Last week, actress Eszter Tompa visited the 15th Lanzarote Film Festival, where she presented the film Kontinental ‘25 [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Eszter Tompa
scheda film], directed by Radu Jude, which, months after its Best Screenplay Award win in the Berlinale competition, will open in Spain on 12 December, distributed by Atalante. We seized the chance of an impromptu dinner there to have the following conversation with the performer from films such as Adam [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] and The Duke of Burgundy [+leggi anche:
recensione
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scheda film], who was recently rewarded at the Chicago and Gijón Film Festivals (see the news).

(L'articolo continua qui sotto - Inf. pubblicitaria)

Cineuropa: You speak good Spanish; how did you learn it?
Eszter Tompa: I’ve worked with Fernando Colomo (on La banda Picasso [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film]) and Lluís Segura (on El club de los buenos infieles [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film]), and on the series Captain Alatriste. I also spent years with my father in Catalonia, where I felt at home - in Madrid as well. My mother tongue is Hungarian, but I discovered that a branch of my family came from Catalonia to Transylvania in 1492. Then I understood why I felt so connected to Spain.

You’ve shot two features recently with Radu Jude, Dracula [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Radu Jude
scheda film] and Kontinental ‘25.
He saw me on stage for the first time in 2012 and first called me for Dracula; then he told me he’d had an idea for a feature for ten years and sent me the script for Kontinental ‘25.

And what was it like to shoot this latest film on mobile phones?
It’s easier for the crew, but everything was too fast, which is why I prefer cameras and lights. The pace was hectic, and I didn’t have time between takes to run the lines again.

This film tackles the issue of evictions.
I’ve read a lot of news about this problem in Spain, suffered by older people, which is very sad. I worked with refugee children in Germany, doing theatre and circus games: that’s my way of helping. But unfortunately, there are also many people being evicted in Romania.

No one listens to anyone in this film…
I think people in Spain are more connected because there’s so much social life and life in the streets. I’ve met wonderful people in Barcelona, such as the cartoonist Nazario and the director Neus Ballús, in whose new film Each of Us I played a small part [see the news]. The bond with others is so important… I don’t want to grow old in Germany, because there, older people don’t mix with the young, unlike in Spain, where something so healthy happens: generations live side by side.

What have you learned from working with Radu Jude?
Radu’s deep motivation is very inspiring. For example, when I told him my idea of including dinosaurs in Kontinental ‘25, he said it was stupid, but the next day, he wanted to shoot in the Dino Park, as it represents humanity on its way to extinction.

How do you play a dark comedy like this?
The director is constantly making silly jokes. I think it’s important to focus on the ridiculous side of our existence. The clowning around that I do is my way of expressing myself. Sometimes we don’t notice how bad things are, but I like people to laugh at my antics. We can’t do much, but it’s important to laugh, especially at reality.

Does humour save us?
Totally. That’s why Samuel Beckett is so brilliant, because he talks about apocalyptic things, yet you laugh.

And did you meet a bailiff like the one you play?
I went to work for two weeks at an office with Romanians. And I witnessed eviction situations, which I later incorporated into the film’s dialogue. When I was a child and they asked me why I wanted to be an actress, I always answered that this way I would have more lives than a cat. I’m very curious, and getting to know other people in their everyday lives excites me. My parents wouldn’t let me study drama, which is why I left Romania: my weapon against that prohibition was learning languages, looking for work in different places. Now my future is heading towards Spain.

Lastly, a sense of guilt runs through Kontinental ‘25...
We are all connected. And empathy is a muscle that needs training, but that’s not easy if you’re always looking at your mobile phone. You have to observe the world. The lack of empathy is very present in the film, right from the beginning, with the protagonist’s conversation with her husband, who doesn’t listen to her. Also, we’re all very tired, busy answering the phone all the time. In the film, Radu also talks about how heritage is being destroyed in Romania, which is why he includes so many shots of buildings.