DIVA spoke to the stars of Netflix’s new movie musical about the importance of telling trans and sapphic stories
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGES BY NETFLIX
Karla Sofía Gascón and Adriana Paz have already made history. This year, they won a collective Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for Emilia Pérez. As Karla Sofía is a trans woman, it’s the first time a major award at the festival has gone to an out trans actor. For that, both she and Adriana are sure to end up in the history books.
Emilia Pérez is a musical that tells the story of a trans woman and cartel leader, played by Karla Sofía, who fakes her death and flees Mexico in order to transition safely. When she eventually makes her way back to her home country, Emilia falls in love with Adriana’s Epifania. Ahead of the film’s release on Netflix on 13 November, the actresses spoke to DIVA about making both a trans and sapphic story.
Both of you played LGBTQIA characters who lived in environments they didn’t feel safe in. What was that like?
Karla Sofía: I’m so happy you asked that question because you’re the first person to mention the lesbian relationship between [Adriana] and I. I don’t know whether that’s because people don’t realise or because it’s become so normalised that people just pass over it now. But we’re both playing characters that are so trapped in their world – worlds that they can’t get out of – and playing that as actors was just incredible.
Adriana: I didn’t even think about it. I was just thinking about two people that fell in love, you know? Epifania was just so happy because she met someone that she felt so good with. It’s just love. She met Emilia and they fell in love instantly. Of course, Epifania may have discovered something of herself, or maybe she had the opportunity to just do it, but without judgement. And that was great.
Why was it important to you to look at both trans and sapphic identities?
Karla Sofía: Of course, it’s wonderful that the film depicts a person who transitions, and it’s also wonderful that the film depicts the relationship between Emilia and Epifania. To tell you the truth, [the director] Jacques Audiard is a genius. It’s really incredible what he does in the film and how the film really manipulates and involves so many different topics. I think these characters are breaking stereotypes.
Adriana: Even when the movies portray the LGBTQIA community, they are making stereotypes. I think Epifania breaks these stereotypes. Her story is about meeting people who you feel in touch with and it’s about love. Many people need to see that.
Karla Sofía, you mentioned Jacques Audiard, but you also had a lot of input in creating Emilia, right?
Karla Sofía: One of the things that was most concerning to me at the beginning was the motive behind Emilia’s transition. For me, if her motive wasn’t powerful enough, then the film wouldn’t have been able to develop. Jacques chose the right path and let me participate in the whole process, not only the physical but also the mental processes of a person that transitions. We developed a great relationship.
And Adriana, when you got the script, what made you say yes to this film?
Adriana: For me, art is of course entertainment, and cinema is entertainment, but it’s also important to talk about important matters. So I always worry about this when I choose a project to make. I always try to get the projects that are about these topics we need to talk about. It’s not my mission but it’s what I take into consideration – if it’s important for society.
What do you want audiences to take away from the film?
Karla Sofía: It’s going to have an incredible impact on audiences and how they empathise with the different characters. They end up empathising with a drug kingpin and with all these petty or major criminals. But it doesn’t tell the audience what to think about all these topics. I think that’s marvellous.
Emilia Pérez is available on Netflix now.
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