Luna and González Macho start campaigns for Academy presidency
In Madrid today, Director Bigas Luna and producer-distributor-exhibitor Enrique González Macho presented the main points of their respective campaigns for president of the Spanish Film Academy, which they will repeat tomorrow in Barcelona. Academy members will vote for Álex de la Iglesia’s replacement as head of the institution on Sunday, April 10.
González Macho, one of the sector’s leading figures and a strong champion of Spanish and European cinema – his company AltaFilms is the Spanish distributor to focus most on both types of film – said that the Academy “should be an integrative body”. Moreover, he didn’t avoid burning issues like piracy (“Internet is an essential tool for the future but today it still has a parasitic role”); the relationship with private broadcasters (“The private networks forget that they are public franchises. Their attitude towards Spanish and European cinema leaves a great deal to be desired”); and digitisation (which he described as a "wonderful" advance, although it could lead to there being "more of the same, in other words, less of our own stuff").
Meanwhile, famous Catalan director Luna put particular emphasis on the idea that “the Academy should occupy an important position within Europe”. One of the points he most insisted on was the relationship with politicians, who “must understand the value of cinema as a political weapon”.
He also underlined the value of promotion, and the need for a “well-organised strategy, because the situation isn’t fair, considering the quality of our films”. On this subject, he praised the work carried out in countries like France and Italy.
This is the first time there has been a presentation of this kind for academy members, press, public and professionals from the sector. It’s a new addition introduced by José Garasino, who was recently appointed director general of the Academy (see news).
This year’s vote for Academy president has generated much more interest than usual due to the stir caused by the resignation of De la Iglesia (see news), who left the post because of his disagreements with the Sinde Law against piracy (see news).
(Translated from Spanish)
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