The world of cinema and television says goodbye to Josefina Molina

The director, screenwriter and television and film producer, Josefina Molina, died this Saturday in Madrid at the age of 89. One of the great pioneers of Spanish audiovisual production and a key figure in the incorporation of women into management and production positions, Molina paved the way for several generations of audiovisual filmmakers and creators.

Graduated in Political Science from the Complutense University of Madrid, she was the first woman to obtain, in 1969, the title of Director-Director at the Official School of Cinematography.

He began his professional career at TVE in 1964, where she developed an extensive career as a director and screenwriter. Among his most notable works for television are The path, an adaptation of the work by Miguel Delibes that earned him the Prague Gold Award for Best Director in 1978, and Teresa of Jesus, the co-production of TVE and RAI starring Concha Velasco, considered one of the most important series in the history of Spanish television and broadcast in numerous countries.

In 1980 he received the Special Jury Mention at the Monte Carlo Television Festival for the program Averroes. He also won two Television Academy Awards for Best Direction/Direction for the series between orange trees and Best Screenplay for This is my land.

They are film career started in 1973 with Vera, a cruel story. Six years later he participated in erotic stories, where he directed one of the stories that make up the film, The titility. Later, with Esquilache He would get 12 nominations for the Goya Awards, including Best Film and Best Director, and three years later he would release the last film he directed, La Lola goes to the ports, adaptation by the Machado brothers with Rocío Jurado and Paco Rabal.

In 1979 she also debuted as a theater director with an adaptation of Five hours with Mario, which remained on the Spanish stages for ten years.

Member of the Academy of Television and Audiovisual Sciences and Arts, Josefina Molina received the Lifetime Award from the Television Academy in recognition of his professional career, as well as the Talent Award granted by the Institution. She also obtained the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts, the National Cinematography Award and the Goya of Honor, which she achieved in 2012, becoming the first female film director to receive this recognition. Finally, it should be noted that she was a full academician of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando and honorary president of the Association of Women Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media (CIMA), an entity that she helped found in 2006.