Part Three Interview with Inés Paris - Director and scriptwriter (Link back to Part One of Interview) Is there a special characteristic that is necessary in order to direct movies? The characteristic that I talk about is blind faith within one’s self. I believe that it takes a lot of patience, an infinite amount of patience since things are very difficult and it is necessary to compromise continuously; you have to be convincing. You need to maintain on the one hand a high degree of authority to be able to manage a wide team of people, and at the same time it is necessary to have an enormous amount of dialogue. This game between dialogue and authority, which is surely the most complicated thing, I believe it is what defines a director. But the truth is that there are directors of all kinds. What is going on with Spanish cinema that, after a period of upturn, it seems to have come to a sudden halt? I don’t share that point of view, you see. This year there are several great movies from new directors, as "Dark blue almost black", from a boy who has done short films and now he has started directing. Last year there was a documentary "The sky turns", by a woman, a documentary well received everywhere. And, anyway, I believe that there are many more movies right now on the waiting-list, very interesting movies. I don’t really feel that way, you know? I believe that what we have to try is, from the start, to speak well of our movies. We have the problem where movies are shown and nobody finds out that they exist. And this is the tragedy. The people who go to the movies, and who go to see Spanish movies, like it. The problem is that normally we do not go, and I am the first one to admit that. Or that at the time of looking at a publicity billboard we say: "What is this? How boring!”; because I do not know what it will be about. And on the other hand I know very well that Superman comes now, Superman 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 … And I know it because there is free publicity in all the newspapers, on all the television channels and in all our heads. I believe we have to open ourselves to the fact that Spanish movies in Spain are not lacking creators at all. What it lacks is marketing, promotion, means, etc. Otherwise, we would be an absolutely top movie country. Americans come here to look for ideas and creators. What can you tell us about your last project, "Miguel and William"? I am really happy about Miguel and William. I believe that it is the best movie I have made so far. It is the first time that I have directed on my own, which also has been an enormous pleasure. It has been great to work with Daniela all these years, but I also wanted to do my own things. And also, I have been lucky that the producers believed in a story that was going to be very expensive, because it takes place in the XVIth century. It is an epoch movie with horses, with a very special wardrobe, a movie that happens in castles, with candle lights and torches and all that. And the producers have believed in it, and I was able to come up with a comedy where the XVIth century can be seen in a much more exciting, entertaining and curious way. And then, even being a comedy, it is a movie that speaks about very important things, in particular about the relationship between life and creation. It is based on an historical fact, which is that William Shakespeare disappeared from London for several years. When he left, he was a young creative writer of comedies, and when he returned he wrote his great tragedies. In the same time period, Miguel de Cervantes is in Lepanto; he has lost a hand, and he is an unsuccessful writer who works as a tax collector. What I have imagined is a meeting between Shakespeare and Cervantes. Shakespeare, nobody knew where he was during these years, came to Spain following a woman. He met Miguel de Cervantes and a creative contagion took place between them. And between these two creators exists is a woman who is smarter than both of them, and who serves them not only as an inspiration, but she promptly gives them a real kick in the ass so that the two writers move on and come up with their masterpieces. And as it always happens, she is a completely fictional character because women always seem to disappear from history and from the history of the literature. We will never know if a human being of this type existed, but it is very probable. **Translated by Mariela |
| Photo from Warner Bros. Spain |
| _________________________________________________ For original article and video of interview (in Spanish) visit Revista Uno Universidad de Oviedo - 27 July 2006 _________________________________________________ |
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