“Fascism infiltrates institutions through popular vote, but we in Zinemaldia will always oppose it”

Tired after a nine-day holiday?

A lot (laughs). But not only me, the team is at the limit. There are not only days when Zinemaldia lasted, but also previous ones. I am very happy because people in the private and public sphere emphasize that the organization works like clockwork. We have a very good and very professional team. I think it is nice to recognize the efforts of those who left their souls at the festival.

Is the growth of Zinemaldia this year related to fatigue?

We realized this because we did it with much less opportunity compared to the previous year.

How do you evaluate the 70th edition?

It’s very positive, but I always value them that way (laughs). On the one hand, we are back to normal, there was a challenge to make an edition like in 2019. Also, first of all, we grew in the industrial segment because we had a very strong meeting with the investors and it went very well; Investors are very satisfied. The third point will be programming. It’s been a very good year for movies, and I think the public and critics alike agree on that.

What audience numbers has the return to normal translated into?

They’re still temporary, but I think we’ll be well beyond 2021 when we hit 90,000 viewers. In this issue, we calculate that we have reached 160,000 with a 10% decrease compared to 2019 figures, which is very good numbers considering that movie theaters have lost a great deal of fear. I was so scared, I thought we would drop to around 25-30%.

What do you think of the awards?

That’s what I always say: it’s the best possible because the jury decides (laughs). It seems to me that, unlike other years, it is a winner, overlapping with the main films of the public and critics. maybe missing Spartamany placed it as a possible Golden Shell, and perhaps little more was expected from the state film awards.

What is striking is that ‘Sparta’ has taken nothing.

That was my only obsession Sparta What pornmelancholy Like other films, it was discussed by the jury. I can assure you they discussed them and Seidl was close to an award, but in the end it didn’t show up and pornmelancholy It won the Best Photo Award.

How did you meet Seidl’s absence to defend ‘Sparta’?

We would love for him to come and we conveyed it to him. I corresponded with Seidl. As I said we wanted him to come, I said we would accept his decision. He finally decided not to come, and I understand the harassment he’s been through.

Discussions about ‘Sparta’ in Donostia benefited the film. There was a discussion about it.

I was afraid they would just talk about the discussion and not about the movie, and no, a lot has been said about the movie, among other things, because Sparta is so powerful. I would like to add that there are currently no complaints. It’s amazing how this works: a newspaper can ask a series of questions about Seidl’s shooting, they don’t condemn him and nothing happens? I don’t understand.

The Toronto festival pulled back both ‘Sparta’ and ‘Pornomelancolía’, the latter being pulled from New York, but these were screened at Donostia and were well received.

I have a lot of respect for the Toronto Festival and I don’t want to talk about other festivals, but it seems very dangerous for a festival to apply the guilt principle. I have no idea if there were any problems during the filming of Seidl, it is not up to me. If there is someone let me know. What is very suspicious is that a newspaper publishes an article about child abuse cases and does not report it.: If you have proof, you are obliged to report it.

Are you afraid that this wave of conservatism will reach Zinemaldia?

Complex times are coming. This festival is characterized as never positioning itself with a particular political option. The man who voted for the People’s Party seems to me as respectable as the one who voted for EH Bildu, who voted for PSOE or PNV. We are a festival from all over the world, yes, we defend human rights. We will not accept fascism, homophobia, racism and machismo, and now there are legal political parties that advocate all this. This is a serious problem. Let’s not forget that Hitler came to power with the votes of the citizens. At the moment, Fascism infiltrates institutions with the popular vote, but I’m very sorry, we will always be against fascism and defend democracy. I will always defend freedom of expression and artistic creation, and I will always defend the law. And if there is a problem in the judiciary, it will need to change and develop, but for now, the frame of reference is law. If there is a crime, it should be the judiciary that will judge it, not the citizens. Our acceptance of the guilt principle seems to me pure and simple fascism.

Finally, the Golden Shell went to Colombian Laura Mora and the ‘Kings of the World’.

I think it’s an imperfect movie and I like it. I have known Laura Mora since she arrived in 2017. kill jesusAwarded in the New Directors category; I have great professional respect and personal love for him. Her personal story is very difficult, her father was murdered and she is a woman who can transform the hatred she felt at the time into a struggle to do her part to change the violent situation Colombia is experiencing.

The players weren’t professional.

She always works with real people, and compared to a particular genre of cinema that exploits porn, Laura Mora has a remarkable honesty and authenticity in her films. To see five children taken from the streets, now living with their mothers and trying to read. Laura told me how hard it was to get them off the street because deep down the street is calling for them. Being on the street with friends, drinking Coke, and living freely is much more attractive to them than living with their mother and in a stricter context where they have to work, because the expectations their family can offer them are almost nonexistent. the street at least offers you adventure. What they’re trying to do now is give these kids expectations. Laura will always be there. I am satisfied with La Concha, which was highly appreciated by the critics and which, in my opinion, is the most acclaimed and best received film in Kursaal.

It must be hard to come back to reality after a week of glory.

Very complicated. We work with a school in Mar de Plata for children with financial problems. We brought a representation the first year and then we decided not to do it because it was very difficult to come back. It’s hard to know what’s best for them, now the happiness I see in these kids, I think it’s worth it that they’re here because they’ve had this experience they’ll never forget.

One of the two features of this year’s Official Episode is that a handful of movies were shown that put the audience in an uncomfortable position.

I like many kinds of cinema, entertainment as well. But there is another type of cinema that interests me a lot, that asks you questions, raises doubts, and provokes discussion. We try all the time, but I think there’s been a lot of things in line this year and they’ve been pretty good quality. Spartaof course; Great Yarmouth; pornmelancholy; spring blessing…

The second issue to highlight in this Official Chapter is that gender is less this year than in previous years.

I totally agree. There was also less humor. We’ve managed to infiltrate some comedies lately, which is a difficult thing for us. I loved this year InnocentWe wanted by Louis Garrel and for competition but it was in Cannes so we put it in Perlak.