Two Mums and One Dad: Family Portrait in Pepa San Martín’s "Rara"

Abstract

Pepa San Martín’s 2016 feature-length film debut Rara [Weird] is based on the true story of the Chilean Judge Karen Atala, who in 2004 lost custody of her daughters because of her sexual orientation. Rather than centring its plot on the legal matters of the case, San Martín’s account concentrates on the worldview of one of the daughters, Sara, a 12-yearold girl who becomes tacitly aware of being different to the “norm” because of living with her mother and her partner. This study focuses on the questioning of the normative family that the film poses and examines the condition of “weirdness” experienced by Sara. Taking into account previous productions on lesbian motherhood and some fact-based Chilean cinematic narratives, this study argues how Rara responds to reformulations of the family unit on both sides of the screen.