Podcast Summary: Hoy por Hoy

Episode: La charla | Alauda Ruiz de Azúa: "Mi interés por esta película nace del conflicto que genera la decisión de querer entrar en un convento de clausura"

Date: October 22, 2025
Host: SER Podcast
Guest: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (Director of "Los domingos", winner of the Concha de Oro at the San Sebastián International Film Festival)

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode features a rich conversation with director Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, centering on her critically acclaimed film Los domingos. The film explores the emotionally charged decision of a 17-year-old girl to enter a cloistered convent, diving into the personal, familial, and societal conflicts this decision provokes. Alauda discusses her inspiration, research, challenges in storytelling, and insights about family dynamics, faith, and agency, reflecting on broader questions of acceptance and love.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Origins of the Film

• Curiosity & Conflict:
  • Alauda shares her initial curiosity about religious vocations, especially in young women (02:54). The real spark for the film came when, through research, she realized how such decisions often create turbulence within families - "descubro que muchísimas veces genera mucho conflicto en las familias... el tema de la vocación en alguien tan joven genera rechazo y genera conflicto" (02:54-03:23).
  • Although not religious herself, Alauda was intrigued by the radical choice of her contemporary who joined a religious order, viewing it at first as incomprehensible but later as fertile ground for examining family reactions (03:30-04:29).

Family Dynamics & Generational Clashes

• Unpredictable Reactions:

  • The film revolves not just around the protagonist’s decision but around how her family processes and reacts to it. This is presented as a universal conflict for parents and relatives who suddenly face a reality for their child that's unlike anything they imagined (04:17-05:16).

• Spectrum of Family Views:

  • The script features a range of responses—from confusion, resistance, to supportive resignation—mirroring real-life complexity:
    • The father: "Y si a ella es lo que le hace feliz, aunque a ti no te guste..." (12:39).
    • The aunt: "[...] no le insistimos, le hacemos la maleta y se la ponemos ahí dentro, que se encierre con esa pandilla de locas y que sigan lavándole el cerebro." (13:17).

• Impact of Absence:

  • The protagonist’s status as a motherless youth was a deliberate narrative choice, adding vulnerability and psychological layers: "era importante que este personaje, aunque fuera muy joven... ya hubiera lidiado con la incertidumbre que puede generar la pérdida de un ser querido" (14:50).

Faith, Prejudice, and Nuance

• Avoiding Dogmatism:

  • Alauda feared the film would be claimed by dogmatic or ultracatholic groups or be seen as promoting a particular viewpoint, but stresses that her intent was to raise questions, not give answers:
    • "me daba miedo personalmente... hacer una película que tuviera una lectura dogmática... la película se mueve en el ámbito de cuestionar cosas" (05:36–06:15).

• Challenging Stereotypes:

  • Despite a secular upbringing, Alauda’s exposure to convent life challenged her own prejudices, discovering a diversity of spiritual expressions and debunking the "romanticized" view of monastic life:
    • "hay muchas sensibilidades distintas en el ámbito de las personas creyentes... como que no hubiera un único estereotipo" (08:01).

The Research & Authenticity

• Immersive Preparation:

  • Alauda visited multiple convents, conducted numerous interviews with families, nuns, and priests, and shot in an actual convent. She preferred not to divulge every detail, out of respect and a “magician-never-reveals” ethos (07:19-07:52).
  • She discovered minute details—like the absence of mirrors in cells—that grounded the story:
    • "yo creo que las arquitecturas cuentan mucho de cómo vive la gente, y efectivamente no tienen espejos" (09:15).

• Routine & Humanity in Convents:

  • Unexpectedly, petitions in convent prayers included requests for everyone—from schoolchildren to tax inspectors—something based on real events:
    • "piden varias veces al día por muchísima gente... por inspectores de Hacienda, por jueces... para que todo el mundo haga bien su trabajo" (10:12).

