A Flag Representing Those Who Have No Voice
The documentary Invisible Contract (Tratado de Invisibilidad), directed by Luciana Kaplan, emerged as a key work in the 39th Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG). This festival, the longest-running in Mexico, is not only one of the most important showcases for the appreciation, dissemination, and promotion of Mexican and Ibero-American cinema; it has also established itself as the most dependable cinema event in Latin America.
It is an inclusive festival, open to all, one dedicated to cinematographic culture through various activities that address cinema as industry, entertainment, and art. It includes spaces for training, instruction, and creative exchange between professionals, critics and students from Latin America.
Invisible Contract not only won the prestigious FIPRESCI Award; it also received the Mezcal Award in the Young Jury Award category and an Honorable Mention for Film.
The film stands out for its humanistic and critical perspective by putting the lives of Mexico City’s cleaning workers under the magnifying glass, revealing the reality of job insecurity and abuse that this sector faces.
Invisible Contract delves into the world of women who clean public spaces in Mexico City, offering a deep reflection on the invisibility to which they are relegated. Combining elements of documentary, fiction, and still photography, Kaplan weaves an intimate mosaic of testimonies and experiences that not only make visible the arduous reality of these workers, but also questions the prevailing subcontracting system that perpetuates job insecurity.
Kaplan invites us to a sensory and emotional journey that goes beyond mere observation. The narration allows the audience to connect with the personal stories of the protagonists in an intimate and reflective way.
One of the most striking aspects of the film is its ability to give voice to the workers who, although they perform an essential task, remain in the shadows of society. Kaplan manages to portray the harshness of their situation, marked by job instability, lack of recognition, and labor abuse. The interviews with and monologues from these women exposes inequality in different sectors of society.
The cinematography, with its focus on everyday details and city life, serves as a constant reminder of the omnipresence and invisibility of these working women.
In a world where subcontracting and job insecurity are increasingly common, the film offers an incisive critique of the system that marginalizes and exploits cleaning workers. Kaplan shows us the harshness of her working conditions, inviting us to question our own complicity in perpetuating this system of inequality.
The recognition that Invisible Contract has received at the Guadalajara International Film Festival underlines the relevance and urgency of the conversation that the director proposes. The film becomes an emblem of resistance and visibility, giving cleaning workers a platform to be heard and seen.
Luciana Rodríguez
Edited by José Teodoro
© FIPRESCI 2024