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My Dearest Senorita (Mi querida señorita) + introduction by Anick Soni (15*)

Queer 70s

,Cinema 2
A male-presenting character stands on the left, pointing at something ahead of them. A woman stands on the right, her gaze following his finger.

Jaime de Armiñán’s Oscar-nominated drama made, extraordinarily, in Franco’s Spain, is an early and sympathetic portrait of identity and being intersex.

Adela (José Luis López Vázquez de la Torre) is a spinster who is desperately unhappy. Convinced there is something wrong with her – owing to a need to shave regularly and her complex romantic feelings towards her maid – Adela visits her doctor, who advises that she was assigned the wrong sex at birth. After surgery, and a name change, ‘Juan’ (still played by López Vázquez) re-starts his life as a man and hopes to find happiness.

Under Franco’s dictatorship, sympathetic portrayals of queer and intersex characters were almost non-existent. While its depiction of gender and sex identity may have dated, it’s a small miracle that My Dearest Senorita dodged the censor’s scissors. A small supporting role is played by Chus Lampreave, later a regular of Pedro Almodóvar, whose queer cinema would thrive in the years after Franco’s death.

Tagged with: Cinema Queer 70s

In Spanish with English subtitles

Please note this film contains outdated representation of an LGBTQIA+ character.

Film information
  • Release year   1972
  • Country   Spain
  • Director   Jaime de Armiñán
  • Runtime   1 hour 20 min

Anick Soni (He/Him) is a writer, researcher, and consultant who is queer and intersex. His focus is on exploring identity, intimacy, and representation. His work blends lived experience with social critique to challenge how stories are told - and who gets to tell them.

Cinema 2

Location
Barbican Cinema 2 & 3 are located on Beech Street, a short walk from the Barbican’s Silk Street entrance. From Silk Street, you’ll see a zebra crossing that will take you across the road to the venue. 

Address
Beech Street
London
EC2Y 8DS

Public transport
The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. Plan your journey and find more route information in ‘Your Visit’ or book your car parking space in advance.