Interview with Filmmaker Avatâra Ayuso (LET THEM EAT CAKE!)

LET THEM EAT CAKE! was the winner of BEST SOUND & MUSIC at the May 2022 Female Film Festival.

1. What motivated you to make this film?

It all started with a research we made with the charity I lead AWA DANCE (Advancing Women’s Aspirations with Dance) where we asked young women about their relationship with their bodies while working in the dance studio. The results showed us that most of those girls have a very difficult relationship with their bodies. This made me realise I needed to have a creative response to it, allowing those girls to transform into the beautiful creatures they are, liberating themselves from the constrictions society imposes onto them.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

9 months! After the idea all the fundraising came about, then pre production and so on. Good 9 months!

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Girl power!

4. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

curiosity, intrigued and nervous! I love hearing what the audience needs to say, and everyone pointed out areas of the film that were very important to me. Very grateful for having had their thoughts

Watch the Audience Feedback Video:

5. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

As soon as I started to make choreography! The process of choreographing and filmmaking can be very similar: one needs to direct the audience’s eye, and also edit the material in a way that is engaging and powerful. I don’t overproduce films, because it takes me a long time to decide what I want the body to tell and how I want the camera to “dance” with the actors/performers. It is a very slow cooking process

6. What film have you seen the most in your life?

Metropolis by Fritz Lang and Mary Poppins by Robert Stevenson. Two very different aesthetics that have inspired me along my career

7. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

This audience feedback was extremely important and valuable. Maybe a network of festivals can be created where the festival recomend films to each other. For filmmakers it can be difficult to access “heads of”

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

fantastic: easy, clear, accessible

10. What is your favorite meal?

A bit cliché as I’m Spanish, but no doubt: Paella and Spanish Potato omelette can make me the happiest person in the world!

11. What is next for you? A new film?

Indeed! I have a couple of concepts in mind but are still in early stages and meanwhile I’m in the process of creating a version of a solo I made (Angel) into a Virtual Reality, and create an “avatar” of myself.