The original movie poster Hail Marythe latest film directed by Mar Coll, showed the actress Laura Weissmahr face down, with one breast exposed and a trickle of milk coming out of it. However, the Catalan director has had to adapt this image to comply with the regulations of some platforms and companies. For example, in the stations and trains managed by the public company Adif and in Google search results, an alternative version has been chosen in which the actress appears with a t-shirt covering her chest.
“On city outdoor billboards, the chest is exposed,” says Núria Costa, from the film’s press team. “But on Instagram, Google and at the stations we have chosen to cover it up. With Adif, if not, it couldn’t be done,” explains Costa, who also points out the “algorithm penalty” on social networks if the image is explicit. Also in search engines: a Google search shows that the original image is hidden with a warning message and a blur. “This image may include explicit content,” reads the digital sign. On Instagram, a company belonging to Meta and which has a long history of controversies over censorship and concealment, the poster appears pixelated.
Similar posters, such as that of Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film, in which a visual game was made with an eye and a nipple, also suffered similar censorship on social networks. Costa recalls that, although the algorithm of the new digital media has accentuated suspicion with controversial images, the phenomenon is not new: “More than 15 years ago, they censored the poster for the film The rules of the gamein which several pairs of stuffed animals were seen in sexual poses. In that case we chose to put a sign over it: ‘censored,’ he says.
Considered one of the most prestigious filmmakers of her generation, Mar Coll (Barcelona, 43 years old) made her feature film debut with Three days with familyfrom 2009, for which he won the Goya award for best new director. His second film was We all want the best for herfrom 2013. She is also the creator of the television series Kill the father2018.