“Cinema has given me everything,” said an excited Pedro Almodovar upon receiving this Thursday the Donostia Award who gave him the San Sebastian Festivalfor a career that has led him to be the most internationally recognized Spanish filmmaker.
“For me, cinema is a blessing or a curse, I don’t imagine any other type of life than writing and directing without pause,” said the 75-year-old director from La Mancha, who said he had felt “so many emotions” since his arrival in the city. Basque, in northern Spain, that “it is almost impossible to really enjoy it without breaking down.”
“I believe that this job is the best in the world and that it was worth it for me to dedicate myself to it without limitations,” said Almodóvar, who thanked the president of the Government, the socialist. Pedro Sanchezhis presence at the ceremony “supporting culture.”
“Cinema has given me everything, much more than I could imagine,” said Almodóvar, who went on to name all the “enormously talented” performers who have worked with him, such as Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Cecilia Roth y Rossy de Palma.
Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar receives the Donostia Award at San Sebastian Film Festival, in San Sebastian, Spain, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Vincent West TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
a vocation
The award was presented to her by the British actress Tilda Swintonwho recognized Almodóvar’s “unparalleled contribution to world culture.” The Donostia was one of the few awards that Almodóvar was missing, who has two Oscars, five Goya awards, five Baftas, four Césars and the Spanish National Cinematography Award, among many others.
At the beginning of the month he won the Golden Lion of Venice with his first feature film in English The next room (“The Room Next Door”), starring Tilda Swinton y Julianne Moore. Before collecting the trophy, Almodóvar took stock of his career in a press conference.
“I never thought about my talent. What I thought was that I have a vocation (…) and if I don’t manage to make films, I will be the most unfortunate person in the universe,” said the director, who recalled having attended the San Sebastián Festival for the first time 44 years ago, with his first film Pepi, Luci, Bom and other girls of the bunch. “I have had a career of 23 films, some better than others, and all of them are mine and belong to me (…) and that is a privilege,” said Almodóvar.
Leigh’s reunion with Jean-Baptiste
In the race for the Golden Shell, the festival’s highest award, he entered this Thursday Hard Truthsfrom the British director Mike Leighwho works with the actress again Marianne Jean-Baptiste after Secrets and lieswinner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1996.
Leigh, known for portraying the hardships of ordinary life for the British working classes, focuses on Pansy (Jean-Baptiste), a woman who lives angry and fighting with her dentist, her doctor or a furniture saleswoman, but without being able to communicate with her family.
Pansy is “a symbol of the difficult times we are living in. In fact, if I’m honest, I think that Pansy’s condition (…), Pansy’s problems, are universal,” Leigh explained at a press conference. “She needs help, that’s totally true, what we don’t do in the film is give those answers,” said British filmmaker Leigh, who stated that his film “is not a documentary about mental health.”
For Jean-Baptiste, who was nominated for an Oscar for “Secrets and Lies,” working with Leigh again “was a gift.” Hard Truths competes with fifteen other films for the top prize at San Sebastián, including The sparklesfrom the Spanish Pilar Palomero; Conclavefrom German Edward Berger; On Fallingfrom the Portuguese Laura Carreira y The last breathfrom Greek-French Costa-Gavras.
In the Horizontes section, which awards the award for the best Latin American film, they will be screened this Thursday Maybe what they say about us is true“, from the Chileans Camilo Becerra y Sofia Paloma Gomezy The skin in springfrom the Colombian Yennifer Uribe Alzate. The festival closes on Saturday with the awards ceremony.
Fuente: AFP
