searching for "venezuelan woman director film" and she was the number one result. I continued to dig for more information on her work and history. It was difficult to find biographical information about Torres and the information that I did find was not very extensive. I would have liked to know more about her influences, process, and motivations behind her creations.