31/07/2025 - Zoe Bonafonte and Manuela Calle star in a story of friendship under repression, written by the filmmaker alongside Jorge Guerricaechevarría and produced by Arcadia and Noodles Production

Actresses Zoe Bonafonte and Manuela Calle and director Daniel Monzón on the set of Ruega por nosotras (© David Herranz)

Ruega por nosotras, the new film by Daniel Monzón, is currently being shot in locations across Vizcaya and Barcelona. Monzón co-wrote the script with Jorge Guerricaechevarría (their seventh collaboration following titles such as Cell 211 and The Laws of the Border, for which they won a Goya award).

The film features a cast led by Zoe Bonafonte (seen in the series Manual para señoritas and the films The 47 and El secreto del orfebre) and newcomer Manuela Calle, alongside other young actresses such as Carla Domínguez (Mikaela), María Gandiaga and Shiara Fernández (from the series Raising Voices). The cast is rounded out by established names including Adelfa Calvo (Goya Awardwinner for The Motive, recently seen in the series La sombra de la tierra and Bellas artes), Malena Gutiérrez (Alumbramiento, series The New Years), María Cerezuela (Maixabel, In the Company of Women), Belén Cruz (Salve María, Cell 211), Xavi Sáez (the series You Would Do It Too, The Laws of the Border) and Bea Segura (the series The Nameless and El gran salto).

The story is set in 1974. Ana is 19 years old, lives in Barcelona, and is seen by her wealthy family as a rebellious girl. After running away one night, her father decides to place her in the care of the Women's Protection Board, an institution created during Franco's dictatorship that specialised in “fallen women” or those “at risk of falling” with the aim of “redeeming the immoral.” Ana is transferred to Madrid, where she is admitted to a reformatory run by nuns and subjected to a brutal disciplinary regime. There, she tries to survive by seeking comfort and support in the friendship of other girls in the same situation—particularly Sole, a village girl whose infectious vitality creates an instant connection with her. This bright friendship will become Ana’s lifeline.

Daniel Monzón explains: "I'm drawn to films that provide an intense emotional journey, that introduce you to a reality you didn't know and confront you with moral dilemmas far removed from your own experience. Ruega por nosotras places the viewer in Ana's teenage shoes so that, holding her hand, they experience the full weight of the horrific oppression imposed by Women's Protection Board on every girl who walked through its doors. An institution which, under that name, cut short the lives of thousands of women in our country, robbing them of their youth and scarring them for life.”

Ruega por nosotras is produced by Sandra Tapia for the Spanish company Arcadia, in association with the French company Noodles Production. It features the participation of TVE, Netflix and 3cat, and has received funding from the ICAA. The film will be released in Spanish cinemas by Elastica. 

(Translated from Spanish)