What does it mean to you to receive this Lucentum Award for an entire career?
It is a real honor for me to be here, in the city of Alicante, within the framework of the Alicante Festival. Honestly, getting a lifetime achievement award on the one hand feels weird to me because looking back, I didn’t have that many movies. But on the other hand, I’ve been doing this for over 25 years, so I happily accept it.
A few weeks ago, he met with Ximo Puig, where, among other things, the state of the City of Light was being evaluated. What is your opinion about these studies?
The work in the City of Light is great. Anyone who visits them and knows what this movie-making business is, knows that an incredible piece of design is put together for all productions here. Unfortunately they were closed for a long time but luckily they have reopened.
Do you plan to use them in your agenda?
I’ve always had a penchant for doing things here. I am very connected to this land because my family has lived here in Santa Pola for over 20 years. It would be great for me to be able to come here and study, but not just here, but my next project, which will actually be a feature film, is to find more and more reasons to move to the Valencian Community.
When it will be? Is there an approximate deadline?
Let’s see if I can shoot in a year.
will be disclosed Thesis, his first work. What would you do differently in the movie today?
Sometimes, when you look back, it is inevitable to see that there are things you would change, movies that you watched with more or less discomfort. There was a show a few days ago. Open your eyes It’s in Cineteca de Madrid and it’s one of the films I think about the most. But sometimes retouching doesn’t mean making an enhanced version of the film. In the case of ThesisIt’s a movie that gives me a lot of pleasure and I think the years have been good. It is a film that maintains its tension despite the changes in technology. in the world Thesis The internet didn’t exist yet, so if I had to go back to that movie, I would put it in terms of networks, frankly.
Do you think you are a director committed to certain genres?
I don’t feel tied to any gender. There are genres that I like more as an audience, and I think those are the genres that I feel the most as a director. I’d love to be a director of one genre like Hitchcock, but the thing is, when you absorb the reality that surrounds you, stories come out that require another genre. In principle, I do not turn it off. It would be hard for me to picture myself in a romantic comedy because I don’t believe much in the mystification of love, but I live in any genre other than that.
How do you see the future of Spanish cinema in the evolution it has shown in recent years?
The future he has is largely dependent on digital platforms. The arrival of the platforms created little contradiction, the pandemic accelerated the growth process and significantly affected audience participation in the cinemas that the film industry basically feeds on. Right now, there’s the paradox that almost all movies have to go through a platform in terms of funding or co-financing.
What does this mean?
It assumes that there are a large number of people working in this industry. We have a country and I say this because I believe it is very talented. We have many professionals who are heavily involved in the important role of women in the cinematographic world. Something that can be seen in the world of photography, directing photography is something very few women have.
Do you think the Spanish industry is underrepresented in both different sexual orientations and gender identities?
It is an ongoing process through which the entire society progresses. Sometimes interests clash, as we have seen a bit in the struggle between feminism and the trans movement. I firmly believe that there is a significant effort to achieve greater visibility in the industry. In my case, because I’m gay, I have little reflection of the gay world in my films, so I have to be honest with myself, just as I don’t feel compelled to make an autobiographical film. What caught my attention in my environment wasn’t necessarily about my sexual orientation, and what I did was being honest with myself as I started to be quite visible in the media. I said it in front of everyone because I had nothing to hide.
“Looks like we’re on the road to autocracy”
The world of cinema has always been a reflection of the social and political world. She received this Lucentum Award at a ceremony honoring Karra Elejalde and Nathalie Poza, with whom she filmed. during the war. Do you think there is an approach to that ideology reflected in the film with the national explosion of Vox?
I’ve had some premonitions since I made Ágora. Ágora, a movie that talks about cycles, turns in history, how, sometimes surprisingly, history repeats itself with nuances, and an angry crowd storming the library, reminded me of many images from a few years ago. Years after the attack on the Capitol. This had a slightly more concrete coda with the movie. As long as the war goes on, because when I read about Unamuno’s experience in his last days, when I argued with my neighbors, I translated it into my own reality as a citizen. There was a man voting for Vox, a man for PP, a man for Podemos… But what’s interesting to me is that with the inequality of criteria that exist, that gang gets together every morning and has a seamless discussion. If this had happened a few years ago, these people would have been shooting themselves. This made me value democracy and think about making a movie about it. As long as the war continues.
Do you think history repeats itself in Spain?
Yes, I think so, but not necessarily in Spain. You see this in the Trump era in America. It seems to me that the attack on the Capitol is one of the most serious events that can occur historically in this century. And when I see the former US president in his gestures, I think of fascist movements. Reminds me a lot of Benito Mussolini. This transformation, which takes place with nuances due to the evolution of everything, is actually happening in our world. First of all, as a result of taking the USA as a reference, we see that many people have lost their faith in democracy. And we know what the alternative to democracy is, autocracy and it seems we are on the way to it.