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How Netflix’s ‘Emilia Pérez’ Emerged as the Top Awards Season Contender Despite Online Backlash
Thanks to a high-spending and clever campaign, Netflix has transformed a hugely divisive film into a Golden Globe winner and top awards potential
At a period in our industry where there’s much concern around cultural appropriation and the need for authenticity in front and behind the camera, “Emilia Perez” managed to triumph despite the fact that its French director Jacques Audiard isn’t trans, doesn’t speak Spanish and shot the entire movie in France rather than Mexico (where it takes place), and did so with a cast of actresses who were chosen regardless of their nationalities (the main trio aren’t Mexican). After the movie won best female ensemble in the Cannes, Netflix followed a sorority strategy, opting to push forward Gascón with the supporting cast, including Gomez, who plays Manitas’ tormented wife Jessi, and Saldaña, who portrays Rita, a talented but overworked lawyer recruited by Perez to help her start a new life. But this isn’t the only backlash “Emilia Perez” has faced, with there being a stark contrast between its awards domination and online discourse, where many continue to attack the film over a number of factors, most notably a representation of Latina women that many have deemed offensively stereotypical and the use of trans identity as a redemptive tool for a murderous criminal protagonist.
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