Barcelona native born in 1986, Carla Simón She is known as the director of such celebrated films as Summer 1993, Alcarrás o Pilgrimagewhich have earned him awards such as the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, the Goya Award for Best New Director, and the National Film Award. In the past Cannes film festival he presented Flamenco, a short film starring the flamenco dancer Rocío Molina together with Niño de Elche, Dolores Agujeta, Carmela Greco y Angeles Toledanowhich precedes a larger project. She wanted to discuss all of this with ExpoFlamenco.
“It all started with a suggestion from Oscar Romagosa“The producer,” he recalls. “Basically, he told me there was an ICEX competition, a very open call for entries, and asked if I’d like to submit something. There were three categories: fashion, design, and music. It seemed to make sense to choose music because I’m currently preparing a musical.” flamenco for a feature film. It was also a way to explore ideas. So I wrote a short film that was about that tension that exists in the flamenco between tradition and change, a topic that fascinates me".
Once the project was awarded, the challenge was coordinating everyone's schedules. “Beyond the time we had—we were awarded it in January and submitted it in May, so it wasn't that short—the difficult part was coordinating Rocío Molina, who was in the middle of her tour, Niño de Elche, who always has a thousand projects going on at once, and the rest of the team. In the end, we finished filming just two weeks before the deadline, so we had to do a very rushed post-production. But everything worked out.”
On the other hand, the director confesses to being “very new” to flamenco. “I have the feeling that I’m discovering everything for the first time, also because I’m preparing the film. It’s true that my father used to play flamenco for us.” flamenco at home. He's a musician, he came more from a jazz background, but we listened to a lot of music and also flamencoThen I discovered Lole and Manuel through a letter from my mother. My mother died when I was very young, and I learned many things about her thanks to her letters. For me, it was a huge discovery to find Lole and Manuel that way. It's a beautiful inheritance. From there, I started to follow the thread, although at the time it was just a curiosity. Later I began to to reflect on how cinema and flamenco They have talked over time".
“Rocío Molina has something very wild and very genuine about her. I don’t quite know how to explain it. She has a huge personality and doesn’t fit the more conventional profile of a flamenco dancer, and I love that. She also has a very strong magnetism in front of the camera. For me, she represented exactly what we were looking for, because the film deals with that tension between the contemporary and the pure, in quotes.”
“There is something of the flamenco "What interests me most is the way he expresses emotion," adds Simón. “I feel it pierces you deeply; at least, it moves me a great deal. And since cinema also deals with emotions, I think that's why the flamenco So much has been filmed. Practically since it was born. I felt it was nice to revive that cinematic tradition linked to flamenco that has existed in Spain. At first, it was often filmed from an outsider's perspective, but there was a time when it almost constituted a film genre. flamencoalso closely linked to the dictatorship. Then came people like Carlos Saura and transformed that relationship into something different and much more modern. I think that relationship between cinema and flamenco It still has a lot of story ahead of it. It's often approached from a documentary perspective, but I think there's also a lot of room for fiction. And that's partly why we're working on the film now.”
Question. You'll have to tell me something about the film later, when we finish shooting. But first, I wanted to ask you about the choice of Rocío Molina. Beyond the fact that she's a top performer, what attracted you to her as a director? I imagine it wasn't just her dancing, but also her presence, what she could bring to the screen.
Regarding the choice of Rocío Molina for the lead role, he comments that “she has something very wild and very genuine about her. I don’t quite know how to explain it. She has an enormous personality and doesn’t fit the more conventional profile of a flamenco dancer, and I love that. Furthermore, she possesses a very strong magnetism in front of the camera. That force she transmits when she dances is also captured by the camera. For me, she represented exactly what we were looking for, because the film deals with that tension between the contemporary and the ‘pure,’ in quotes.” Rocío has contributed a great deal to the idea of what it means today. flamenco His work was contemporary, and all his artistic research pointed in that direction. In that sense, he was the ideal person because he embodied everything the short film was about. And the truth is, it was wonderful working with her because we understood each other so easily. When you bring together different artists, things have to click. And in this case, it was a very organic process.”
“In her shows, Rocío doesn’t just dance: she also acts. And I think she does it from a very authentic place, something that comes from within.”“It’s true that at first the camera intimidated her a little, because when you’re not used to having one in front of you, it always feels strange. But she gave it her all, just like in her shows. And when someone has that kind of dedication, you’ve already come a long way,” Carla Simón continues.
According to the director, “Rocío took care of her own choreography, but we also had Florence Oz, who is an extraordinary flamenco dancer, and with Juan Kruzwho, in addition to being a dancer, has worked extensively in the field of dramaturgy. In the end, we had to perform a real balancing act, also due to scheduling conflicts, which was one of the project's biggest challenges. Flor and Juan were primarily responsible for working with the group, always under Rocío's supervision. Juan was also very attentive in helping Rocío with the scenes she shared with Carmela Greco, who plays the mother. It was a very collaborative effort, with many people involved to ensure everything was in place.”
"At first I did feel a bit like an imposter, because you're entering unfamiliar territory. But little by little you realize that, when you approach it with respect and a fresh perspective, interesting things can also emerge. And that's what we're doing now, trying to see what we can contribute."
Regarding the feature film project, he can only reveal that “it will have some commonalities, but we are still defining it. We are in the middle of the writing process and I think it will still be a while before we can tell you anything. Right now I'm in a very sponge-like phase, learning a lot about flamenco, on the relationship between cinema and flamenco"Seeing shows... Little by little, everything is taking shape. The truth is, we still don't even know where we're going to film, so there are a lot of things up in the air, and I prefer not to say too much until the project is more defined."
Regarding their exploration process of flamencoShe concludes by saying, “Since I’m new to this world, I’m discovering everything for the first time. For example, until very recently I hadn’t seen anyone dance.” Israel GalvanI saw it a few days ago, and you come out practically transformed after an experience like that. I'm also meeting a lot of people who know a great deal and who are helping us. I'm in close contact with Peter G. RomeroFor example, who continually shares references and stories about the flamencoAnd also, as a Catalan, The whole historical relationship between Catalonia and the flamencoI don't know if it will end up having a place in the film, but I'm interested in understanding that connection, because I think it's much deeper than we often imagine."
“At first, I did feel a bit of imposter syndrome, because you're entering unfamiliar territory,” she adds. “But little by little you realize that when you approach it with respect and a fresh perspective, interesting things can also emerge. And that's what we're doing now, trying to see what we can contribute.” ♦
