07 · 11 · 16

Entrevista a Charles Tesson en el 14º FICM

Ma. Cristina Alemán (@mcristina)

Durante su visita a la 14ª edición del Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia (FICM), Charles Tesson, Director Artístico de la Semana de la Crítica del Festival de Cannes, nos concedió una entrevista en la que habló sobre la sólida relación entre la Semana de la Crítica y el FICM, la recepción del cine mexicano en Francia y sobre la importancia de los festivales cinematográficos como un punto clave en la evolución del cine.

Usted ha asistido al FICM en varias ocasiones, ¿qué es lo que lo hace regresar?

La primera vez que estuve aquí fue hace siete años, cuando asistí como parte del jurado de la Sección de Cortometraje Mexicano. Posteriormente regresé como Director Artístico de la Semana de la Crítica, a presentar algunas películas de la misma. Siempre es un placer venir a Morelia a mostrar estas películas, pero también a disfrutar del festival desde distintas perspectivas. Primero, para ver las películas en competencia y también para ver los proyectos en construcción, ahora como parte de Impulso Morelia. Es muy útil para nosotros ver qué películas estarán listas para Cannes. También sé que Daniela [Michel] ama el cine mexicano antiguo y especialmente el cine de la Época de Oro, así que aquí he visto películas de Fernando de Fuentes y este año de Julio Bracho, y es un gran placer descubrir estas películas en Morelia. Además, es un gran placer venir a conocer gente, directores mexicanos pero también periodistas, amigos de Estados Unidos, y Morelia es una gran oportunidad de verlos. Hay muchas buenas razones para venir.

FICM and the Cannes Critics’ Week have had a close relationship since the beginning of the Morelia film festival. How did this relationship begin?

I was not in the Critics Week in those days but I know the idea came from Morelia, when the festival used to show only short films and then only first feature films, and it was a natural link because Morelia was dedicated to debut filmmakers and this is what the Cannes Critics’ Week has been doing for 55 years. I think it makes sense. We show the Critics’ Week films here and then in Cannes we show a special screening of the Morelia winning short films. We invite the filmmakers to Cannes to present the screening, so it is also a good possibility for them to go there. There is a good and very strong relationship between Morelia and the Critics’ Week.

Why is the collaboration between FICM and the Critics’ Week so successful?

Because we not only do the same job but we share the same spirit: to discover new names but also the spirit of the kind of cinema we love and want to promote. More than some kind of agreement between the Critics’ Week and Morelia, we share the same passion for cinema. I’m very happy with it because when I come to Morelia and talk to Daniela [Michel] I know we have the same mission together. There are some festivals that only use the cinema to make a big event but the cinema is not in their heart but here in Morelia the person who is in charge of the festival has cinema in her heart. And in the Critics’ Week we have the same mission, to show the films but also to be very friendly to the film directors; hospitality is very important for us and it is very important in Morelia too, so we are good friends.

Could you talk about the reception of Mexican cinema in Cannes?

There is a long history of Mexican cinema in the Cannes Critics’ Week. We showed Amores perros (2000) by Alejandro González Iñárritu and also Temporada de patos (2004) by Fernando Eimbcke, and also in Cannes we have showed a lot of movies by Carlos Reygadas and Amat Escalante. So there is a real interest in Mexican cinema in Cannes and also in the Critics’ Week. La jaula de oro (2013), for example, is a really good movie that was recently in Un Certain Regard. So Mexican cinema has a strong link with Cannes but also with France in general, we do love Mexican cinema, we always appreciate it.

In your opinion, what is the role of a film festival? What should a film festival do for cinema and for the audience?

Film festivals are very important for cinema, they are a “fiesta del cine” in two different meanings. First, they serve cinema and the film, but they also are a way of sharing this with the audience. They are helpful for the film because many people don’t always have the possibility to see the films that are in Cannes, in Venice, so it is a good opportunity for them. Festivals are also an opportunity for professionals like me to meet directors, producers and many people who come from all around the world, for example young directors from Saudi Arabia or from Mexico. So festivals are good for the people who make films, who are involved in the industry in a way, and mostly for the audience. Even if there are new films in theaters every week, this is a special event. It is important to keep making festivals and seeing so many people here in this theater [Cinépolis Morelia Centro] makes me very optimistic.

Also, film festivals discover new talents. They might show films by directors who are not well known but then the critics will see their work and write about them and so on. The industry does not have the vocation of finding new talents but the festivals have this vocation and this mission. And when it works, when the audience is there, the critics are good and the film has been released, there are new names in the industry. So festivals are a key point for the evolution of the cinema.

Do you think sometimes new filmmakers make creative decisions based on the decisions made by “A” status festivals?

Bad directors, yes, maybe. But it is not a good idea because when they do this, they are not doing something personal, they just think they have to do this in order to be selected in a film festival. But the most important quality of a film director is to be good, of course, but also to be sincere and personal. And when directors find a way to deal with this personal sensibility, then everything goes well.