Maud Raffray est allée à la rencontre de la Directirce et fondatrice du Festival, Mme Pilar Martinez Vasseur. Un double entretien très complet où l’on en apprend plus sur le parcours de cette femme européenne.

Allez également à la rencontre de tous ceux qui font vivre le Festival du Cinéma Espagnol de Nantes : les organisateurs, les artistes (cinéastes, acteurs…) et des intervenants qui vous plongeront au coeur des enjeux du festival et de tout ce qu’il porte.

We begin with two interviews in English. To start off, Owen went down to the inauguration of one of the exhibitions organised by the festival at Cosmopolis: ‘Le Rire Intelligent‘ (The Intelligent Laugh), celebrating the work of Spanish cinematographer Enrique Jardiel Poncela. Owen sat down with Sergio Muro, one of the curators of the exhibition, after the inauguration, to talk a bit about his work as a curator and making the festival multi-disciplinary, which is somewhat reflected in the range of work around cinema undertaken by Poncela. He also spoke about the professional advantages of speaking both English and Spanish and what the future holds for him.

Next, Owen spoke to director Paula Cons, whose documentary “La Batalla Desconocida” (The Hidden Battle) was shown at the festival. She spoke to him about uncovering unknown stories – particularly women’s stories – through film, as she did in “La Batalla Desconocida” and is in the process of doing for her next major work. She also highlighted the way in which cinema – and the arts in general – can help to exhibit local histories and show them to be relevant in a universal context. Her next project, a true story about three women who saved over fifty lives from a shipwreck in Galicia, also shows the power of uniting cultures, as it is a co-production between Galicia, the Basque country, Portugal and Argentina.

After this, Owen spoke to another well-known Spanish actor Eduardo Casanova who is making his mark in the world of directing with his first feature length film “Pieles” (Peaux). Eduardo spoke about the cathartic experience of creating art and the freedom that he feels when directing. With reference to “Pieles”, as well as his short-films (which are available to view for free on his website), he explained the reasons behind certain aspects of his already distinct directorial style: the monochromatic colour scheme, obsession with absurdity and why he leans towards telling stories of women, and indeed all marginalised peoples, in his work.

We move now into the Spanish language interviews, moving north to the Basque country and the film adaptation of a Basque folk tale “Errementari: el herrero y el diablo” (Errementari: the blacksmith and the devil). Owen spoke to actor Eneko Sagardoy about his participation in this film, as well as the winner of 10 prizes at the Goya Awards 2018 “Handia”, which were both part of the festival’s “fenêtre basque”. Eneko spoke about why he prefers acting in Basque, despite the fact that “el cine ya tiene el lenguaje propio” (cinema has its own language). He talked in depth about his preparation for his role as a devil in “Errementari” and how it was both rewarding and challenging in very different ways to his previous work. He also announced his return to theatre with his next project: “Fedra” at the International Festival of Classical Theatre in Mérida.

Owen’s interviews finish with perhaps the most prestigious guest at the festival: prolific film-maker and winner of 7 Goya Awards Isabel Coixet. Isabel speaks five languages – Spanish, Catalan, French, English and Italian – and kindly agreed to do the interview in French.

The festival honoured Isabel Coixet with an homage to her films at this year’s festival, and she expressed her gratitude for this, while saying she also likes to keep some distance from such acclaim – she is still a person like all of us. Next, Owen spoke to her about her passion for film-making which fuels her enormous work ethic – she works as writer, director and camera operator for nearly all her films – as well as how she considers her style: “faire portrait de l’intimité des gens” (portraying people’s intimacy). She also expressed the importance of openness in the work she does:

« Si on essaye de vraiment connecter avec les gens avec une mentalité et un esprit ouvert et sans préjugés, je trouve que ça vous donne une espace et une manière de connecter avec les gens et de voir les ressources de la nature humaine. Pour moi, c’est une partie de mon métier et de ma carrière aussi. »

“If you try to truly connect to people with an open mind, an open spirit and without prejudices, I find that this gives a space for true connection let’s you really see the resources of human nature. The way I see it, it’s a part of this field – and of this career. “