DOHA: It may take years to build a strong film industry here but with the serious initiatives of Qatar locally and internationally it will materialise, according to Hollywood actor Antonio Banderas. Banderas was speaking in a packed Katara Opera House yesterday during the ‘Doha Talks: In Conversation with Antonio Banderas’ as a highlight of this year’s Doha Tribeca Film Festival.
“It seems Qatar is making a big bet in preparing its own people and inviting people in the Arab world. It may take years but the country is very serious,” said Banderas responding to a query from an audience member.
As opposed to what others think that the Arab world has to put more efforts on producing more English language films to penetrate the global market, Banderas said the best way is to beef up the local market concentrating on the Arab’s own culture.
“The power of a film industry comes from a strong domestic market. When it is powerful, it can break out (into the international scene),” he said, adding he hopes to see Arab stories told by the Arabs themselves translated into the screen by Arab filmmakers.
He said sometimes the best movies come from places where people have the need to talk, where they might be poor in the financial aspect but never on the artistic side. To the delight of the hundreds of people in attendance, Banderas admitted he was quite comfortable wearing the thobe when he took on the role of an emir in the movie ‘Black Gold’ whose premiere highlighted the festival’s opening.
“I believe I have Arab blood running in my veins,” he quipped adding,” I have always been interested in the Arab world. For eight centuries, Arabs ruled Spain so there are lots of concrete references to the Arabs such as names of cities and monuments.”
As regards his career as an actor he said despite all the accolades as a movie actor he still feels the urge to go back to his first love which is theatre, from which he owes his present career.
“I just love theatre where the actor lives telling a story to a group of people listening to it. Now everything is recorded which diminishes the essence of the story,” he said, adding “technology doesn’t make life better, just faster.”
He said the best moment in an actor’s life is when he forgets he is acting and assimilates the role he plays. Referring to his latest role as the voice of the main character in ‘Puss in Boots’ he wittily remarked, “Isn’t it a paradox? I came to the US 20 years ago not knowing how to speak English but now they are using my voice!”
Asked on his advice to emerging filmmakers, he said, “ Love what you do. Forget about other things attached to your craft and other distractions in the world. Technique is always something anyone can get. Just communicate what you want to the audience.”