Cinema for me is…
Amalia in 23 Frames
1. Describe yourself in ten words.
Driven, constantly trying to develop myself and be more knowledgeable.
2. Your best quality? Your worst habit?
Hardworking, probably not being bold enough.
3. Your dream job?
Production Designer.
4. What do you like most about your country?
The new cinema languages that are now being approached by filmmakers.
5. Your favorite dish in your country?
Potato stew, it’s a very simple and not fancy at all dish that my mother used to make a lot when I was young, she would always switch the ingredients depending on what vegetables were in season.
6. Which word or phrase in your native language do you like the most and what does it mean?
My favorite word is “dor” which means to miss someone / something, it’s interesting how a word can encapsulate such a complex feeling.
7. What European capital have you visited lately?
Berlin during Berlinale last February.
8. Other than your own, which European country would you love to live in?
Spain or France, or anywhere south and close to the sea.
9. What does Europe mean to you? 3 values.
Diversity, culture and freedom of expression.
10. What film made you fall in love with cinema?
Céline et Julie vont en bateau (Jacques Rivette, 1974, FR), probably one of the first arthouse films I have ever seen that has showed me the potential of the moving images.
11. Your favorite film theatre? What do you like about it?
Victoria Cinema in Stockholm, it’s on Götgatan, the street I lived on the first month when I moved there for a year. It’s a small theater that has a lot of European films rolling every week.
12. Who is your movie hero?
Marion Steiner in Le dernier metro (François Truffaut, 1980, FR) played by Catherine Deneuve.
13. Which movie director would you like to be?
Jim Jarmusch.
14. Briefly describe your favorite scene.
Towards the end of La grande Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937, FR) when the two French soldiers, Maréchal and Rosenthal find shelter in a German woman’s house who lost her husband to the war. Maréchal starts to fall in love with her and she with him, but he must leave together with his comrade soon after. Before they leave, she tells him “If you knew how happy I’ve been to hear your footsteps around the house.” I think it’s a really beautiful metaphor as trough him she also remembers her late husband and misses having somebody she loves around, even just hearing them being there with her.
15. What are the 3 best European films you have seen in the last year?
Ema (Pablo Larraín, 2019, CL)
Ivana the Terrible, (Ivana Mladenovic, 2019, RO)
Treasure City (Szabolcs Hajdu, 2020, HU).
16. Which film character do you most identify with?
Frances in Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, 2012, US).
17. Your favorite soundtrack or song?
Everything Pedro Almodóvar uses in his films, he creates the most beautiful musical moments in film.
18. If you had to live in a movie, which one would you like it to be?
La Grande Bellezza (Paolo Sorrentino, 2013, IT).
19. Your life becomes a bio-pic. Who plays the role of you?
Juliette Binoche.
20. Which talent would you most like to have?
Playing any musical instrument.
21. What is your most treasured possession?
My 0.5 Staedtler mechanical pencil that I draw with.
22. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Having started to work in the Art Department as soon as I finished College.
23. What is your motto?
Something I say a lot when working “It is what it is” it’s a little inside joke because sometimes it feels like however hard you try to make something or make a good film set you are always limited by time, money etc. so in the end It is what it is.