Yoyes and extranjeras by helena taberna, stories of women, displacement and belonging

Abstract

Yoyes (2000), the fictionalised biography of a former member of the terrorist band ETA, and Extranjeras [Foreign Women] (2003), a documentary offering an insight into the lives of female immigrants living in Madrid, are the two most recent works by Navarrese film-maker Helena Taberna. In them, Taberna directs attention to three major issues of capital importance in both the cinematic medium and the socio-political context of the Spain of today: women's cinema, the subject of terrorism and the phenomenon of immigration. This article examines a thread of common themes that consists of the presence of women and their stories of displacement and belonging.