Teresa Aguilar is the soul of what is known as the Audiovisual Meeting of Young People, perhaps one of the sections least known to the public but which, however, It is part of the very essence of the Cinema Jove festival. In fact, long before there were sections dedicated to the screening of short or feature films, Cinema Jove started thirty-four years ago like this, as a meeting of young students who met to learn and practice this profession of filmmakers in a practical way. Today the section is divided into three categories, primary, secondary, and schools and universities, and every year it brings together hundreds of students from all over Spain to share their work and learn from their mistakes in very interesting mentoring sessions led by renowned directors and pedagogues.. A unique experience that, as Teresa says in this interview, they will not forget. The Audiovisual Meeting of Young People starts this Wednesday, day 26/6, at the festival.
The Youth Meeting is at the very origin of Cinema Jove. How does that make you feel?, 34 years later, still an essential part of the festival?
Sometimes, when I go to the opening and closing galas, and I see how it appears, It still surprises me that, today, the festival has kept its name since its beginning and maintains this section. On the other hand, I'm not so surprised that it continues because it is now fashionable to talk about young people and to introduce topics related to cinema and school at an early age.. It is very fashionable and at festivals it is cool to have a section dedicated to children. But it still catches my attention that the name is kept and I think it is very nice that it is part of the essence of the festival., to speak in those terms of that section. Yeah, I think it's nice that something that emerged ago 34 years is still maintained today.
One of those topics that are so topical these days, is the need for audiovisual education. Just like literature, school-aged children must learn to look at the image, something essential in the contemporary world. What is your opinion regarding this topic??
I think it is a topic that the Film Academy still finds exciting., but I fear that we are not making progress to the extent that the young people ask of us and the system that we have set up asks of us., that requires us to move forward and make decisions. One more time, Technology and time do not advance at the same speed at which decisions are made.. By this I mean that we are very much in the debate about whether it should be transversal to all subjects., whether it should be trunk or not, and from there we don't move. We remain “for” or “against” transversality or that trunking and this is a bit like soccer., Barça, Madrid, you are here and I am there, and here we are. I think we should get over that phase.. I recently heard a statement from the Secretary General of Education who said that it is very difficult to incorporate into the educational system all the subjects that are necessary to create citizens., which is a utopia. But I think we are doing very little to advance kids out of school., of institutes with a much greater background than they have because undoubtedly the self-taught component continues to weigh on formal training.
Just as in mathematics we finish the student period learning to add and multiply, What two or three essential things should children learn about audiovisuals??
What a difficult question. I think that, when talking about audiovisual, we always stay in the type of plane and these things, but I think we should get over that and talk to young people about discourse analysis, something that is totally adaptable and understandable to them, bringing them closer to the theory of discourse analysis that would be transversal to other types of language, not only to audiovisual language. It seems like a unique opportunity to open a window to the world., to different ways of applying this language, that they see cinema not only understood in the Western way. These are things that occur to me. It would be those two: open a window to another way of understanding the world and explaining life, and discourse theory as a transversal theme, beyond these things that need to be explained to you, How is it a medium shot or a general shot?, something that young people are already clear about.
In the sessions you do with the kids you work on how to improve the script, the realization, etc. That feedback you receive from the boys in that aspect? What do they tell you after that criticism??
I think that one of the most beautiful things about the Meeting and, at once, which makes it certainly complex when analyzing or making decisions regarding the programming of these three days., There is a very heterogeneous audience.. There are people of very young ages, from category A, which are the smallest, high school people who are category B, and people from film schools, what are adults. And how the three categories perceive this analysis is very different.. Students appearing from category C, which is more amateur or who aspire to be, I think they take it very seriously and with a very high level of self-criticism.. And in that sense we do have a feedback very positive though, as i tell you, they take it too seriously, because in the end they are still opinions, of course based on what Gabi's are like [Ochoa] and those of Emilio [Martí], but in any case they are from his point of view and his gaze. It strikes me that other categories, those of B and A, We must not forget that they are carried out under the supervision and initiative of their teachers., What are the ones that come with them?, I always perceive your work as an examination, which I don't really like because here we come to share experiences. I like to conceive the Meeting as an opportunity for kids to get closer to a big screen and a film festival., They don't even know what it is. There is a great discrepancy between how students and teachers interpret it..
When the boys present their work, A space for coexistence is created with their teachers. What does this teacher-student relationship produce??
Yeah, they always tell us. Besides, in that we have feedback every year. Of course, The teacher chooses the students who accompany him, invited by the festival. (aside from the fact that most of the time more people sign up than have worked in the short). Many of the teachers take advantage of the opportunity to live with the students, not only the Audiovisual Meeting of Young People, but other sections such as short films, feature films, as well as festival life. And they always tell us that, For many, and more currently with viewing through tablets and other digital devices, It is the first approach to cinema that is not purely commercial and uses another audiovisual language that is not as media-driven as the one released on the billboard.. And then something very beautiful is generated, which is a dialogue between teacher and students around cinema., that in the end is what we have come for. I think few festivals achieve this.. It is true that there are many festivals, many film samples that are inbred in that the works are projected and we talk about what we have done in class. I think you get that in the Encuentro too., but at the same time it opens a door to what a film festival is all about., that there are shorts, long, There is a meeting with directors and it seems to me that they are three days in which a certain magic is created with cinema.
To what extent do you think the experience changes the children's outlook on cinema??
