Dearest Maria

Dearest Maria
Theatrical release poster
Spanish	María querida
Directed by	José Luis García Sánchez
Screenplay by	Rafael Azcona
Produced by	Antonio P. Pérez Paco Lobatón
Starring	Pilar Bardem María Botto Alex O'Dogherty Juan Diego María Galiana
Cinematography	Juan Amorós
Edited by	Vanesa L. Marimbert
Music by	Antonio Meliveo
Production companies	Maestranza Films Redacción 7 Andalucía
Distributed by	Alta Films
Release dates	24 October 2004 (2004-10-24) (Seminci) 29 October 2004 (2004-10-29) (Spain)
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish

Dearest Maria (Spanish: María querida) is a 2004 Spanish drama film directed by José Luis García Sánchez from a screenplay by Rafael Azcona based on the figure of María Zambrano. It stars María Botto and Pilar Bardem.

Plot

The plot takes place between 1989 and 1991.[1] Journalist Lola meets author María Zambrano in 1989, upon Zambrano's reception of the Cervantes Prize, leading Lola to make Zambrano's biopic.[2][3]

Cast

• Pilar Bardem as María Zambrano[4]
• María Botto as Lola[5]
• Alex O'Dogherty [es] as Pepe[4]
• María Galiana as Carmen[6]
• Juan Diego as Luis[7]
• Jordi Dauder as locutor del montaje[8]

Production

The film is a Maestranza Films and Redacción 7 Andalucía production.[9]

Release

The film premiered in competition at the 49th Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci) on 24 October 2004.[10] Distributed by Alta Films,[3] it was released theatrically in Spain on 29 October 2004.[11]

Reception

Jonathan Holland of Variety wrote that García Sánchez "fails for the most part to galvanize the potential high drama".[3]

Casimiro Torreiro of El País wrote that the film "will go down in the annals as a worthy effort to didactically marry cinema for the general public with the usual rigor of documentary editing".[12]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2004	49th Valladolid International Film Festival	Best Actress	Pilar Bardem	Won	[13]
2005	19th Goya Awards	Best Actress		Nominated	[14]
	14th Actors and Actresses Union Awards	Best Film Actress in a Leading Role		Nominated	[15][16]

See also

• List of Spanish films of 2004

References

1. Durán Manso 2023, p. 240.
2. Durán Manso 2023, p. 225.
3. Holland, Jonathan (14 November 2004). "Dearest Maria". Variety.
4. Durán Manso 2023, p. 234.
5. Durán Manso 2023, p. 237.
6. Durán Manso, Valeriano (2023). "Andaluzas en el cines español actual. La representación de María Zambrano y los personajes de María querida" (PDF). Mujer, mujeres andaluzas: proyectando imágenes sociales y narrativas. p. 240. ISBN 978-84-472-2475-3.
7. Durán Manso 2023, p. 238.
8. Durán Manso 2023, p. 236.
9. "María querida (2004". Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes.
10. "García Sánchez retrata a lafilósofa María Zambrano". El Periódico de Aragón. Prensa Ibérica. 25 October 2004.
11. "María querida". Fotogramas. 29 May 2008.
12. Torreiro, Casimiro (29 October 2004). "Honestidad intachable". El País.
13. Fernández, M.A. (30 October 2004). "El surcoreano Kim Ki-duk gana la Espiga de Oro de la Seminci por «Hierro 3»". La Voz de Galicia.
14. Viaje al cine español. 25 años de los Premios Goya (PDF), Lunwerg, 2011, p. 289, ISBN 978-84-9785-791-8
15. "'Mar adentro' también acapara las candidaturas de la Unión de Actores". elmundo.es. 15 March 2005.
16. "Un premio de cine por luchar contra la violencia machista". El País. 7 June 2005.