Carla Simon, Leaping Into Politics: ‘I’m Not From Jonts, I’m With A Group Of People Who Can Do Good For My Town’

The Catalan filmmaker made headlines this Thursday, and for once, it’s not because she’s given a new award to add to the list of those she’s already amassed (Berlinale, Fayrouz, Goya, and many more): she’s decided to stand for Junts in his town’s elections and, surprise aside, It corresponds to his cinematic discourse. author Alkarras And Summer 1993 Plotting his narrative around resistance and care, he delves into the family roots that fueled his creative world, so engaging in the community and political project is an extension of his artistic spirit. On Friday she will be speaking at the Film Crafts Conference with Alejandro Amenbar, Alex de la Iglesia and Fernando León at Miller under the umbrella of the Gran Canaria Film Festival.

s. The news has just jumped out in the media that he presented Jump into politics in his town lists. Why did you take this step?

R was found. I think the headlines are very misleading. I didn’t get into politics since I continued to make my films. Yes, I support one of my city’s nominations [Les Planes d’Hostoles], which is very small with only 1,700 residents, and there is one that I believe in a lot because of the group of people who attend. So I positioned myself as the first alternative. The project has the idea of ​​a community at the center, to revitalize the nucleus a little more with a cultural center that they want to create, also, to support the education of adolescents with extracurricular activities in a big way and open the sports offer. , they want to restore some of the houses that are now closed so more people can come live because the rent is low and clear the woods because it’s a rural area and it has to be controlled and energy is sustainable… advocate for local politics, as I think you can really change certain things with a very direct impact on people. I’m not from Junts, so I support this run as an independent. The idea is: I’m alternative, independent, and I have a group of people who I think can do very well for the city.

s. Come as a guest on FLas Palmas de Gran Canaria Summer Movie Where he will share his experience with filmmakers Alejandro Amenabar, Alex de la Iglesia and Fernando Leon de Aranoa. What does it mean to be recognized as a manager in an industry you’ve always dreamed of?

R was found. I’m very happy. I’m so excited to share these spaces where you always learn by talking a lot and having other experiences, whether you’ve had more or less movies. It’s always interesting to see how others do it, so the dialogue will be interesting.

s. Do you have special memories of any of his works?

R was found. When I was in my first year of racing, there was an expectation family Where Fernando came to talk about his film in a kind of seminar. That was the first time I’d ever heard a director speak, so it was a very inspiring moment. Also, I’ve seen alive, which I really loved, and his early films had the realism I identified with. Ultimately, especially in cinema, it’s something you have to find your style, how you like to lead teams or direct, what tone are you looking for in your films, what do you want to tell… That’s something I don’t do. I don’t know it accumulates like this, but one finds it as one tries things.

s. He has championed precisely his style from the start, like this new batch of Spanish cinema of which he is a part. What distinguishes this generation from the generation they more or less represent?

R was found. Without a doubt, there is a new wave with different voices, with films that travel a lot to different festivals and I think the fact that there are more women making films cannot be ignored. On top of that, we’re facing a historic offset at the level of the number of women telling stories, right? Now, little by little, they are more. It is also a historical reform on the thematic level, because cinema opens the doors to stories of motherhood, adolescence, childhood, and points of view, with different angles that tell all those things that were not the case until now. Then, it happens in many places where cinema is becoming more democratized: not only the upper classes have money, but there are more film schools and more media, despite the fact that we are a generation accustomed to making films. road. The truth is that even understanding the importance of having a little more budget, working from scratch with little money has defined our style and our way of telling.

s. At a time when movies are being watched on mobile phones twice as fast and theaters are closing, like the one in El Muelle Shopping Center. I was discussing this with a group of teenagers in the Salvados programme. Where do you think the sector is headed?

R was found. I have hope for the rooms because I believe you can’t get the experience with them anywhere else. I don’t know if it is shown in the program, – when I give interviews, I don’t see it [risas]—But, after this girl spoke, there were other guys who said they needed to put down their phones to watch a movie, or they wouldn’t focus. Everything can coexist, what happens is that cinema as a tool that makes us grow, to educate us and make us more sensitive and empathetic, you have to work from school. So, it’s something we must continue to protect.

s. It touches several points for treatment. The first is that the conditions for obtaining recognition in the industry have completely changed. Today’s digital resources allow greater freedom. However, getting into the sector without a proper contact is difficult, right?

R was found. I never knew anyone from the world of cinema, and besides, I came back from London, where I was studying, to get ready Summer 1993 without knowing anyone. Therefore, I think that the topic of communications arose in a very natural way and, in my case, a little bit because of the passion that prompted me to meet the people we met in the same cinemas or in the same projects. For example, I met many people from Barcelona and elsewhere in Spain through a project called Cinema en curso where we teach this art to children. When I arrived, I really wanted to delve into the educational part, so I contacted them, entered the project and met Meritxell Colell, Nelly Reguera, for example, later I met Mar Cole and Celia Rico in script labs. Meaning, if you have an interest, you end up finding those contacts.

s. A few days ago, Almodóvar said he was not aware of seeing any abuse in the industry. In your case, were you aware of any macho dynamics?

R was found. Yes, of course. It’s not necessarily sexual assault, though there are many kinds: When you’re a woman and a young woman and you start making movies, it happens in a more explicit way. It is very easy to feel it. In general, all first-time directors find it difficult to legitimize, but when someone walks into the set and doesn’t understand that I’m the director … it has happened to me and continues to happen to me. There are people asking me to my face, “Are you really Carla Simone?” , “Are you the director? I can’t believe it.” I’ve experienced it many times. This indicates that young women are not imagining who can direct a film. This obviously makes you question certain things at the same time that I don’t think would be questioned otherwise. And since I live with the constant act of questioning, I don’t care if you are a question Because I think it is very important to doubt in order to move forward and reach the best. I’ve learned a little bit of living with it.

s. The community’s emotions and union for resistance are present in his cinematography, both Summer 1993, Alkaras or short Message from my mom to my son. These are issues that serve to alienate the effects of globalization, the exploitation of resources, and emotional exhaustion… Are these films a hymn of hope?

R was found. Yes, I believe very much in man. It’s true that we went through a somewhat dark time, objectively speaking, when independent cinema was barely luminous or had little faith. However, I do advocate cinema that shows beautiful and complex things – you don’t have to be silly and everything doesn’t always work out – but, in any case, it’s nice to say that there is light in life. He’s kind of a little more self-righteous, a little bit more human.

s. How is it going PilgrimageHis new movie project?

R was found. Now I’m writing it. The idea is to shoot next year and I’m really excited because this is the moment when anything can happen. I feel like it’s a project that closes the trilogy on family, which I’ve wanted to say for a long time. It’s a movie about family memory, though everything is still on the air.

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Q: What did cinema give you and what did it give you?

R was found. Cinema and life are very close. What it gave me was the ability to learn to look: maybe a dialogue between two people, an interaction, an image, a gesture so beautiful that it seems very cinematic to me. Thanks to the movies, I’m seeing things I didn’t notice before. I have made everything for the cinema. My stories are based a lot on my experiences, my family, and things that happened to me up close, and I’m the kind of filmmaker who makes films out of a need to express the things they’ve experienced.