安娜·马里斯卡尔，Ana Mariscal is an unusual case in Spanishcinema because she is one of a handful ofwomen who had the chance to direct tenfilms. During the Franco dictatorship, therewas little room for enterprising women,making it difficult for them to access virtuallyall occupational sectors. One glass ceilingthat was particularly hard to break forwomen was the one in the film industry,particulary when it came to directing.A controversial, contradictory, unpredictablecareer. That is Ana Mariscal's. It is hard tosummarize, but for the same reason it isimmensely rich. Her innate nonconformism,linked to an indeniable conservatism, makeher an ambiguous character who cannotclaim either of them.As an actress, Ana Mariscal became one ofthe biggest stars of Spanish cinema in the1940s. Her character in the movie Raza(Sáenz de Heredia, 1941), a patriotic andreligious landmark, shaped her career.Despite all this, Ana Mariscal wasone of the very first women to stand behindthe camera during the Spanish dictatorship.