Actors Eduardo Noriega, Ana Torrent, and Carles Francino, as well as journalist Mara Torres, have been "surprised" by the "quality and ingenuity" of the short films competing in the Lanzarote Film Festival. The four will have to judge these small works and have admitted in an interview on Radio Lanzarote that it will be "very complicated".
"The truth is that I am very surprised with the quality of the short films. Honestly, I thought it was going to be a drag, because I had to see 30 short films. And I enjoyed them very much," said Eduardo Noriega, jury member of the national short film section. For her part, Ana Torrent, who had to judge the international short films, was surprised "with the quality of the actors, in some cases great actors." She also highlighted the "laughs" that several comedies elicited from her.
Mara Torres, who, like Ana Torrent, belongs to the jury in the international short film section, explained that in this section "there are many social denunciations, so cinema continues to serve to give a voice to those who have no voice and make the invisible visible." "Many short films address the issue of lack of communication, the lack of ability to tell someone what you feel. I was very surprised that the issue of social networks was not touched upon and that practically no mobile phones appeared," she said.
Actor Carles Francino had to judge the documentary shorts, which is "very complicated." "Nothing about the economic crisis comes out, and it's something that has pleased me greatly, because resting a bit is also good," he indicated.
"They crush us for anything"
In addition to addressing the Lanzarote Film Festival and the works that have been presented to this event, the actors have also spoken about the crisis in the sector, the increase in VAT, and about "a part of the media" in this country. "They crush us for anything, no matter what we do. If we go well-dressed, because we are in a crisis, if we go badly dressed, because we are clowns. It's amazing what happens here," lamented Ana Torrent.
Eduardo Noriega spoke in the same vein, who, when asked about the statements of the artists at the last Los Goya gala, assured that "more stick" cannot be given to the actors. "Everyone has the option to say and do what they deem appropriate. Others may say that it is out of place, but the actors or journalists who have the option of approaching the microphone have that advantage, that opportunity. Judging people for what they think or express seems absurd to me, but there is a sector of the press in this country that has systematically crushed us," criticized Noriega.
"If you wear Armani, they criticize you because it's a time of crisis and it seems that if you wear Armani you can't talk about public health. Why not? Besides, those dresses are borrowed for the ceremony. In the world of cinema there is everything, people from the left and the right. The ideology of an actor does not matter to me when I go to the cinema. If I go to see Robert de Niro, I don't care about his political opinion. I think that in this sense, there is a lack of maturity," suggested the actor.
"They are doing a lot of damage with VAT"
The actors are also suffering the consequences of the VAT increase, which "is sinking the theater and making it unsustainable," according to Ana Torrent. "It is turning culture into a luxury item, which makes no sense because there are also formulas to avoid it," insisted Noriega.
Thus, he explained that in France VAT is progressive. "If the businessman is able to sell a certain number of theater tickets, from there the VAT is increased, which is fair and logical. But if you have to pay taxes from the first ticket, it is unsustainable. If the public already thought that cinema or theater was expensive and downloaded it from the Internet with this justification, with the VAT increase it is even worse." For all this, this Spanish actor has trusted that it will be a "temporary" measure and that the Government "rectifies".