Notice, I think that for many it is put on the table that we are talking about cinema, that there are some mentors who are dedicated to the cinematographic field. And I believe that for many students there is a change in perspective regarding the perception of what they have done.. That is to say, that they have chosen the cinematographic medium to tell a story as they could have chosen other types of languages, But many may think that there are people who dedicate themselves to this professionally.. Oysters, I have a guy in front of me who says he is a screenwriter and that he writes scripts for a movie., and I had not considered this. We meet many people who say that, among the things he wants to do when he grows up, maybe he will add this thing about cinema. That new look does occur.
The meeting has been running for many years. Have you seen any evolution regarding the topics that kids like to discuss at that time??
Well look, It's something that always comes up. I did my doctoral thesis on the Meeting and I had to look back at what topics were discussed during these 34 years, and I have to tell you that no, that there are some universal themes, how are love, death, adolescence or the meaning of life. These themes that were given, se and, and will probably occur. And then other topics that do go with fashions, with the events that occur. I think that, when the Atocha attacks happened, the kids wanted to talk about this in their short films. Or now with the topic of feminist demands, shorts about gender or abuse of women appear, who denounce the situation. I find it very interesting to use the audiovisual medium to talk about these things., because I think they are very complex, especially in such young kids. But the themes are the same and that surprises you. We are in the edition 34, and probably in 68 they will be talking about the same thing.
There is one thing that has caught my attention and that is that sometimes you are faced with works that are really elaborate and very mature., almost professionals. To what extent does it surprise you??
Well, many people ask us when making the selection, especially category C, which is the one you are talking about., that public schools look askance at the work done in a private film school. But the reality is that you find short films that are not necessarily made with technical resources., I'm thinking about the short film that won the second prize last year. Once again, it is the gaze of the person behind the camera that makes a story that could be in the official section of many festivals.. It continues to surprise me, I still find it amazing. Even some category B shorts. I think it is important to put on the glasses of each category when making the selection., but with all its technical deficiencies, some come up with amazing stories. I guess when these things stop surprising me I'll stop being here. (laughter).
Is it perceived from the tutor's platform, from outside, those differences? Because we talk about art. Can you see the artist in the crowd?
Yeah, I think that in categories A and B it is more difficult to detect it, but in category C I think so. Even this year, I believe that the mentors knew how to see and detect who would be those little people who had a certain potential when it came to choosing them for the residency.. I think it is known. I am convinced that yes.
The meeting brings together students from all over Spain. I guess that helps make a summary of the country.. What topics are interesting?? Are there differences between them?
Well, there are certain topics... For example, In primary and secondary school, an issue such as the depopulation of certain areas catches my attention.. It is a topic that does not appear much on television and that we are not used to seeing from an artistic point of view.. And there you can see that the kids see him with a look of suffering that really catches my attention.. But there don't necessarily have to be many differences.. Another issue is the linguistic issue, but that is something that is respected and that's it. Perhaps these topics would be the most significant.
How would you define this group coexistence between kids from different areas??
Well, I believe that nothing can be more enriching for them., especially at the time when the Meeting takes place, which is when the kids finish the course and, suddenly, They come here for three days to watch movies and talk about movies, and to talk about the work they have done during the course, and they find that there are also other centers that also do it. This year they are 29 schools and centers of a hundred. I want to want, and I know that like this, which are like three days of oasis, discovery, also at a beautiful age in which they are such sponges and absorb everything. I believe they remain in your memory. It's something that remains there, and that's what it's about too, that they remain in your memory.
What surprised you most about directing this section??
Notice, one of the things I would stay with was when, two years ago, Carlos [Madrid, director of Cinema Jove] incorporated cinema with live music. I hallucinated in a way, It seemed to me that there was a certain risk in this decision for a section of the festival with such a heterogeneous audience, putting such small people of seven and ten years old with people of eighteen to see a Chaplin film with live music. Carlos was clear, and I thought: we will see how it works. I thought it was very nice to see how the room was full., There was a lot of laughter from very small children who were sitting on the floor and, sincerely, I think it is a beautiful experience for many reasons., among them because for many of them it was the first time they saw a silent movie accompanied by live music. And on top of that it produced the same effect as in older people, that we have the capacity to see it and live such an experience. It seems like a magical moment to me.
This year you have launched the student residence. How was the experience??
Well he feedback what we have is good. It is complicated for many of the students because of the age they are at., who have finished their studies and are thinking about what to do and so on. But of the five students in the residence there is one who has already submitted a short film to this year's official section.. It is true that the first years are trial and error., let's see how it works, In what ways can they be improved?, How can this residence be shaped?, but from the teachers, de Gabi, Emilio and Begoña [Soler], as for part of the five projects, At the moment we already have a result, that the short film that was tutored materializes. This year we will repeat the experience.
Do you know of any boy who has decided to become a director after going through the Meeting??
In festival history, Yeah. We have a quarry. I think that one of the regrets is not having a database that allows you to do more monitoring.. For example, Daniel of The Order, His short film was the winner of category C, and then Santiago Segura also came. It's worth it to follow up and, besides, then I have the feeling that some of them, as Santiago Segura, who came back here a few years ago, They have a point of deification and talking to the kids was like something that was part of the past. It makes me sad that this can be understood as a transition that is left behind.. Be a director, screenwriter or whatever. Another case is that of Michel Gaztambide, that did not pass through the Meeting, but he found out that it existed and his greatest hope was to know what the kids were doing here. There are people who are one way and others who are different., but the shame is not being able to keep track. Yeah, that we had a database with current students and that from within 15 years someone could consult them it would be very good.
