Carla Quilez has thrilled us with the role of her teenage mother in the movie 'La Maternidad'. We spoke with the actress who, at the age of 15, does not stop collecting awards.
Last year the life of Carla Quílez, a 15-year-old from Barcelona who is studying 3rd year of ESO and who loves uploading videos of her dances to Instagram, took a 180-degree turn: the casting team of 'La Maternal', the Pilar Palomero's new film ('Girls'), contacted her after seeing her social profile so that she could do the tests for the protagonist of the film that is now aspiring to the Goya for best film and best director. And that tells the story of a rebellious teenager, the daughter of a young single mother, who when she realizes that she is pregnant, enters a center for underage mothers.
Since then, Carla Quílez has won a Gaudí award in the category of new actress (where she shone on the red carpet with a look from the stylists of La Roca Village), the Silver Shell for best leading role at the San Sebastian Festival, the award for best international feature film actress at the Mallorca Film Festival in 2022 and a nomination for the Feroz Awards. She does not appear, however, on the list of Goya nominees, which only actors and actresses over 16 years of age can access, but she will be the youngest performer to deliver one of her awards.
Gaudí Award and a Silver Shell without having previous acting experience. What doors do you think will open for you?
They elevate me a lot because they are very big recognitions. Thanks to them, many people are seeing me and they can help me in my future to have new work projects and to move forward in the world of acting.
Unlike the Goyas, men, and women competed in the best performance category at the San Sebastian Festival. Is it fairer?
Talent is not based on gender, everyone has a talent; Whether it's better or worse, everyone has their good and bad qualities and I see it as fair whether you separate it into two categories or not.
And it all started with an Instagram video...
Yes, I created an Instagram account dedicated to dancing, which I love. Well, at first I put up a video of me flipping a skateboard, doing a trick, and people really liked it. They gave me a 'like' and when people entered my account they saw that what I like is dancing. And many people began to follow me and from there they already contacted me about the film to see if I could participate in the casting.
What do people like to see on networks?
In truth, any nonsense. Something that entertains them, makes them laugh... What happens is that, since I really like dancing, even though it has fewer views, I don't care and I post dance videos because that's what I do.
Now on your Instagram, there are also photos with Queen Letizia, actors, actresses... Who has impressed you the most to meet?
I was impressed to meet Queen Letizia. It was in Tudela, in a tribute to Pilar Miró. Luis Alegre invited us and when he told us that the queen was going to be present and that she was going to greet me, it was shocking but it was even more so when you see that the queen is a very close person and that she treats like one more. You don't have to talk to her about yourself, she treats you like just another girl, one of her girls. He congratulated me on my work, he told me that she really liked the film 'La Maternal' and we started talking about the cinema.
Can filming a tough subject, teenage motherhood, be fun?
I don't think it can be fun. For me what was fun was the 'family' that we were there and that I was surrounded by, but the subject is very hard and when it comes to light it is complicated.
Has the theme of the film created any debate with your classmates?
Yes, it has created some debate. My experience in the film has helped them to reconsider and see life from another point of view and it has helped them. Sometimes I would tell them about what 'La Maternal' was about and we would talk about it in class. It was entertaining. I didn't think that girls my age were going to learn things from me and it's something that I liked to explain to them and make them understand because I had been working on it for two and a half months or more.
Has your point of view also changed?
Yes. I didn't think about these cases either because I was very young, I didn't know much about these issues and I didn't have any cases around me. In the film, I have met girls who have gone through that experience [in the same cast]. It was great learning. We were friends from the beginning, I didn't give importance to what had happened in their lives, that was left for the filming. There it was shocking to hear it from them. You began to imagine and you said, ho, how difficult. They were magnificent people.
