A Zapotec teenager won first prize at the World Innovative Science Fair in Indonesia with a short film about chauvinism.

Azul Sicarú Morales Cruz, 14, from Juchitán, Oaxaca, presented the film Micro-chauvinism, A Reality in Front of Our Eyes with a virtual presentation on July 13 in the social science category. She won the opportunity to participate after winning the Mexican International Innovation, Science and Technology Fair.

The 3-minute 27-second short film was written, directed and edited by Morales over a month. She had the help of her two maternal grandparents, who appear as actors.

The young director said she gained an interest in digital content from the age of 11. In her spare time she took online courses on social media, video editing, digital marketing and digital production, and worked alongside her father on his news website covering the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

Morales explained how she developed the project, and the difficulties she faced. “I studied micro-chauvinism. I learned directing strategies online, how to make a short film and other techniques … The most difficult thing was recording my grandparents, because they are not actors,” she said.

She explained it was difficult to have her grandparents portray the subtle way in which men can exercise psychological control over women, to the point that they destroy their self-esteem.

The young director hopes that her short film will be shared on digital media to raise awareness among young people about the different forms that micro-chauvinism takes.

With reports from El Universal