RESOLUCIÓN: Gestures of change and female memory in Spanish cinema

RESOLUCIÓN brings the memory of Spanish cinema to MoMu in Antwerp through the iconic presence of its actresses, a century of women captured in decisive, recurring gestures.

Still from Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios, 1988, directed by Pedro Almodóvar

RESOLUCIÓN opens with a series of gestures, small, repeated acts performed by women on screen that reveal moments of change, conflict or departure. The audiovisual installation, presented at MoMu – Fashion Museum Antwerp, reinterprets Spanish cinema by highlighting the performative power of its actresses, seen not just as stars but as vessels of memory, transformation and resistance.

Curated by Beatriz Navas Valdés and Natalia Marín Sancho, with academic guidance from Maria Adell (University of Barcelona), RESOLUCIÓN compiles clips from one hundred films spanning nine decades — from postwar melodrama to queer contemporary cinema — to explore how Spanish filmmakers have captured the vital decisions of women on screen. Drawing on Serge Daney’s idea that “the body of the actor spans all cinema; it is its true history,” the work reveals a visual grammar of change: leaving, staying, confronting, surrendering.

Figures such as Aurora Bautista, Carmen Maura, Victoria Abril, Ángela Molina, Marisa Paredes or Penélope Cruz emerge as part of a shared lineage of emotional and political expression. The choices their characters face — revenge, departure, acceptance — are amplified through clothing, makeup, and everyday props that become symbols of autonomy and rupture.

A tribute to the creative agency of Spanish actresses, RESOLUCIÓN — open to the public until November 23, 2025 — is also a reflection on how cinema shapes national memory. Each clip becomes a thread in a larger fabric of female experience, where acting is not just performance but a way to inhabit and rewrite history.