Girona-based actress, director, and producer Antonia San Juan, 65, has stated that ageism is a reality for women in the film and media industries. San Juan, who recently recovered from throat cancer, said that while men “do not have an expiry date,” women do. She added that male actors typically earn more than their female counterparts, according to an interview with Diari de Girona.
San Juan, known for her role as Agrado in Pedro Almodóvar's All About My Mother (Todo sobre mi madre), has no plans to retire despite reaching 65. She is currently working on two new short films, La señora (The Lady) and Sin duelo (Without Mourning), which she aims to shoot before the end of the year. These will be her eleventh and twelfth short films as a director.
A Career Forged in Short Films
San Juan began directing short films by chance after All About My Mother because she received no further acting offers. Her first short, Mela y sus hermanas (Mela and Her Sisters), was initially intended to show producers her versatility beyond the Agrado character. The film went on to be nominated for a Goya Award, won the Zinebi festival, and was screened at KODA in New York, earning nearly 30 national and international awards. This success encouraged her to continue making shorts, with all her subsequent works selected for at least 17 festivals.
Reflecting on her career, San Juan said her role as Agrado did not typecast her in the way many actors experience. Instead, she simply stopped receiving work offers. She explained that typecasting would have meant being offered variations of the same character, which did not happen. Her experience led her to explore directing and producing her own projects.
Priorities After Illness
San Juan's recent battle with throat cancer, diagnosed last September, has reinforced her belief in living in the present. She stated that while she always valued the “here and now,” a serious illness makes the uncertainty of tomorrow even more apparent. Her early years in acting, performing monologues in bars, were focused on working and surviving, rather than learning specific lessons, she said.
When asked about her preferred medium, San Juan expressed a deep love for theatre, calling it what she values above all else. She acknowledged the necessity of television for helping to fill theatres, but if forced to choose, she would always pick the stage. She noted that the perceived health of the theatre industry, like cinema, depends on individual experiences. For her, the theatre projects she has created are thriving, supported by a wonderful audience.
AI and Societal Shifts
San Juan does not view artificial intelligence as a threat to the film industry or actors, especially in theatre. She believes that no one would attend a performance to see a hologram of her. She added that if AI were to use her image, there would need to be financial compensation, unless image rights were also taken, leading to ruin. Her fears lie elsewhere, in more personal concerns such as the illness or death of a child, losing work, or growing old. She believes fear is an inherent human emotion, like jealousy or envy.
Her views on gender equality have evolved since 2006, when she suggested women would benefit from accepting their differences from men. She now states that the social, economic, and political context has changed significantly. While she believes actresses should earn the same as their male counterparts, she observes that this is not the case, and women in film and media face ageism. However, she now finds herself less inclined to engage in these debates, as she is in a good place professionally. She accepts that influencers can become actresses and be cast in roles, seeing it as a positive development.
San Juan lives by realities, not dreams. Her plans do not include retirement; instead, she celebrates her 65th birthday by continuing her work in the arts.
