“Belén,” a thriller about abortion rights in Argentina, that is “exposing without being offensive”

In 2014, a young woman went to hospital in Argentina due to a miscarriage. There, she was arrested by the police, who falsely accused her of having a secret abortion. He was then placed in preventive detention for more than two years, then imprisoned for murder.

Lawyer Soledad Deza handled the case and allowed Belén – a pseudonym aimed at preserving the young woman’s anonymity – to be released in 2017. Meanwhile the movement Nothing is missing (“No less”) protests against violence against women, including the murder of women, gained momentum in Latin America, strong media coverage of these legal cases contributed to massive mass mobilization in Argentina and the legalization of abortion in the country, in late 2020.

The video was published by BFMTV on February 20, 2020, during a massive feminist mobilization in Argentina for the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion), which occurred several months later, on December 30, 2020, in its legalization.

The story of this important moment in Argentina is what Dolores Fonzi wanted to tell for her second film. Both screenwriters, directors and producers Belénwhich has been seen since November 14 on Prime Video, she also plays lawyer Soledad Deza. Supported by an exemplary ensemble cast, especially the beguiling Camila Pláate in the role of Belén, Dolores Fonzi delivers a powerful, frenzied film that keeps the viewer in suspense without ever losing sight of the seriousness of its subject.

Beyond specific cases, “a film about the women’s movement”

Dolores Fonzi, a filmmaker who also claims to be an activist, has always been committed to defending women’s rights. In 2015, during the movement there were demonstrations Nothing is missing detained in Argentina, she helped mobilize 500 actresses to campaign for the legalization of abortion. A year later, during an awards ceremony to which he was invited, he also took advantage of his visibility to hold up a sign “Freedom for Belén”.

“I always try to get involved in things that I think are importantsaid the filmmaker from Argentina. When I was pregnant with my second child, I made a video to promote pro-abortion laws. When I heard stories about young women who were wrongly imprisoned and were invited to this event, I knew what I had to do.” Without realizing it, a decade later, his film with the story of Belén will be selected to represent Argentina at the 2026 Oscars.

Camila Pláate (left) plays Belén, defended by lawyer Soledad Deza, played by Dolores Fonzi (right), also one of the film’s writers and directors. | MGM Amazon Studios

This court case was an important moment in the fight for the legalization of abortion in Argentina and in general, women’s rights in Latin America. “Previously, each country had a different colored scarf to symbolize the feminist strugglesearch for directors Belén. In Colombia it is orange, in Argentina it is green… In 2018, I was in Mexico to receive another award and we organized a big feminist meeting, where we agreed that the color would be green, for all of Latin America. Belén is a huge unifying movement, which advances all feminist goals.”

This film, which adopts legal thriller codes, adopts a lawyer’s point of view. Not to glorify his role, but because the filmmakers wanted to respect the anonymity of the real inmates, whom he knew personally. “He didn’t want the film to depict him in such a way that he could be identified.Dolores Fonzi explained. There are many details that might be interesting in this film, but cannot be revealed. And if the story was told from his perspective, it would be a prison film. That’s not what I wanted to show. I would rather make a film about the women’s movement.”

A militant and entertaining film

The greatest achievement of Belen is to successfully wrap the weight of its subject in perfectly mastered Hollywood conventions. Thus, Dolores Fonzi puts all the tools of entertainment – effective rhythm, a dose of humor and suspense – at the service of a deeply political story. “Taking these themes too seriously is boringhe exclaimed. And the audience would say, “Oh my gosh, he’s trying to educate me, or convince me.” I don’t want that at all.”

Dolores Fonzi, as lawyer Soledad Deza, in Belenwhich he directed and has been seen on Prime Video since Friday November 14th. | MGM Amazon Studios

With a mischievous tone, the Argentinian filmmaker welcomes the slyly entertaining nature of his film and insists that it aims to“exposing, without attacking”. “I definitely don’t want to come out and say, ‘You guys are really stupid,’ even though I think so.he teased. The idea is to use the right tools to change people without them knowing. Men can say it when they’re trying to convince, but not us. We act in the shadows.” Today, Dolores Fonzi says she is deeply moved by the positive reception to the feature film, especially among young male audiences: “It’s crazy to see teenagers making videos on TikTok telling people to watch my films.”

Even for Dolores Fonzi, this project had a beneficial impact: “I am very grateful to this film for reminding me of who I was then and being able to show that to my daughter.” Beyond Belén’s story, the filmmakers hope to show this “If we win this battle once, we can be successful again.”. Upset by the results of the October 26 2025 legislative election which was won by President Javier Milei’s right-wing party, he recalled that “Women’s rights are not safe anywhere”.

In Argentina, abortion remains a controversial topic, five years after abortion was legalized. The filmmaker shows us a photo sent by the actress, Camila Pláate, on the same day. In front of the maternity ward, a woman sat with a sign “Let us pray against abortion”. “I don’t think the government can legalize abortion againsaid the filmmaker. But if that happens, we are ready.