Casting & Performances

• Blanca Soroa’s Debut:
  • The protagonist, interpreted by first-timer Blanca Soroa, was discovered after an exhaustive search among Bilbao’s schools. Her unstudied authenticity was paramount (10:53–11:49).
  • Alauda found working with an untrained actress both challenging and enriching, learning from Soroa’s fresh perspective:
    • "aprendes cosas de esa frescura, de ese alguien que está mirando por primera vez tu mundo" (11:53).

Central Questions: Agency and Love

• How to Support When in Disagreement:

  • Central to the movie is how to love and support someone making what you perceive as a grave mistake:
    • "cómo acompañas a alguien a quien quieres, pero que igual piensas que está completamente equivocado" (04:47).
  • Family love is present even in opposition:
    • "puedes amar diciendo pues mira, si esto es lo que te hace feliz, hazlo, o puedes amar oponiéndote porque piensas que es una auténtica locura…” (16:00).

• Women’s Agency:

  • The thread of female self-assertion connects this film with her previous work, Cinco lobitos:
    • "Es una historia de mujeres protagonistas con la necesidad de tomar las riendas de su vida. ¿Eso es voluntario?" (16:22).
    • Alauda confirms: "alejarme de narrativas que ponen a personajes femeninos… en sitios de falso empoderamiento, porque luego la vida es mucho más compleja" (16:41).

Reception & Fear of Controversy

• Anticipating Audience Response:
  • Alauda was anxious about potential controversy, fearing her film would be misunderstood or polemical, but audiences appreciated its openness and space for thought:
    • "no era un tema que estaba en ninguna agenda temática... la gente agradeció tener ese margen como espectador para sacar sus propias conclusiones, yo creo" (17:14–17:57).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Alauda Ruiz de Azúa on Cinema’s Purpose
  "Si amo el cine es porque siempre me enseña que se puede mirar desde otro sitio, que se puede mirar distinto, que se puede intentar entender algo que es ajeno a ti o que es diferente a ti." – Alauda Ruiz de Azúa (00:49)

• On Letting Audiences Think
  "La película se mueve en el ámbito de cuestionar cosas. Entonces, en ese sentido, yo evidentemente no puedo controlar lo que piensa cada uno, pero la película cuestiona las cosas. Cuestiona todas." (06:15)

• About Stereotypes and Diversity in Faith
  "Descubrir que hay muchas sensibilidades distintas en el ámbito de las personas creyentes. Hay muchas maneras de relacionarse con lo religioso, con lo espiritual..." (08:01)

• On Family Reactions
  "Yo creo que representa de hecho una de las reacciones más orgánicas a eso en un primer momento, esa reacción de shock y de rechazo..." (13:42)

• The Central Conflict
  "Cómo acompañas a alguien a quien quieres, pero que igual piensas que está completamente equivocado..." (04:47)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:49 – Alauda’s philosophy on cinema as a form of understanding
• 02:54–03:23 – Origin of her interest in the story and its family conflicts
• 04:17–04:47 – Family challenges and unexpected decisions from children
• 05:36–06:26 – Fear of dogmatic appropriation and film’s open-endedness
• 07:19–08:01 – Research process and what she discovered
• 09:15 – Real convents and subtle details (e.g., lack of mirrors)
• 10:12 – Prayers for unusual people (e.g., tax inspectors)
• 11:49–12:30 – Casting non-professional actors
• 14:50 – Importance of protagonist’s motherless status
• 16:00–16:09 – Diverse ways of loving and supporting
• 16:41 – Female agency and complexity in life choices
• 17:14–17:57 – Audience reception and director’s anxieties

Overall Tone & Takeaway

The conversation is warm, thoughtful, and emotionally intelligent, true to Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s cinematic ethos: questioning, embracing complexity, and opening a space for viewers to confront their own values and assumptions about faith, family, and women’s autonomy. The tone is neither preachy nor polemical; instead, it invites empathy, reflection, and debate—about art, belief, and love.

Listen to the full episode on SER Podcast for the complete interview and deeper insight into the film "Los domingos."