Virginia Film Festival

Education was one of the greatest social tenets of Spain’s Second Republic, with the objective of bringing culture and education to every corner of the country in order to achieve a more equitable and harmonious society. A group of women, standing for modernity and independence, took these principles to heart, bringing down the walls between male and female students. Director Pilar Pérez Solano supplements archival footage with a staged recreation of the life of one teacher from this historical period, uncovering their lasting legacy. Winner of this year’s Best Documentary Goya Award, Las maestras de la República explores the experiences and ideals of all those pioneers whose project was so savagely destroyed by the Civil War that started in 1936. Discussion with director Pilar Pérez Solano, David Gies (U.Va.), and Esther Poveda-Moreno (U.Va.)