He says that the great joy of receiving this recognition is that it highlights everything that one can do in this profession. Because she is the first director to receive it, but her path in cinema goes through a thousand and one fields: from bringing coffees to signing her own films, to acting as a scriptwriter, scriptwriter, artistic director and assistant to established filmmakers. . She has filmed four feature films, made documentaries, theater and musical shows, and has dedicated many years to teaching. We spoke with Rosa Vergés (Barcelona, ??1955), the brand new Gaudí d’Honor-Miquel Porter 2024 Award.
A little more than 30 years ago, when Catalan cinema spoke with a small mouth and viewers did not have ears accustomed to fiction in their language, she directed Boom Boom (1990), a romantic, playful and sophisticated comedy, rooted in the best tradition of American classics. A hilarious tangle of messes, mismatched shoes and bloody marys to the rhythm of Anxiety (of having you by your side, whispering words of love). That film, in a rather hostile context, with an audience not particularly open to enjoying stories from her own reality, was an unexpected success. It was Vergés’s debut feature, which came after many years learning the trade, breaking stone, as a merit, as a script, as a scriptwriter and as an assistant director, working with Vicente Aranda and José Luis Borau, with Paco Betriu and Francesc Bellmunt, with Bigas Luna and Agustí Villaronga.
Boom Boom was an injection of self-esteem for the Catalan audiovisual sector since its presentation at the Venice Festival. And for her, the first Catalan filmmaker to win the Goya for Best New Director, a few doors were opened that he did not want to cross. Then came Souvenir (1994), Tic tac (1997) and Iris (2004), and documentaries, and books, and theatrical productions, and musical shows, and ceremonies (such as the arrival of the Olympic torch to Barcelona in 1992 or the of the Goya Awards of the year 2000). Beyond her creative side, Vergés found the best vehicle for transmitting (and receiving) knowledge in teaching: a professor at the Escac, at the Ramon Llull, at the Pompeu Fabra and at the Menéndez Pelayo, the brand new Premi Gaudí d ‘Honor-Miquel Porter 2024 has always been clear that “this profession can only be understood as constant learning, you never stop learning, also when you impart your knowledge, that is why it makes me so happy to receive this award, as I liked that the Last year they gave it to Jaume Figueras, for that thing of dissemination, of transmission. “I didn’t have the opportunity to study film, because there were no schools then, and I wanted to help open this window to younger people who do have this opportunity.”
To begin with, how do you receive an Honorary Gaudí?
With surprise, a big surprise. And as the hours and days have passed… I would never have thought that I would be so excited about something like this. Because I consider that this award highlights the entire process of what it means to love cinema. Because, for better or worse, as my career is made up of all phases; Of everything that can be done in this profession, it is as if they were not only rewarding me, but the entire profession. And I like this. I really attach great importance to the fact that I lived in a time when you had to be a worthy director if you wanted to end up making a film, you had to have experience as an assistant, then move on to script, from there to assistant director… A whole path, a journey, of learning. And it also happens that this award is named after Miquel Porter, who was my teacher…
What a wink of destiny!
I studied Art History because in third year there was a Film History subject that Miquel taught. And on the first day of class, he asked if anyone offered to help him set up what would later become the General Directorate of Cinema, which did not exist then. I raised my hand immediately, and spent a year archiving photographs, so convinced that I would dedicate myself to film that it was a very magical moment for me. Years later, when I released Boom Boom, he was very happy. And I’m sure that now he would also be happy to know that I am getting an award named after him.
The Academy values ??that you are a pioneering director. If it was already difficult to make your way, being a woman it must have been even more complicated.
It is true that at that time there were only Pilar Miró, Josefina Molina and Isabel Coixet, who had already filmed Too Old to Die Young. But for me, taking into account the number of women who are murdered by sexist violence and who socially live in such difficult situations, I am almost ashamed to say that I suffered discrimination as a filmmaker at that time. I am aware of the difficulties in getting it because it was from here, because it was about making a first film, because it was very difficult to have access to the theaters, because you had to go hang posters in the subway yourself… and because it was very difficult for the people went to see cinema in Catalan. Distributors and exhibitors had no market, there was no custom. I am very happy that now there is a much more normalized situation. But being a pioneer… a pioneer is Alice Guy, who was the first woman, in fact the first person, to film a fiction. All the rest…
In this sense, the award also highlights that you have paved the way for the filmmakers who have come after you. It seems that a key has been opened and that talent continues to emerge.
