Jennifer Lawrence: “What's happening is genocide, nothing less.”

Special Envoy to San SebastiánJennifer Lawrence (Indian Hills, Kentucky, 1990) visited the San Sebastian Festival this Friday to collect the Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award and present it. Die, my love, the Lynne Ramsay drama that the actress produces and stars in. However, after the festival's public stance in favor of the Palestinian people and the demonstration a few days ago against the genocide in Gaza, in which one of the most frequent slogans was "Boycott Israel", it was inevitable to ask Lawrence also about the company that distributes Die, my love, the Mubi platform, against which many voices in the world of cinema have been raised due to the ties of one of its investors, the Sequoia Capital fund, with an Israeli arms company.

Towards the end of the press conference – which lasted just twenty minutes – the ARA attempted to ask Lawrence about the issue, but the festival refused, arguing that all questions should refer to Lawrence's film or career. The Cadena SER journalist was also prevented from asking the question, but an Italian journalist finally managed to ask her about the situation in Gaza, focusing on the suffering and death of Palestinian children. "What's happening [in Gaza] is genocide, nothing less. It's unacceptable, and I'm terrified for my children and all children," the actress replied. "What saddens me most is the lack of respect and the current discourse in American politics. For young people who are now 18, it's completely normal that politicians have no integrity and lie," she said.

As if justifying herself, Lawrence also lamented that there is "nothing" she can say to "fix this extremely complex and unfortunate situation." "The reality is that our fear or our words will be used to add more fire and rhetoric to an issue that is in the hands of elected officials," she insisted before again reminding everyone of "the need to vote" and not letting "artists who try to express themselves freely through art" receive criticism instead of "individuals." The audience erupted in applause, but the actress did not mention Mubi by name or the contradiction that working with a distributor with ties to the Israeli arms industry can entail. The irony is that, as the Italian journalist recalled, a few minutes earlier Lawrence herself had acknowledged that, in the United States, "freedom of expression is under question, under attack." This was also the case at the San Sebastian Film Festival, for a few minutes.

An Early Mother's Depression

Lawrence has also spoken, naturally, about Die, my love, presented out of competition at the festival, in which a woman descends into the pit of depression during her first months of motherhood, consumed by the boredom of the hours she spends alone in a house on the outskirts of a town while sexual frustration and romantic disenchantment grow within her. "There are many things I identify with in the story, especially regarding the identity crisis you have when you become a mother," explained the actress, who has two children. "Being a mother changes who you are, it changes everything. I was lucky enough to have a fantastic postpartum period with my first child, and that's when I read the book. It was more complex and profound. But with my second child, I did experience a [bad] postpartum period. And it's very strange to see the film now after having experienced it firsthand, because I think we did."

The most notable aspect of the film is, without a doubt, Lawrence's performance, an actress who at one point in her career seemed more famous for her friendliness and spontaneity on the red carpet than for her acting work, and who here plays her most unpleasant and harsh character. A real statement of intent from an actress who doesn't want to be swallowed up by the image conveyed by reels who go viral from their interviews and public appearances. And it's not that Die, my love It doesn't present its protagonist as a bad person or a bad mother, but it does explore the dark side of motherhood without idealizing it. "Recently, mothers have started to be seen as human beings who have to shoulder a huge amount of work every day," Lawrence quipped. "And we wanted to show how hard it is to run a house and what raising a child entails, the energy it requires, and the pressure you have to deal with."