“Culture is not an expense, but an investment”

The second edition of MASS had already ended when Juan Antonio Vigar, artistic director of the Malaga Festival, and José Luis Rebordinos, artistic director of the huge San Sebastián, were able to see the project from the perspective. The cycle, already carried out in Buenos Aires and Uruguay, with the production of OrcaFilms, acted not only as an example of six recent Spanish films, but as a deeper cultural action: two central festivals of the European scene and the world, working together to create dissemination, context and dialogue in South America. Far from the historical logic of competition between festivals, MASS has finally established itself as an experience of collaboration, synthesis and strategic thinking about the present of cinema and its industry. When it comes to actors, directors, films: how is such a selection made? First, Rebordinos answers: “In principle, everyone decided on their three films, but then we discussed them. That is, it is not that each festival goes its own way and that’s it, but that there is a subsequent dialogue is a prior trust and harmony that “makes things much easier.” And Vigar adds: “In our case, we also tried to make sure that they were films that had a long history, that appealed to the audience and that were also varied.” This means that they didn’t all react to the same mold. That there was a comedy, a political thriller, a more historical film. The whole thing was, in a way, a reflection of what Spanish cinema is today. And that, combined with the three films from San Sebastián, which were also very different from each other, seemed to give us a fairly representative map. When it comes to programming, of course we started from our list of awards. We looked at the films that were rated positively by the jury, the press and the audience. We thought it was important to highlight something: the three films we selected were directed by women. Last year we had 66% of films directed by women in the official competition and we liked that this was reflected in this selection too. We then selected three films that complemented each other very well. On the one hand, “The Good Letter”, the adaptation of an extremely successful novel that was extremely well received by critics.”

—What do you think your festivals, beyond MASS, represent today in the audiovisual panorama in Spain and in the world?

REBORDINOS: San Sebastián is one of the most important festivals in the FIAF circuit, but we have always understood that we are in a conglomerate of festivals where it is very difficult to compete for certain world premieres. So we try not to obsess over it. We are creating an official section as best we can because we know that we will have important films, but that many of the big films, in terms of advertising, will be in Venice or Cannes. At the same time, we are developing categories that enable us to show the best of the year. Perlas is a clear example: there are many of the great films that have been shown at other festivals. Zabaltegi, where we sometimes have a world premiere, but above all more radical proposals, closer to festivals like Bafici or Cinema du Réel. And then Horizontes Latinos, which is key. Anyone who comes to San Sebastián can get an overview of the cinema of the year like no other festival, because there are new films and also the best of what has already been shown elsewhere. It is a festival designed as a major film festival: for the audience, for the press and for the industry. Out of humility, the knowledge that we are a small city and that that inevitably makes us smaller than other festivals, but also more human.

VIGAR: Málaga works according to a very clear criterion: utility. Benefit for the territory in which it is used, for Spanish cinema and Latin American cinema. We have managed to be a qualified window for Latin American cinema that reaches Málaga and from there is projected to Spain and Europe. This is supported by a very strong, very dynamic industry sector where we bring together a very large number of agents, festivals and buyers who come to see the films we show and then bring them to their countries. In this sense, Málaga plays an interesting role in promoting Latin American cinema in Europe.

—At this point, collaboration between both festivals seems crucial.

VIGAR: Absolutely. For a long time it was believed that festivals had to compete with each other, and we believe that it is much more efficient for them to complement each other. The Spanish government and the Film Institute were clear that Spanish cinema could reach the commercial billboards more harmoniously with two strong festivals six months apart. Previously, Spanish cinema practically only had one window a year. Now he has two. This allows for much smarter circuits: a film can run through Malaga, premiere at a time with less competition, then recover in Made in Spain in San Sebastián, and go on another tour to achieve awards like the Goya. Today, if you look at the eight or ten most important Spanish films of the year, usually four or five went through Malaga and the same number went through San Sebastián. Before that was unthinkable.

REBORDINOS: It is absurd to think that only one of the two festivals can encompass all of the important Spanish cinema. Applying consistent date and window logic is better for everyone. For festivals, but especially for films.

—Finally: After so many years in this job, what have you discovered about cinema that can only be learned from within?

REBORDINOS: I discovered something I already knew: that cinema is a necessity. I’m not into organizing a festival because I like organizing festivals, but because I like cinema. Even at a young age. I literally grew up in Cinema Paradiso, with a cinema next to my house. I watched double shows in short films, I burned my eyelashes while watching films. You also discover the best and worst in people. And lately I’ve been getting a little worried because I’m seeing a loss of perspective among some talented young directors who make good films but think they’ve already made a masterpiece. And sometimes the media supports this idea. There were many good films in Spanish cinema this year, but very few masterpieces. And when everyone thinks they have arrived, many stay on the streets. And another thing I’ve already confirmed from the data is that culture can be profitable if it’s managed well. Profitable for an area and a sector. It is not an expense but an investment.

VIGAR: And I want to add something else: When you’re dealing with people who are really at the top – actors, actresses, directors with great careers – there are usually reasons why they are there. Work, intelligence, humility. Sometimes the opposite happens with those who are just starting out and believe that the world is theirs. This is also part of what you learn in this job.