For me, this key also corresponds to the result of years of school and studies. People come out very prepared. I am very happy to dedicate myself to cinema and to be a woman. If I lived again, I would ask for it again. I think it’s a perfect combination. You have psychology, you don’t mind crying, you pay attention to everything, you organize… I don’t know where I read that women have been hearing for so many centuries that when it comes to speaking we have many more things to say. It is so important to listen to be able to say something… And if we now live with a generation of filmmakers with a lot to tell, it is because there has been a whole legacy before, some ancestors, very observant women who can now express themselves, and I love it. . And the new voices now have references, because having mirrors in front of you helps you see yourself differently. It helps you dare to do more things, and this is exciting.
Before doing Boom Boom you had to break a lot of stones, this whole journey that you highlighted…
The first film I participated in was The Dark History of Cousin Montse. She was worthy of management and there were few options to do things, beyond going to get coffees from Ovidi Montllor. I still have the script for the film, which the production manager gave me. That experience already made me feel a sense of belonging to the profession, to a group, like when I was classifying photos for Miquel Porter. I think that, in addition to curiosity, which I consider essential and not only for making films, the most important motivation and what perhaps I liked most of all the aspects that I have known within the profession is teamwork. It is the fact of collaborating, of gaining the trust of those around you, and of knowing how to manage the talent of others when you lead.
Was it difficult to climb, once you had already set foot on a shoot?
In this type of creative work in which it is not clear that you can be valuable, which depend so much on human relationships, you already have the no. It’s always difficult. And I think that something that determines it a lot is your attitude, and being clear about what you want to do. I remember my last film as an assistant director, which was Angustia, with Bigas Luna. Then I realized that I was starting to judge the directors too much, I was starting to think that maybe I wouldn’t put the camera here, or if I would do it another way. Well, if you think about it, do it! Afterwards, it is also very important to know how to say no. Say no to focus on what is your goal, because it is easy to get dispersed along the way. I think that’s the most difficult thing, knowing how to say no, rather than going up the steps.
I have the feeling that after filming Boom Boom you must have said no a few times…
Exactly… I think I was lucky, because after Boom Boom I made Souvenir, which is a film that I think was ahead of its time in many ways, but that was very poorly received. And I have always thought that I had to be grateful that they explained to me so quickly what the path from success to failure was. In any case, I have said no a few times. It happens to me that I can hardly defend something that I don’t believe in, I have the defect of not knowing how to explain a story if it doesn’t convince me. And many times my friends have not come from here.
It’s been almost twenty years since you released Iris. And at this time, everyone must have wondered where Rosa Vergés is. And you haven’t stopped! But you’ve only made four fiction films.
Yes, I have made documentaries and other things. And there have been a few feature-length projects that I haven’t been able to and would have wanted to do. One about Tórtola Valencia, an extraordinary actress and dancer who inspired Isadora Duncan. Another, beautiful, about Clotilde Cerdà, a harpist known artistically as Esmeralda Cervantes, who was the illegitimate daughter of Idelfons Cerdà. And I always say that I started with my second film, because before Boom Boom I spent a long time preparing and researching to make Blanca, which is a love story between an Arab and a Christian in the 11th century, and which would be very timely now. So I started with the second one and I don’t rule out doing the first one someday, because I guess it’s my turn.
One of the projects you did do is Tic Tac, a film that went against the grain, because not much children’s cinema has been made here.
No, and I was very clear that I wanted to make a film that would dignify children as spectators. In 35 millimeters, in Dolby Digital and with a story that would make us have to put the camera at eye level, not explain it from the adult’s perspective. I remember the presentation at the Berlinale, I entered the cinema from behind and I didn’t see anyone. In reality, the room was full, but of course, the seats covered the children’s heads (laughs). And the lights went out and I heard a lot of sighs at the same time. Many of those children were going to the cinema for the first time and they deserved a film designed for them, written for them and dedicated to them. There are still people who sometimes tell me that they saw Tic Tac when they were little. It is very rewarding. I also have to say that the movies, in addition to being good and having everything in its place, have to be timely. One of the problems I had financing Tic Tac was that they told me that children didn’t like magic. And shortly after the first Harry Potter book was published…
Do you see how you are a pioneer?
Do you see how hard it is to be a pioneer? There is danger in being a pioneer. (laughs)
