ZARE Meets Raw Bodies Creator, Nina Martins.

By Ella Monnerat

Nina Martins is a 24-year-old photographer and filmmaker from Brazil. In 2020, she released the independent short film titled Raw Bodies, which discusses the complex relationship that many women and non-binary people have with their bodies. In the film, four women tell the stories of their bodies – what they like, what they dislike, how they are seen – and nude images of the speakers are shown. Nina’s perspective is both personal and universal, and the film provides a great space for viewers to think about their own relationships with their image. ZARE asked her about the process behind making the film – which is available in English, Portuguese, and French – and about how body image standards differ between Brazil and Europe.  

Picture by Nina Martins

Can you tell me about the creative process behind Raw Bodies?  

It may sound cliché, but Raw Bodies was born in front of a mirror. It was January 2015, I was 19 and taking a French course in Switzerland. I was admiring my hair and that moment of admiration was interrupted by the thought “oh, but my breasts could be more beautiful”. I got annoyed at the fact that I interrupted my own admiration to criticise myself and came to the realisation that all women also went through that process. We all separate the parts of ourselves that we like or dislike because of unattainable standards of beauty. 

At what point did you decide to make the Raw Bodies short film, and how was that process?  

It was in 2016, during university. I developed Raw Bodies with my friends, Pat and Fernanda, and I demanded that the entire team be made up of women. In the end, only the lighting technician and person responsible for the soundtrack were men. It was a delight to film, no stress. During the whole process, the team was very present and they all had a lot of affection for the project, which helped to make everything look beautiful. The process was very collaborative, which I definitely needed since it was my first experience as a director. This collective strength was what made it all possible.  

How did you decide on the cast?  

There were 12 participants. Four who gave testimonies about their relationships with body image, and eight showed their bodies in the film. All these people had dealt with situations that I wanted to address in the film, as they were fundamental in a discussion about beauty standards, social pressure, and female socialisation. A trans man, an elderly woman, a fat woman, a black woman. But, of course, they are all so much more than just that. We were supposed to have two more people in the film, one visually-impaired and one who had battled with severe anorexia, but they were unable to go ahead. The intention was to portray issues that are simultaneously very private and very shared, to bring universality within specificity. Many of the interviews really impacted me, especially those that brought up issues I was less familiar with, such as the ones that discussed having black skin, fat, and other things I have never experienced or will never experience. 

After making the short film, you moved to Paris for a masters degree. Based on your time abroad, how do you think women from different cultures see their bodies differently?  

I don't know if I can talk a lot about women from other cultures, but I can talk about what I perceived in relation to France and Brazil. I feel that the issue of the body is much less taboo in Europe. There is more freedom. People judge less, being topless is allowed, people don’t care much about body hair. On the other hand, women in France are very thin. I was one of the least thin in my university, which is insane to me. And my Brazilian body, which has European, indigenous and black blood, has a different colour, curves, dark hair, curls. I'm Latin, clearly I'm not from France. My body is different, the accent, the way of walking, of dancing, and this creates two reactions. On the one hand, I am considered someone very beautiful. On the other hand, this brings an “exotic” hyper-sexualisation of the Brazilian woman, which made me wonder several times “would this guy do that to a French woman? Would you say that to a French woman? Do you want to have sex with me just because I'm Brazilian?” Anyway, it is a paradox but, in general, I think there is more individual freedom from the body in France. I was born and raised in Rio, a beach city, where the search for the perfect, symmetrical, tanned body is very strong. In France, I feel that this relationship is more peaceful.  

If you’d like to watch Raw Bodies, you can do so here.