Chus Gutiérrez

Chus Gutiérrez (born 1962) is a Spanish director, writer, and actress who was born in Granada, Spain. Gutiérrez has experiences of moving back and forth between Spain and the U.S., which influenced her filmmaking, as her films are known for discussing topics such as immigration, globalization, and multiculturalism.[1]

Gutiérrez in 2015

Early life

Gutiérrez was born in Granada, Spain in 1962. She moved to Madrid with her family in 1970. She moved to London to learn English when she was 17. At the age of 21 she moved to New York to study filmmaking at Global Village, under the instruction of Fred Barney Taylor.[2] At the age of 23, she enrolled in The City College of New York, CUNY and was admitted to the Picker Film Institute in order to continue her filmmaking education.

Career

Gutiérrez first worked with Super 8, at which she gained experiences in filmmaking in diverse areas. She formed a rap group “Xoxonees” in the late 80s.[1] In 1987 she moved back to Spain for her group to record their album. In 1989 the group disbanded. Since the 1990s she has worked mainly as a director. However, she also acts in her own films.

Direction

Gutiérrez is known for making films with a low budget. For example, she uses hand-held camera shots and natural lighting, and she does not play with different angles but normally uses straight-on angle positions.[3] Other than the fact that its location was New York, she managed to keep costs down in her first film Sublet (1992) by shooting indoors. Sexo Oral (1994) is said to be the cheapest Spanish film ever made. She kept its costs down by interviewing non-professional actors, and not hiring many professional actors.

Her approach to problems about immigration, globalization, and multiculturalism can be frequently seen in her films. Poniente (2002) describes African immigration issues on Spanish identity. As a woman director, she includes a feminist approach in her film as well.[4] In Return to Hansala (2008) she depicts a Moroccan woman as a strong and independent character, who has her own ideas towards immigrant issues and is not scared of speaking of them in public.[3] In addition to that, she plays with the idea of cultural "otherness" by looking at the tensions among society, religious, ethnicity, and history.[3] Representing immigrants issues also ties with politics in the film. The film reflects how North African Muslims are seen as immigrants, and how current politics made them move away from their home land.[5]

Filmography
Directed Films
1992 Sublet
1994 Sexo Oral
1996 Alma Gitana
1998 Insomnio
2002 Poniente
2004 ¡Hay motivo!
2004 Every So often In The World...
2004 Las Siete Alcantarillas
2005 El Calentito
2008 Return to Hansala
2010 Mi Primer Amanecer
2014 Ciudad Delirio
2014 Sacromonte, Los Sabios De La Tribu
2015 Droga Oral
Directed TV series
1999 Ellas Son Asi
2013 Nadia En Cuesta

References
  1. Jordan, Barry; Morgan-Tamosunas, Rikki (1998). Contemporary Spanish Cinema. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719044137.
  2. Hortelano, Lorenzo J. Torres (2011). Directory of World Cinema: Spain. Intellect Books. ISBN 9781841505770.
  3. Corbalan, Ana (2015). "Chapter 4: Searching For Justice in Return to Hansala by Chus Gutierrez: Cultural Encounters between Africa and Europe". African Immigrants in Contemporary Spanish Texts: Crossing the Strait. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 99–112. ISBN 9781472416360.
  4. Beitter, Ursula E. (2007). Reflections on Europe in Transition. Peter Lang. ISBN 9780820481937.
  5. Rabanal, Hayley (2014). "Rethinking integration in contemporary Spanish film: convivencia and the cosmopolitan outlook in Chus Gutiérrez's Retorno a Hansala (2008)". Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies. 20 (2): 135–159. doi:10.1080/14701847.2014.979541.
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