Oscar for 'A Fantastic Woman' highlights Chile's long battle for LGBTI rights
The Oscars success of Sebastián Lelio’s film, 'A Fantastic Woman', couldn’t be more opportune in its timing.
Released in February 2017, the movie’s impact has been gradually gathering pace. Since being awarded the Silver Bear for best screenplay at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2017, the film has won a dozen awards and been nominated for plenty more, including for best picture in a foreign language at the Golden Globes.
But it is the Academy Award that brings with it the most international recognition – and this may be critical for gender politics in Chile, where the outgoing president, Michelle Bachelet, has vowed to pass a Gender Identity Bill before she leaves office on March 11 this year.
The incoming president elect, Sebastián Piñera, meanwhile, has already pledged to block the bill’s passage through Congress when he takes office.
"My ID has a name on it that's not my name," trans actress Daniela Vega, the star of the Academy Award-winning film, said. "Because the country I was born in doesn't allow me that."
A Fantastic Woman (Una Mujer Fantástica) trails Marina, a trans woman – played by Daniela Vega – in the days following her partner’s sudden death.
It places particular emphasis on her exclusion from the funeral and wake; but also presents some of the brutality she faces at the hands of her lover’s family members and the police. As such, the film gives some insight into the violence that trans people face in their daily lives in socially conservative countries such as Chile.
Prior to Chile's passing its anti-discrimination law in 2012 and a law recognising same-sex unions in 2015, the country had been considered a laggard in relation to advancing LGBTQ rights, in comparison to its more progressive neighbours. Argentina had passed similar legislation in 1987 and 2010, respectively.
At: http://theconversation.com/oscar-for-a-fantastic-woman-highlights-chiles-long-battle-for-lgbti-rights-92956
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, with the director and cast of 'A Fantastic Woman'. Her incoming successor, Sebastián Piñera, has pledged to block the Gender Identity Bill when he takes office next week.