Daniel Monzón revives the "fallen" young women imprisoned by Franco, one of Spain's darkest (and most recent) episodes regarding women.
The Women's Protection Board was a Francoist institution that until 1984 exercised strict patriarchal control over "women who had fallen or were at risk of falling," considered minors until the age of 25 and who did not adhere to the regime's morality. Pray for Us , Daniel Monzón's new film, addresses this mechanism of repression, which depended on the Ministry of Justice.
After seven weeks in Vizcaya, the crew has now moved to Barcelona, specifically to the Collaso y Gil school, which was fictionally converted into the Observation and Classification Center. "It was a kind of police station run by nuns where they received girls brought in by the police or by parents who felt their daughters needed to be treated, and in this space they were classified. They underwent a gynecological examination, and if they were virgins, they were classified as complete, and if not, as incomplete. From there, they were taken to a more or less severe center," Monzón told La Vanguardia during a break from filming.
Zoe Bonafonte plays Ana, a rebellious 19-year-old from a well-off family.
David HerranzAna, the film's protagonist, played by Zoe Bonafonte, ends up in this center. A 19-year-old Barcelona native and rebellious in the eyes of her wealthy family, she is taken there by her father after a nighttime escape. The film takes place in 1974 and continues until 1979, during the transition from Franco's death to democracy's arrival. "All of Spain is changing, the Transition is coming, but the girls locked up in the Patronato have no idea that democracy has arrived. Everything remains unchanged within this space," explains the director, who is returning to write the script with Jorge Guerricaechevarría after successes such as Cell 211 , The Child , and The Laws of the Border .
Manuela Calle and Zoe Bonafonte play Sole and Ana, two girls from different social classes who become friends.
David HerranzThe filmmaker began the project "through a press report and began researching. I came across doctoral theses, documentaries, and books by Consuelo García del Cid, a woman who served on the Board of Trustees." In fact, the title "Pray for Us " comes from one of her books. "These are terrible pages of our history that have been silenced for many years. A hidden reality that the film somehow reveals," says Monzón.
These are terrible pages of our history that have been silenced for many years. A hidden reality that the film somehow reveals. Daniel Monzón
In the reformatory run by nuns and subjected to a brutal disciplinary regime, Ana befriends Sole (newcomer Manuela Calle), a small-town girl with an infectious vitality who instantly connects with her. This luminous friendship will be what keeps Ana afloat. The film is about this story of friendship and, on the other hand, also reflects Ana's confrontation with the Mother Superior, played by Adelfa Calvo.
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For Monzón, filming has been "very enjoyable" because they are all very young, most of them debuting, "and I'm holding onto that teenage energy." He states that those who went through the Patronage remember it as a "tremendous tragedy," but "we are telling the story of when they were young, and that's what's terrible about the film: seeing how they try to nullify their energy, their life," adds the filmmaker, who points out that the nuns "weren't evil for no reason; they were also immersed in the same regime and believed in what they did." That's why it's a film that pays attention to "the humanity of all the characters. They're not good or bad. Life is made up of shades of gray."
Ana and Sole become friends in one of those reformatories for girls.
David HerranzNeither Bonafonte nor Calle knew what the Patronato was before joining the project. “I didn't know that so many women had ended up in centers where they were abused and subjected to forced labor in a time contemporary with our parents, without them having any idea of what happened,” admits Bonafonte, who takes on her first leading role after making a name for herself in El 47. “I was familiar with the Peñagrande issue and the stolen babies, something that has been talked about a lot but has never been given the importance that the Patronato had,” Calle explains.
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Bonafonte says she was told that outsiders thought the women in the boarding house were crazy. “There was a lot of stigma from the outside world about what happened inside the boarding house, and for them, when they left, sharing that they had been there was something very embarrassing.” Calle, meanwhile, states that she has created a very special bond with the rest of her colleagues in the film “because they all represent the reality of many women. It's a fictional film, but it tells real stories. We'll never know what they really went through, but I think this story is quite close, and I was very moved by filming it.” Regarding this, Bonafonte adds: “Playing Ana has been a very emotional journey for me.”
If the Board of Trustees still existed, we'd all be locked up there. You see people who haven't done anything to end up in the center. Zoe Bonafonte
Furthermore, they both agree that if the Patronato still existed, "we'd all be locked up there." "You see characters who haven't done anything to end up in the center. One of them is there because she has too many siblings, another because she went out to parties, another because she smokes... For our generation now, it's quite shocking to hear these stories. We think it's going to have a big impact. You have to see it. It's very important to know where we come from."
Daniel Monzón, thoughtful, during filming
David HerranzNinety-five percent of the cast is made up of women. “There are hardly any male characters in this story, and those that do don't come off very well,” Monzón says with a smile. The Palma-born director has long wanted to make a film about women. “It's a dream I've had. I'm surrounded by women. I was raised by women, I live with women, I have a daughter, a wife, and a dog.” From the moment he read the article and began researching, “I felt I wanted to tell this story. Among other things, I owe it to my daughter,” he confesses emotionally. “So that something like this doesn't happen again. This isn't so far gone. It went on until 1984 when I was going to the movies. In these times we're living in, where it seems like the steps we're taking forward won't be reversed, we have to be very vigilant because progress is very easy to unwind, and there are stories that need to be told and remembered so that it doesn't happen again.”
From the moment I started researching, I felt I wanted to tell this story. Among other things, I owe it to my daughter. So that something like this never happens again. Daniel Monzón
She believes Pray for Us is a very "dramatic film, although imbued with life. The only sin these girls committed was wanting to live, love, have fun... just being themselves. And there was a system that wanted to force all women who were considered not Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Catholic to go through a very narrow loophole." For Calle, "debuting with a film like this is super exciting," and for Bonafonte, it represents "an acting challenge every day of filming." They speak highly of Monzón and the "good vibes" among the crew. "It's the best thing that could have happened to us. He's an extremely good and empathetic director." The film is an Arcadia production in co-production with the French company Noodles Production and will be distributed theatrically by Elastica in mid-2026.
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