P.O.V. Ella Es el Matador (She Is the Matador)

A fight between man and beast, bullfighting has carried rich symbolism of fertility and power through the centuries, glorifying the male fighter and contributing to a rigid definition of gender roles. So sacred was this preconception of masculinity that a 1908 Spanish law banned women from participating in bullfighting.

Synopsis

For Spaniards—and for the world—nothing has expressed their country’s traditionally rigid gender roles more powerfully than the image of the male matador. So sacred was the bullfighter’s masculinity to Spanish identity that a 1908 law barred women from the sport.

Visually stunning and beautifully crafted, ELLA ES EL MATADOR (She is the Matador) reveals the surprising history of the women who made such a law necessary, and offers fascinating profiles of two female matadors currently in the arena, the acclaimed Maripaz Vega and neophyte Eva Florencia. These women are gender pioneers by necessity, confronting both bull and social code. But what emerges through this mesmerizing film is their truest motivation—a sheer passion for bullfighting, in the pursuit of a dream.