A young woman approaches the entrance of her institute determinedly and hangs a huge banner on which you can read the phrase: “Be careful, a rapist is hiding in there!”, before the astonished gaze of classmates and teachers. This is the shocking starting point of 'Not one more'the new one Spanish series Netflix that addresses such delicate topics as sexual abuseharassment on the networks, parent-child conflicts, consent and mental healthbut also a story of sorority.
The fiction adapts the novel of the same name by Miguel Saez Carral ('Apaches', 'An Unfaithful Woman') and, although it stars very young actresses (Nicole Wallace, Clara Galle, Aïcha Villaverde, Teresa de Mera), is not the typical series for teenagers due to the seriousness of the topics it deals with. Nor is it a specific work on the #MeToobut it does fall within the feminist protest explosionwith some girls raising their voices to denounce a situation of sexual violence.
“It's a pretty real portrait of the generation Z regarding the use of cell phones, networks and the way of relating,” says its producer, José Manuel Lorenzo. “To make that portrait you also have to have the views of other generations,” he adds, alluding to the characters of the parents and teachers played by actors like Eloy Azorín, Iván Massagué and Ruth Díaz.
The story, in fact, was born from the problems of the author's relationship with his daughter. “I wrote a text and I realized that it could be used as a novel. The father-daughter story continues in 'Ni una más', but branches, plots and characters began to appear,” explains Sáez Carral, who emphasizes that before filming of the eight episodes that make up the series had a few months of pre-production that helped the protagonists get involved in the plot.
Fear at the bus stop
“They contributed a lot of stories to what was written, which gave it more reality and truth,” the author acknowledges. “The bus stop scene, for example, I took from them,” he recalls. “Our teenagers do not travel by car, they are not Americans. They travel by bus and when they go out at night and return home they have to wait at an inhospitable stop and, If you are a woman, it is scary“, highlights the writer, who was the screenwriter of 'When you leave class'.
“Teenage series have changed a lot, but society is not the same either,” reflects Sáez Carral about his beginnings in the Telecinco series that launched the careers of actors like Rodolfo Sancho and Elsa Pataky. “The portrait that 'Ni una más' makes of teenagers is much more real than the one that 'Afterclass', where we had people from BUP and COU who owned a bar or who lived alone in a few flats. The concept of adolescence was idealized,” he points out.
Break the wall of silence
The aspiration of 'Not one more', on the other hand, “is generate a speech“, according to Lorenzo. “The series sends the message that we must break the wall of silence around violence against women, and the only way to do it is to shout loudly. And when you raise your voice, you will not be alone, there will always be people who will support you and who will listen to you,” says the creator of a fiction that also features actors such as Gabriel Guevara, José Pastor and Sara Rivero.
“What I like about 'Ni una más' is that it explains different cases of abuse. It doesn't tell you: this is what happens. Because you're not always abused by an older man at a party, but usually someone you know, your boyfriend, your friend… Or it's not even rape. Humiliation, shouting, pushing and threats are also abuse. And it's important to teach it,” concludes Nicole Wallace, the protagonist.
