No cinema without a big screen.
A fervent defender of dark rooms, Pedro Almodovar is worried to see the health crisis accelerating the change of habits of viewers who are more and more followers of streaming platforms.
"
It had been some time since we lost the battle of cinema in theaters, but since this crisis it is a disaster
", judges the filmmaker in an interview granted Tuesday to the Spanish daily
El Pais
.
“
Personally, I cannot complain because I am extremely lucky.
But cultural life is at a standstill and thousands of families depend on it,
”he worries.
Read also: Spain, Europe's new sick man
Pedro Almodovar considers that the Spanish authorities are neglecting the cultural sector.
"
The government has chosen a party man [Minister of Culture José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, editor's note] who underestimates the seriousness of the crisis,
" laments the Spanish filmmaker, who cites France as an example.
"
I find it lamentable that in Spain, culture is not, as in France, a question of state
", he continues.
Behind this escape that culture allows, there are technicians, actors and screenwriters who will not survive if the screens remain black
Pedro Almodovar, El Pais
According to the director, the health crisis raises a “
great paradox
”.
"
We consume more fiction than ever and everyone confirms the capacity of fiction to accompany us and console us
," he said
.
The filmmaker recalls that "
behind this escape that culture allows, there are technicians, actors and screenwriters who will not survive if the screens remain black
".
To read also: Containment: Pedro Almodovar on the verge of a nervous breakdown
A "
miracle
"
On Wednesday October 21, Pedro Almodovar is releasing a half-hour short film,
La Voix Humaine,
in 70 theaters
.
On display in this experimental film inspired by the work of Jean Cocteau and Francis Poulenc, British actress Tilda Swinton.
For the director of
Tout sur ma mère
, seeing this experimental film on the big screen is a “
miracle
”.
“
At first, I didn't think I would broadcast
La Voix Humaine
that way
,” he says.
But after the screening at the Venice Film Festival, the distributors called us to release it in theaters in Spain and abroad.
It's wonderful that it happened like this, and even more so under such circumstances
”.
