CIUDAD DE MÉXICO (EFE).—”How to define sexual abuse when it happens to you?”. This is the question that Mexican director Fernanda Tovar kept writing the guide ‘Sad Chicas’, the first work that explores new generations of women who find themselves in the “warmth of friendship” and in the “friendship of ChatGPT” to face macho violence.
“When it comes to gender violence, definitions are important, but we don’t always find the words to name it or the jaws to condemn it. You know it goes through your body and mind, but it’s a process,” explains Tovar about the construction of the strip that will open today, in 2026, the Cinélatino de Toulouse festival.
The widescreen film, winner of the Crystal Glass and Best Film and Gran Premio del Jurado Internacional at the Berlinale, follows the story of La Maestra (Rocío Guzmán) and Paula (Darana Álvarez), two naughty friends who are looking for a way to overcome sexual abuse in the digital era, where ChatGPT is used as a herramient therapeutic without any kind of regulatory therapeutic.
“ChatGPT defines what violation is for the first time in a film, and does it with a degree of emotional intelligence; moreover, he says it like a sentence,” says the filmmaker, who is credited with a young filmography focused on directing women’s newspapers.
And so, he continues, “even if one of the protagonists has had her life changed, this chat tells her that she has suffered a transgression with the same cool tone that explains how to make tomato soup.”
In this co-production between Mexico, Spain and France, La Maestra asks ChatGPT if there is a violation when you don’t want to have sexual relations, and in this case it does. The artificial intelligence immediately reacts and requests the services that the victim should receive from the protagonists.
Another aspect of the film is maternal and paternal absence, as in a more uncertain world “these numbers are less present” due to the demand for labor.
According to Tovar, it’s getting more and more “lonely and lonely” over the generations, and it’s coming back to AI as a throwback.
Even in “Sad Chicas,” the human warmth of friendship trumps the slickness of the panel, the director questions whether we, like humanity, are doing enough to differentiate ourselves from AI, creating a friendly and empathetic support.
Patriarchal system
In “Sad Chicas,” there are male characters who try to retaliate, but there are also female characters, like actress Valeria played by Monica del Carmen, who also support the patriarchal system.
Outdoor World Cup
“Sad Chicas”, produced by the Mexican collective Colmena, worldwide at the Berlin Film Festival.
Leave a Reply