Following its world premiere in the Official Selection, Out of Competition, at the 73rd San Sebastián International Film Festival, Mouths of Sky [+lire aussi :
interview : Koldo Almandoz
fiche série], directed by Koldo Almandoz (The Deer [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Koldo Almandoz
fiche film]) and starring Nagore Aramburu, premieres on 14 November on the RTVE Play platform.

Cineuropa: This miniseries follows on from an initial instalment, titled Mouths of Sand. Is it helpful to have seen the first part in order to grasp the complexity of this second one?
Koldo Almandoz: They can be watched independently of each other. The first is simpler in terms of plot and approach. The second is more complex because the characters carry more weight, and there are more doubts and moral dilemmas. Those who have seen the first will have a few more clues about what some characters are like, but it’s by no means necessary.

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How do these fictions tie in with your previous filmography?
In these two miniseries, I am the creator, the main culprit behind them. I like to think they contain something of my way of making films; they’re cinema-minded. Series have become what cinema was in our childhood: popular entertainment. The downside is that they’ve homogenised the way stories are told. Meanwhile, arthouse movies are seen on an elitist circuit that only a few “film know-it-alls” are part of, and we rarely do anything to open it up to the wider public.

The central character in Mouths of Sky is fairly complex and not exactly sociable. Does being a misfit make her more human?
Yes, I agree. Mistakes are what make us human. And I think that in an era governed by social media and an obsession with being liked, the characters and the people who don’t play that game are the ones that attract me the most. I really dislike people who try hard to be likeable. It’s getting harder and harder to find anything "true". Misfits tend to be more awkward, but more genuine.

It may thankfully be commonplace now to see female protagonists in fiction, but it’s less usual for them to be LGTBI+ and for that not to be the central theme. Does the series aim to normalise sexual diversity?
I’ve always shied away from making “cause-driven” cinema, which is not to say it isn’t political, but I don’t like making films with a banner out front. One thing is to set out, suggest and discuss; another is to base all of the work on an irrefutable cause where the dice are loaded. I detest the way different causes are instrumentalised. In this case, I liked the idea of two mature women who have been through a lot and who suddenly meet. When I started writing, I didn’t think at any point about Nerea’s sexuality, until Carmen appeared, who, honestly, is the only character in the series you can fall in love with [laughs].

The landscape plays a fundamental role in your audiovisual work - here, too, as you blend nature with the urban and the industrial. Does the setting where we live influence us?
Totally. And the clearest sign is that when we move to live somewhere else, that new landscape affects us, whether we like it or not. But one of my mantras is that beauty shouldn’t be placed above everything else. We live amid landscapes full of contrasts. When we’re faced with a wasteland, we don’t just see rubble and weeds; we see what it was and what it could have been, and all the history behind that. Every landscape is a story.

Apart from its intrigue, atmosphere and mystery, what aspect in particular would you highlight about the series?
That it has its own identity, for better and for worse. Some will like it, and others won’t think it’s up to the level of the latest thriller they saw on Netflix. It’s a modest series where we’ve made the most of the resources we had, where the characters are the ones that uphold the story beyond the noir plot. It’s the kind of film noir I like, which uses the plot as an excuse to talk about many other things.

So did you shoot it as if it were a feature film?
Yes. I’ve always been clear about that. The shooting system, the crews and the ambition are cinematic. I hate the concept of “making content”. Whether it’s for the big screen or the small one, I always try to make cinema.