Affective Tensions: Representing Violence in Contemporary Mexican Women's Cinema

This thesis examines contemporary women’s cinema in Mexico as a site of resistance to mainstream portrayals of gender-based violence (GBV). It focuses on Noche de Fuego (Tatiana Huezo, 2021), Luchadoras (Paola Calvo and Patrick Jasim, 2021), and Ruido (Natalia Beristáin, 2022), alongside personal interviews with Calvo and Beristáin, to explore how these films challenge patriarchal framing of GBV and foreground intersectional, affective, ethical and agency-driven representations. Set against Mexico’s ongoing crisis of femicide and disappearances, this research situates these works within broader structures of militarisation, organised crime and impunity. It interrogates how violence against women is embedded in Mexico’s neoliberal and narco-capitalist systems, while exposing the limitations of mass media’s sensationalist, victim-blaming narratives in generating awareness and encouraging meaningful change. Through a close analysis of cinematic affect, this thesis demonstrates how female-directed cinema mobilises embodied and emotional modes of representation to cultivate proximity, empathy and critical reflection on lived experiences of violence. These affective strategies reveal how fear is weaponised within Mexico’s contemporary conflicts and illuminate the long-term social consequences of violence, including its erosion of trust and community, which hinder resistance. Finally, the study considers each film’s narrative strategies and collaborative production methods, discussing how they promote women’s agency over victimisation. In doing so, they articulate models of security and solidarity grounded in care and collective agency, rather than reliance on state structures.