Cannes: Elena Martín Gimeno’s ‘Creatura’ Wins Best European Film at Directors’ Fortnight

Creatura, the debut feature from Spanish director Elena Martín Gimeno, has won the Europa Cinemas Label prize for best European film in the 2023 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight section. The drama, about a seemingly perfect couple who can’t manage to have sex anymore, explores themes of repression and female sexual desire.

Gimeno co-wrote the screenplay for Creatura with Clara Roquet and stars in the film alongside Clàudia Dalmau, Clàudia Borràs, Oriol Pla, Alex Brendemühl, Clara Segura, Marc Cartanyà and Carla Linares.

The European Cinemas jury called Creatura a “well-written and impressive portrayal of a woman as she tries to come to terms with her sexuality and intimacy while reflecting on her childhood and teenage experiences. This is a subject that has been covered before, but each character is so multi-layered and believable that the film is easy to relate to — both the female and the male characters. There are challenging moments but there is humor, too. It is dynamic and beautifully shot. We are sure that this is a film that will touch people all around Europe, and we welcome the opportunity of encouraging the career of a very talented director, writer and actress.”

The European Cinema Label prize comes with distribution support for the movie, which will now get additional promotion and marketing incentives for exhibitors across the Europa Cinemas network of art house theaters to extend the film’s run on screen. Europa Cinemas represents theaters in some 744 cities across 38 countries in Europe, accounting for more than 3,000 screens.

Creatura was produced by Spain’s Vilaüt Films, Lastor Media, Elastica Films, Avalon P.C. and S/B Films in the United States. Producers are Ariadna Dot, Marta Cruãnas, Tono Folguera, Maria Zamora, Stefan Schmitz, Emilia Fort, Ella Bishop, Pau Suris and Jake Cheetham. Luxbox is handling international sales.