Belén Funes presents a film about «toxic relationships between parents and children»

20/10/2019.- The Spanish Cinema section screened today  (Saturday, 20 October) the feature film A Thief’s Daughter, a project by  Catalan director Belén Funes. The film tells the story of Sara, a 22-year-old girl and the  mother of a baby who is suddenly confronted with her father’s release from jail and his resolve to reappear in their lives. Sara knows that he represents the main obstacle to her plans and is prepared to make a difficult choice so as to prevent him from getting close to herself and her younger  brother.

Belén Funes follows her main character camera in hand, filming almost always from behind. As explained by the director, she intended to convey that the camera is Sara’s friend, since «it is the only thing that accompanies her throughout the film besides the baby, with whom she does not bond well».  The idea of the movie, the director pointed out, evolved from a short film she had made about men who were deprived of their freedom. The story is «basically an excuse to continue exploring the topic of family and toxic relationships between parents and children».

The Catalan director added that she had  wanted to create  a character who is very lonely at a time when the whole world is interconnected: «everyone knows what is happening on all sides, while Sara is left out».

A Thief’s Daughter is Belén Funes’s first feature, although she  previously directed several shorts like The Hopeless, which screened at the 62nd edition of Seminci.