FICARQ IV edition, interview with Fernando Colomo
04/07/2016.
[Santander] Spain
metalocus, LEONOR MARTÍN
metalocus, LEONOR MARTÍN
The IV edition of the Festival of Cinema and Architecture (FICARQ) has ben celebrated in Santander since last June 28th to July 2nd. The program included forty films and documentaries and more than a dozen conferences about architecture, art direction and new technologies. METALOCUS has had the opportunity to follow the program closely and interview some professionals such as Fernando Colomo, filmmaker and architect, the American director of art and special effects specialist John Bell and the filmmaker Carlos Saura, awarded with the FICARQ honor award and who has spoken of his last documentary about Renzo Piano.
FICARQ IV edition Poster. Image courtesy of FICARQ.
FICARQ IV edition Logo. Image courtesy of FICARQ.
Fernando Colomo at FICARQ IV edition. Image courtesy of FICARQ.
Fernando Colomo. Image courtesy of FICARQ.
In this edition, the festival has had the versatile Fernando Colomo as president of the jury of the official competition and has shown his latest film, Isla Bonita. We were able to chat with him about his period in the school of architecture of Madrid and his vision of the current situation of the profession.
L.M. What influence has your education as an architect in your work as a filmmaker?
F.C. The truth is that many, though not directly. On the one hand it helped me economically, because I could save some money during the 5 years I exercised architecture to make my first film. On the other hand my training as an architect gave me some advantage when planning, to visualize the space, to draw quickly or create more studied storyborads. I have this tools that make me feel comfortable and that in certain films have been fundamental.
L.M. At what point did you decide to change the architecture for cinema?
F.C. The architecture was always for me something provisional. When I finished school I was17 years old and to enter the film school you had to be 21 years old. As I was good at drawing and did not want to be unoccupied for four years, I decided to enter the school of architecture. I was about to leave though, the first two years were the hardest.
L.M. How was your practice as an architect?
F.C. I was a municipal architect in Villadelprado, a town 60 km away from Madrid, for 5 years. Even after making two movies, I did a couple of houses, but it was hard to live with so much bureaucracy. I enjoyed the part of the project, but the paperwork overwhelmed me and the exercise of the profession had nothing creative as municipal architect.
L.M. If today, taking into account the current economic situation, you had to decide between cinema or architecture, which profession would you choose?
F.C. I would take the movies, but lately I'm looking forward to having some free time to develop a project I did in third year, some single-family homes inspired by Moshe Sadfie's project, Habitat 67, and the HELE module by Rafael Leoz. I developed the idea with chalks and Lego pieces (all the shopping centers in Madrid ran out of Lego pieces because of be). Today I have only one photo of the model and I am looking forward to having time to build it and project it again.
L.M. Why do you think there has been so much relationship between film and architecture?
F.C. The architect itself has a fascination for film. I remember that back in school the students were very fond of cinema, like an enjoyable subject. In my early days as a filmmaker I called some older colleagues already working as architects such as Higueras and Miró who were involved in my projects and helped me finance my first films.
However, it is true that there are not many cases of architects who have gone to the movies. In Spain, it is also Juan Bollaín and I remember at the time Ricardo Bofill made a short film called Circles, very aesthetic, without dialogues.
L.M. Do you follow architecture's news?
F.C. In recent years I have followed architecture with concern and some anger. It seems that more people are participating of architecture, but the architecture of star architects, who are projecting sculptures inhabited inside. All that obscene display of architectural power, leads to the service of today's society, an unequal and consume society. They are pharaonic works, as a symbol of that power.
On the other hand I see the contrary, young architects mainly, who make cheap and intelligent architecture adapted to the environment. If I were now an architect., I would worry about energy sustainability, passive houses, things that did not appear when I was studying.
L.M. Which of the two professions you see a more promising future in Spain?
F.C. Both are in a terrible situation. The difference is that architecture has gone from 100 to 0. Cinema has always been in crisis and has adapted to the different difficulties.
F.C. The truth is that many, though not directly. On the one hand it helped me economically, because I could save some money during the 5 years I exercised architecture to make my first film. On the other hand my training as an architect gave me some advantage when planning, to visualize the space, to draw quickly or create more studied storyborads. I have this tools that make me feel comfortable and that in certain films have been fundamental.
L.M. At what point did you decide to change the architecture for cinema?
F.C. The architecture was always for me something provisional. When I finished school I was17 years old and to enter the film school you had to be 21 years old. As I was good at drawing and did not want to be unoccupied for four years, I decided to enter the school of architecture. I was about to leave though, the first two years were the hardest.
L.M. How was your practice as an architect?
F.C. I was a municipal architect in Villadelprado, a town 60 km away from Madrid, for 5 years. Even after making two movies, I did a couple of houses, but it was hard to live with so much bureaucracy. I enjoyed the part of the project, but the paperwork overwhelmed me and the exercise of the profession had nothing creative as municipal architect.
L.M. If today, taking into account the current economic situation, you had to decide between cinema or architecture, which profession would you choose?
F.C. I would take the movies, but lately I'm looking forward to having some free time to develop a project I did in third year, some single-family homes inspired by Moshe Sadfie's project, Habitat 67, and the HELE module by Rafael Leoz. I developed the idea with chalks and Lego pieces (all the shopping centers in Madrid ran out of Lego pieces because of be). Today I have only one photo of the model and I am looking forward to having time to build it and project it again.
L.M. Why do you think there has been so much relationship between film and architecture?
F.C. The architect itself has a fascination for film. I remember that back in school the students were very fond of cinema, like an enjoyable subject. In my early days as a filmmaker I called some older colleagues already working as architects such as Higueras and Miró who were involved in my projects and helped me finance my first films.
