Carlos Diegues
Interview with Carlos Diegues
The Brazilian director Carlos Diegues, who has already been in Sélection Officielle at the Festival several times, is back this year as a member of the Short Film and Cinéfondation Jury.
You’ve been to Cannes several times, notably In Competition. What sticks in your memory?
For me the Festival de Cannes is very important because it’s here that Brazilian cinema became known to the whole world, above all the films made by my generation. We started in the early sixties, and it’s at Cannes that our films became known. I owe almost everything to the Festival.
This year, you are a member of the Short Film and Cinéfondation Jury. How do you approach this experience?
It’s very important. I was delighted to accept this invitation because we’re seeing the cinema of tomorrow, we’re going to see films made by young people studying cinema in the whole world. I’m very excited by that.
According to you, the short film is a manner of honing your craft?
Not totally, the short film is an art form in itself. It’s like haiku compared to the novel. It’s another format. But it’s obvious that it’s an easier format to get produced, people start there. Personally, I made several short films before shooting my first long. Even recently, I made some short films. I find that it’s a form that should be respected for its own lights.
What do you particularly remember about the short films you have made?
I remember mistakes, times I was clumsy, but above all the passion for filmmaking. It’s obvious when you make a film, when you love cinema, it becomes manifest in everything you do. And that’s what we’re going to be looking for in all the films we’re going to see.
What is your perception of the Cinéfondation and its different functions?
The Cinéfondation opens the way to the cinema of the future. It’s very important to know that as soon as possible, I think it’s got a tremendously important role in the diffusion of what will be tomorrow’s cinema.
There are schools from the whole world represented in the Cinéfondation selection, can it help showcase countries whose filmmaking is less well known?
Absolutely. It’s really important to know what’s going on all over the world. It’s obvious that the Cinéfondation is an institution which will stimulate cinema in certain countries.
In Brazil, for example,when I started making films, there was no cinema school. Today, there are several. The Cinéfondation is also a way of encouraging the existence of these cinema schools and that’s very important.
EB.
