Synopsis
The Madam reconstructs the figure of the director’s great-grandmother, madam of a well-known brothel in Francoist Valencia. Accompanied by his mother and two aunts, former showgirls, Lemus Gadea proposes a psychomagical journey to connect with this past. The erotic taste for play and fantasy doesn’t clash with the harsh and repressive reality of the times it evokes: everything is celebrated and everything is sung, without losing an ounce of elegance.
Filmmaker
Alexander Lemus Gadea
Spanish-Guatemalan director and playwright with an international career spanning the Americas and Europe. His work addresses colonial trauma and identity from a genealogical and political perspective. He has written several award-winning plays, such as Les veus penjades (2025), and directed short films selected at international festivals, including Málaga and Guanajuato.
Filmography: The Madam (short, 2026, D'A 2026), Faustina (short, 2024), Dona (short, 2023), Perro asesino (short, 2022), Blitzkrieg (short, 2020), Life in Boxes (short, 2017)
Poster
