Magdalena Tsanis
Madrid (EFE).- Carlos Saura (Huesca, 1932) reflects on the origin of the artistic drive in the documentary “Las paredes hablan”, which opens this weekend in cinemas. “The first movies I saw were those of Walt Disney,” the most daring, hyperactive and committed Spanish filmmaker to his job told Efe.
The premiere of “Las paredes hablan” arrives a week before collecting the Goya de Honor 2023 in Seville, if his state of health allows it, delicate since the fall suffered last September and which prevented him from attending the San Sebastian Festival in person to present his latest work.
The film proposes a journey to the origins of art that connects prehistoric cave paintings with the most recent urban art, and in which experts such as Pedro Saura and Juan Luis Arsuaga and artists such as Miquel Barceló and urban creators Suso33, Zeta or Musa71, among others.
The director responded to EFE through a written questionnaire.
QUESTION.- The documentary “The walls speak” establishes a link between prehistoric art and contemporary urban art. How did this idea come about?
ANSWER.- It is a project that José Morillas, the scriptwriter of the documentary, brought me. I have always been fascinated by art and man and his evolution. When I was little I was punished for being a Darwinian in the convent school, the teacher said to me one day “let’s see, Saura, do you really believe that man comes from monkeys?” And I told her “and from much further” and she took me out of class.
Since the project came to me, it seemed beautiful to me, at first it was more focused on the origins of art and little by little we have evolved it to the final result, with which we are very happy. It has not been a matter of age, it has been a matter of chance and necessity, the right project has arrived at the right time.
Q.- You also reflect on the origin of the artistic drive. What conclusions have you drawn?
A.- That art and the creation of art are part of the essence of the human being, no matter how many years pass, no matter how much the times or fashions change.
Q.- Do you remember when and why you decided you wanted to dedicate yourself to cinema?
A.- I always liked photography and in my house, as far as possible, the arts were encouraged because my mother was a pianist, although she never wanted any of the brothers to dedicate ourselves to that because she said it was very hard .
Little by little I developed as a photographer, I went to the Granada festival as an official photographer and there I began to move in the world, but I would never have imagined directing more than 50 films, having directed opera, theater, having done photo exhibitions, having published novels… you know “in old age, smallpox.”
Q.- What was the first film you saw in a cinema?
A.- The first time I went to the cinema was in Barcelona when we went there fleeing from the war. The first movies I saw were Walt Disney’s. The first full-length movie I ever saw was “Snow White” and the ones with Pluto and Mickey Mouse.
Later, when we went to Huesca, French silent mystery movies were shown at school; For a child like me, in that Spain so grey, so destroyed, it was a fascinating experience that captivated us all, and I have been lucky enough to be able to dedicate myself to it.
Q.- In recent years you have dedicated yourself more to investigating the different creative facets, from the musical to the pictorial, than to fiction. He got tired of fiction?
A.- Not at all, but now it’s much more difficult to make movies, I mean the ones I want to make. Now commercial cinema, platform and television cinema prevail, and the cinema that interests me costs a lot to finance, but I have several fiction projects that I hope to be able to do this year.
Q.- Miquel Barceló says in the documentary, with a certain irony, that his is a race backwards, when talking about his artistic evolution. Do you share that feeling?
R.- Totally agree, what happens is that we gain experience.
Q.- Are you worried about transcending, leaving a legacy? Think about it?
A.- I have not made films to please anyone or to receive recognition, I have done it because I liked it, because through it I can tell the stories that occur to me, because I can play with music… but of course, It is always a compliment that the work that one does is seen by people, that it makes them think and that they appreciate it.
Regarding the legacy, it’s something I haven’t thought about because it doesn’t worry me, I have hundreds of drawings, hundreds of fotosaurs, negatives of my photographs… I don’t even fit in my studio anymore, but it doesn’t worry me because I do it because I have fun, when I die that they do what they consider. What I feel most proud of is my seven children, six boys and one girl.
Q.- With all the awards you have received, are you excited about the Goya de Honor? what does it mean to you?
A.- A great joy that all my colleagues have decided to give it to me. I am very grateful to the Academy and especially to Fernando Méndez-Leite, a great friend and colleague for this recognition, although, as I always say, the awards are nothing more than an incentive to continue working, you don’t have to believe them too much.
Q.- How is your autobiography? When will you see the light?
R-. We are working on it, Elsa Fernández Santos is editing it. It’s called “You Live From Images” and I hope it will see the light soon because it’s something I’ve been working on for many years.