However, it is true that there are not many cases of architects who have gone to the movies. In Spain, it is also Juan Bollaín and I remember at the time Ricardo Bofill made a short film called Circles, very aesthetic, without dialogues.
L.M. Do you follow architecture's news?
F.C. In recent years I have followed architecture with concern and some anger. It seems that more people are participating of architecture, but the architecture of star architects, who are projecting sculptures inhabited inside. All that obscene display of architectural power, leads to the service of today's society, an unequal and consume society. They are pharaonic works, as a symbol of that power.
On the other hand I see the contrary, young architects mainly, who make cheap and intelligent architecture adapted to the environment. If I were now an architect., I would worry about energy sustainability, passive houses, things that did not appear when I was studying.
L.M. Which of the two professions you see a more promising future in Spain?
F.C. Both are in a terrible situation. The difference is that architecture has gone from 100 to 0. Cinema has always been in crisis and has adapted to the different difficulties.
More information
Script and interview
Leonor Martín - METALOCUS
Special thanks to
Fernando Colomo and FICARQ IV edition.
Venue
Festival of Cinema and Architecture (FICARQ) IV edition, Santander, Spain.
FERNANDO COLOMO
Fernando Colomo was born on February 2nd, 1946, Madrid. He is a graduate of the School of Architecture of Madrid and the Official Film School. He debuted in 1977 with, Tigres de papel, a revelation in the Spanish cinema of the moment. A year later directs ¿Qué hace una chica como tú en un sitio como éste? and participates in the film Cuentos eróticos (1979) with the episode "Koñensönatten".
During the eighties made seven films which include some of the most emblematic of his early titles such, as La mano negra (1980), awarded at the Mystfest of Italy, Estoy en crisis (1982), La línea del cielo (1983), filmed in New York, with Antonio Resines heading the cast, La vida alegre (1987), his great success and why Verónica Forqué received the Goya for Best Actress, or Bajarse al moro (1988), with Antonio Banderas one of its protagonists..
In 1985, he filmed El caballero del dragón, film with an international cast starring Harvey Keitel, Klaus Kinski y Miguel Bosé, which involved the production of higher budget time and whose theme of science fiction set in the Middle Ages "to ahead of his time "as has become apparent with the perspective of time.
As a director, in the nineties, carried titles such as Rosa Rosae (1993), with Ana Belén and Maria Barranco, Alegre ma non troppo (1994), starring Penélope Cruz and awarded at the Paris Film Festival Best Picture, El efecto mariposa ( 1995), filmed in London and James Fleet between its protagonists, Eso (1995), awarded at the Festival of Munich and Cuarteto de La Habana (1998). In addition to writing his films and work as a screenwriter in his productions, co-he wrote the screenplay for the hit Las cosas del querer (1989), directed by Jaime Chavarri.
In its most recent stage has directed comedies Los años bárbaros (1998), Cuarteto de la Habana (1998) and Al sur de Granada (2002), the latter inspired by the homonymous autobiography of Gerald Brenan, who narrates his stay in a forgotten ville of the Alpujarra and his love for the girls of the place. El Próximo Oriente (2006) shot in the multiethnic neighborhood of Lavapies (Madrid) is the story of a young butcher who converts to Islam. La banda Picasso (2012) and Isla bonita (2015).
For TV he has directed television productions such as Chicas de hoy en día (1991) Famosos y familia (1999), Cuarteto de la Habana (1999), Dime que me quieres (2001) and El pacto (2010), a miniseries two chapters scripted Santos Mercero (son of director Antonio Mercero), inspired by a true story: the agreement between several teenagers in a school in the United States to become pregnant in unison.
During the eighties made seven films which include some of the most emblematic of his early titles such, as La mano negra (1980), awarded at the Mystfest of Italy, Estoy en crisis (1982), La línea del cielo (1983), filmed in New York, with Antonio Resines heading the cast, La vida alegre (1987), his great success and why Verónica Forqué received the Goya for Best Actress, or Bajarse al moro (1988), with Antonio Banderas one of its protagonists..
In 1985, he filmed El caballero del dragón, film with an international cast starring Harvey Keitel, Klaus Kinski y Miguel Bosé, which involved the production of higher budget time and whose theme of science fiction set in the Middle Ages "to ahead of his time "as has become apparent with the perspective of time.
As a director, in the nineties, carried titles such as Rosa Rosae (1993), with Ana Belén and Maria Barranco, Alegre ma non troppo (1994), starring Penélope Cruz and awarded at the Paris Film Festival Best Picture, El efecto mariposa ( 1995), filmed in London and James Fleet between its protagonists, Eso (1995), awarded at the Festival of Munich and Cuarteto de La Habana (1998). In addition to writing his films and work as a screenwriter in his productions, co-he wrote the screenplay for the hit Las cosas del querer (1989), directed by Jaime Chavarri.
In its most recent stage has directed comedies Los años bárbaros (1998), Cuarteto de la Habana (1998) and Al sur de Granada (2002), the latter inspired by the homonymous autobiography of Gerald Brenan, who narrates his stay in a forgotten ville of the Alpujarra and his love for the girls of the place. El Próximo Oriente (2006) shot in the multiethnic neighborhood of Lavapies (Madrid) is the story of a young butcher who converts to Islam. La banda Picasso (2012) and Isla bonita (2015).
For TV he has directed television productions such as Chicas de hoy en día (1991) Famosos y familia (1999), Cuarteto de la Habana (1999), Dime que me quieres (2001) and El pacto (2010), a miniseries two chapters scripted Santos Mercero (son of director Antonio Mercero), inspired by a true story: the agreement between several teenagers in a school in the United States to become pregnant in unison.
