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BIOGRAFILM 2018

Carlos Saura • Director

“Sometimes it’s more fascinating to follow the evolution of a project”

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- We chatted with the great Spanish film director Carlos Saura to find out more about his documentary Renzo Piano: The Architect of Light, world-premiering at the 14th Biografilm Festival

Carlos Saura • Director
(© Biografilm)

Having documented the development of the Centro Botín designed by Renzo Piano in Santander, and its evolution from an initial idea, in skeletal form, to its final, fully-dressed state when eventually opened up to the public, Carlos Saura now gives us Renzo Piano: The Architect of Light [+see also:
trailer
interview: Carlos Saura
film profile
]
, which enjoyed its world premiere at the 14th Biografilm Festival in Bologna (and is due to hit movie theatres in September via I Wonder Pictures). The great Spanish director charts the various stages involved in the design and the construction of this iconic building in an intense and ongoing dialogue with the famous Italian architect, Piano, examining art, the creative process and the social function of beauty. 

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Cineuropa: Renzo Piano says that you artists are an endangered species who look to create beauty in an attempt to improve people’s lives. Do you recognise yourself in this description?
Carlos Saura: I’m more sceptical, even now I can see that beauty isn’t able to cancel out wars and violence. The idea that culture can improve the world is fantastic, but the reality is quite different. That said, I don’t doubt for a second that Renzo Piano genuinely believes it can improve the world, he’s a romantic soul. He’s a beautiful person, as well as an incredible artist. His main focus was on the social and cultural aspect of this project and the involvement of the local community. He overcame a number of objections (it was argued that the particular position and location of the building would prevent people from walking along the seafront), but he has proved that he was right all along, because the Centro Botín is now a much loved and much frequented space among the Santander community.

How did your first meeting with Renzo Piano come about?
I didn’t know him in person but I was asked to make this documentary and it seemed like a very interesting project. We met for the first time in Genoa. I followed him from the beginning through to the end of the project, travelling to Santander every so often to document the evolution of the construction work. It went on for years and every time I went back there it felt more and more like a second home to me. This allowed me to build a real friendship with him, which I still enjoy today. I can boast about being friends with two of the great Italian masters: Renzo, and Vittorio Storaro, who was Director of Photography for six of my films. They’re quite similar people; they’re both exacting and they fully invest themselves in their work. They’re also magicians when it comes to light.

In the documentary, you talk a lot about light and there are some real parallels between the role of the architect and that of the director.
Renzo Piano always talks about the importance of light in his projects, he’s almost obsessive about it. For us filmmakers, it’s slightly different, we mostly work with superficial light. For him, light and water are crucial elements. He’s a revolutionary. He managed to change the habits of museums housed in old buildings where the light filtered in sideways from the windows, instead organising a switch to perpendicular lighting that is almost metaphysical in kind, shining down from above. Now that the Centro Botín is finished, I’m fascinated by the role played by light and its reflections on the sea, and I think the effect will grow over time, as the trees increase in size and the garden comes to blend with the overall complex.

What was it that inspired you in Renzo Piano’s work generally speaking?
I’ve always been fascinated by the creation process, from the initially conceived idea, its evolution and development, right through to the final work of art.  I already explored this theme in Tango, in Carmen and in I, Don Giovanni. As for Piano, I liked his ability to improvise, to adapt his original idea according to what would work best for the city as the project progressed.  I enjoyed chatting with him and sharing our opinions, I agree with 95% of what he says. This is a documentary through and through; usually I use my imagination, but in this case, I allowed myself the luxury of faithfully conveying whatever I was seeing.

Piano says that the act of creating is like looking into the dark - your vision needs time to adjust - and that in order to create, there is a need for emptiness, for silence.
I agree. It’s impossible to produce anything if you don’t do it alone, even if you do need a team to shoot a film or design a building. I’m a supporter of what is known as shared solitude – and I like to surround myself with a few very good people who understand this particular need of mine. Another thing that Piano says and that I agree with is that you can’t please all the people all the time. You should be true to yourself first and foremost, and if you end up pleasing others, then that’s even better. It’s a risk that you have to be brave enough to take.

In the film, you seem utterly fascinated by the skeleton of the building during the construction process. Were you pleased with the final result?
Sometimes it’s more fascinating to follow the evolution of a project than to see it in its final, completed state. I’m fascinated by this structure which seemed so fragile and of such pure beauty, and which was then covered over and transformed. I really like the final result. Piano considers it to be one of his lesser works, despite the great attention and enthusiasm that went into its construction. It may not be a colossal work, but its social importance is undeniable.

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(Translated from Italian)

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