It all started with reading. Her mother’s stories captivated director Marga Melià so much that the little lady was already able to read at the age of three and was sure that she would soon be telling her own stories.
"For a long time, I wasn’t interested in filmmaking at all," says Melià, who only came up with the idea of bringing her stories to an audio-visual level after studying journalism and publishing a book. The screenwriter has since proven her skills. After three short films, two documentaries and a feature film, Melià has made a name for herself. In 2017, she became the first woman in the Balearic Islands to have a production released in cinemas. The film can now also be seen on streaming sites such as Amazon, Netflix and Filmin.
Whether it's with her breakthrough Bittersweet Days or other works, her films don’t just tell purely fictional stories. They are fuelled by the experiences and thoughts that occupy Melià herself. "I’ve found my calling with my job. There’s a lot from my own life in the films. I can share topics that touch me with others and communicate them to the whole world," she says and smiles. She uses topics that move people. "I show how they deal with their problems and existential questions in life. And how those affected ultimately try to find their own way to happiness."
In the feature film Bittersweet Days, it was the crisis of a 30-year-old woman that fascinated the audience. "The protagonist is not satisfied with anything - neither with her job nor with her partner. Like many other people, she is forced to rethink her life and possibly change it," explains the 42-year-old.
"The plot offers many insights into my personal history and development. Like the main actress, I used to live in Barcelona." Her former flat even served as the filming location. Both women were concerned with the question of what exactly is expected of them by society. "The role model of women has changed a lot in the 20th and 21st centuries. The parents of my generation already had children at my age and had both feet on the ground. Do social norms dictate to women whether it is ‘time’ to have a child at the age of 30 or do these factors have no influence on this type of personal decision?" Melià is now the mother of a son and lives in the centre of Palma with her partner and child.
With the numerous personal parallels in fiction and reality, it is clear that Melià’s home, Mallorca, is also part of her performances. "The connections to my life are so important to me that I also include the landscapes on my home island, even if I may foster mass tourism by drawing attention to beautiful places in Mallorca. I’ve lived on the Spanish mainland, in Germany and Italy and found a home and friends everywhere," she says. Nevertheless, she has returned to the island and is working here with her husband Xisco Martorell and raise their son. "Mallorca is not a paradise - it is neither better nor worse here than in other places."
Globalisation is having the same impact on all places on earth. The world is being standardised. Nothing is authentic or original anymore. "But it can’t go on like this. The island is too crowded. Mallorcans haven’t been able to visit popular beaches for years, housing is unaffordable and all the other costs are only geared towards the wallets of tourists," she says sadly, not looking too optimistically at the future of the island. "Why is everyone convinced that everything always has to be bigger, further, faster and ‘better’? I am convinced that these goals will not bring us any benefits."
Her new documentary film Cien Libros Juntas will premiere at this year's Atlántida Film Fest.
Cooperation with TUI
Support from the tourism industry: the project is sponsored by Europe's leading tourism group Tui and its Tui Care Foundation. The initiative was founded in 2016 with the aim of supporting sustainable projects in the destinations. The foundation focuses on the potential of the tourism sector as a driver of social development, education and prosperity. The Group promotes sustainable tourism in cooperation with local people.