Director of Spain’s Oscar entry visits Manila

DAVID Trueba looks forward to meeting Filipino filmmakers, novelists and musicians.

Spanish filmmaker David Trueba is currently in the middle of an exhilarating joyride because of his award-winning film, “Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed.”

The comedy-drama film romped away with six Goya trophies (considered Spain’s Oscars)—including best film, director and actor. Trueba’s movie was also chosen as Spain’s official entry in the best foreign language film category of next year’s American Academy Awards.

Interviewed by e-mail, Trueba told the Inquirer he would proceed to Los Angeles after his Manila trip. “I am attending a screening there as part of the activities for my film as Spain’s entry in the Oscars.”

Trueba’s Philippine visit coincides with the annual Película-Pelikula Manila Spanish Film Festival (which opens tonight and runs until Oct. 19 at Greenbelt 3 in Makati City).

Trueba will present his film and meet with the audience tomorrow (7 p.m.).

Luis Calvo, Spain’s ambassador to the Philippines, said the event brought Spanish-speaking filmmakers to the country to interact with local cineastes, “to rediscover the common cultural legacy of our two nations.”

In the past, the fest brought in such filmmakers as Spain’s Alvaro Pastor, Alfonso Albacete and Alberto Rodriguez, Argentina’s Gabriel Nesci and Santiago Loza, Chile’s Oscar Cardenas and Colombia’s Luis Alberto Restrepo, among others.

The ambassador described Trueba as one of the more popular filmmakers in modern Spanish cinema. Actor-scriptwriter-director Trueba is the younger brother of Fernando Trueba, director of “Belle Epoque,” Oscar winner for best foreign language film in 1994.

No sibling rivalry

The younger Trueba said there was no “sibling rivalry” between him and his Oscar-winning hermano (brother). “We are always collaborating. He is very generous to me. I cannot compete with him,” he told the Inquirer.

AMBASSADOR Luis Calvo photo by Jude Bautista

Like most Filipino families, Spanish clans are tight-knit. “Living Is Easy” was sparked by Trueba’s own memories of growing up in Spain in the 1960s.

“It is based on the real story of Spanish teacher Juan Carrion … He wanted to meet John Lennon, who visited Almeria in 1966 [to shoot Richard Lester’s ‘How I Won the War’],” he recalled. “But I was also inspired by one of my brothers who ran away from home for three days. He wanted to wear his hair long, but my father ordered him to cut it.”

Critics hail the film’s “hopeful and melancholic” subversion.

With a title culled from the lyrics of The Beatles song “Strawberry Fields Forever,” Trueba’s film defiantly takes the side of outsiders and misfits who had to endure the repressive Franco regime.

Arizona Republic’s Kerry Lengel calls the film an “evocative portrait … a rewarding character study of ordinary people in search of that extraordinary dream: a taste of freedom.”

Seattle Times’ Tom Keogh says Trueba’s film possesses a “lilting grace worthy of The Beatles at their most enchanting and perspicacious.”

The Hollywood Reporter’s Stephen Farber agrees, praising it as “a small gem … a lovely evocation of Spain” and a tribute to the 1960s, “a time when The Beatles seemed to offer brand-new possibilities.”

Trueba felt it was important to tell this story because “the characters show us that you can only change other people’s lives through generosity.”

The most difficult part of telling the story was remaining true to its essence, he said. “It is always the same [challenge] … you have to tell the story as you see it.”

A first-time Manila visitor, Trueba promised to “get to know the people, the music and the relevant places. I am very open-minded.”

Although he admitted he was not that familiar with Philippine cinema, he said, “I have heard about the new directors and Brillante Ma. Mendoza. I am also curious about Filipino novelists and musicians.”

Familiar, enjoyable

He pointed out that audiences all over the world were the “same … they look at a movie as something familiar that they can relate to and enjoy.”

THE HOLLYWOOD Reporter describes “Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed” as a “small gem.”

He has worked in Hollywood (as scriptwriter of the Antonio Banderas-Melanie Griffith rom-com, Fernando Trueba’s “Two Much”), but he prefers to stay in Spain.

“Working in Hollywood was wonderful, but as a director, I prefer to tackle Spanish themes, stories that are closer to me. Antonio was a great guy, though, and I hope to work with him again,” he said.

As a multihyphenate, which does he prefer the most, acting, writing or directing?

“Acting, of course,” he replied. “As an actor you don’t have any big responsibility apart from knowing your lines!”

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