Film Festivals: Cinema and Cultural Exchange Mar Diestro-Dópido Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1 STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I, Mar Diestro-Dópido confirm that the research included within this thesis is my own work or that where it has been carried out in collaboration with, or supported by others, that this is duly acknowledged below and my contribution indicated. Previously published material is also acknowledged below. I attest that I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the work is original, and does not to the best of my knowledge break any UK law, infringe any third party’s copyright or other Intellectual Property Right, or contain any confidential material. I accept that the College has the right to use plagiarism detection software to check the electronic version of the thesis. I confirm that this thesis has not been previously submitted for the award of a degree by this or any other university. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author. Signature: Date: 30 August 2014 Details of collaboration and publications: An earlier and briefer draft of Chapter 3 of this thesis is forthcoming in - Mar Diestro-Dópido, ‘San Sebastián: A Film Festival of Contrasts, in Fernando Canet and Duncan Wheeler (eds.), New Trends in Contemporary Spanish Cinema,(Bristol: Intellect, to be published in 2014) 2 ABSTRACT Historically the focus of journalistic reports, film festivals have recently started to attract the attention of academics, applying concepts from cross- disciplinary fields such as cultural studies and ethnography. As a result, film festivals are now gradually being institutionalised as a field of study within the wider discipline of Film Studies. This thesis adds to this growing body of literature by exploring film festivals as sites of cinematic, cultural, social, political and economic exchange, as well as the multiple ways in which these events produce cultural value. This thesis draws on three detailed case studies: the Buenos Aires Festival de Cine Independiente, known as BAFICI, in Argentina; the BFI London Film Festival in the UK; and the San Sebastián International Film Festival in Spain. Issues of national identity, history and memory inform and become crystallised in each festival. They acquire a particular resonance in the tensions between national and regional allegiances in San Sebastián, as well as the pressures between cinema as culture and entertainment in the case of London. The focus on BAFICI allows for a development of the argument beyond critics and academics’ habitual focus on Western film festivals. Transnational events by nature, all three festivals relate in complex ways to their own national cinemas and localities, as well as to other festivals within the international circuit. My personal experience as film critic and reporter at festivals is underpinned by academic research, giving this project a dual perspective. With findings based on extensive interviews (primary research) with the teams responsible for programming the three festivals, this thesis aims to bring into the public domain the views of those who have shaped these festivals, creating a new body of material that can be drawn on by future scholars working in this area. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements 6-7 Notes on Referencing and Formatting 8 0. INTRODUCTION 9-68 0.1. Film Criticism & Academia 9-14 0.2. Chapter Rationale 14-24 0.3. Methodology 24-29 0.4. Contextualising the Film Festival 30-34 0.4.1 Avoiding a Definition of Festival 34-41 0.4.2. In the Beginning… 41-47 0.5. Cinephilia 47-53 0.6. Glamour 53-57 0.7. The Market, the Industry and the Transnational 57-63 0.8. FIAPF 63-68 0.9. From FIAPF to BAFICI 68 1. CHAPTER 1 BAFICI, BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINE INDEPENDIENTE: THE FESTIVAL AS INTERNATIONAL PLATFORM 69-141 1.1. Introduction 71-71 1.2. Latin American Festivals: Establishing a Context for BAFICI 72-81 1.3. Political Shifts in Argentina: A wind of Change 81-88 1.4. BAFICI: The New Face of Independent Cinema 88-110 1.5. BAL Buenos Aires Lab: Investing in New Argentine Cinema NAC 110-114 1.6. National Identity, BAFICI and the New Argentine Cinema 114-123 1.7. BAFICI and Historical Memory 123-130 1.8. Impact and Success: The Legacy of BAFICI 131-141 4 2. CHAPTER 2 FESTIVAL DE SAN SEBASTIÁN/DONOSTIA ZINEMALDIA/INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: A FILM FESTIVAL OF CONTRASTS 142-207 2.1. Introduction 144-145 2.2. Concocting the San Sebastián Film Festival; 1953-1955 145-157 2.3. Taking Film Seriously: The Tenure of Antonio de Zulueta, the Influence of José María García Escudero and the Promotion of the New(er) Spanish Cinema; 1956-1964 157-164 2.4. Every Cloud Has Its Silver Lining; 1965-1975 164-170 2.5. The Road to Freedom; San Sebastián During the Transition; 1975-1980 170-173 2.6. Rethinking the Festival; 1980s & 1990s 174-181 2.7. The Old, the New and the Rediscovered; San Sebastián’s Commitment to Film Preservation 181-186 2.8. Renewing the Festival; The National and the Local 186-200 2.9. Looking In and Looking Out 200-205 2.10. Back to the Future 205-207 3. CHAPTER 3 THE BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL: A PUBLIC FESTIVAL OF FESTIVALS 208-277 3.1. Introduction 210-215 3.2. Once Upon a Time. The LFF’s Origins 215-223 3.3. The LFF and British Cinema 223-237 3.4. The ‘Festival of Festivals’ Debate 237-250 3.5. The Eternal dichotomy - Culture vs. Entertainment 250-266 3.6. Funding, the Future and Contextualising the LFF’s Programme 266-277 4. CONCLUSION 4.1. The End of Festivals? 278-289 5. BIBLIOGRAPHY 290-322 APPENDIX I 322 APPENDIX II 349 APPENDIX III 368 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was supported by an Arts and Humanities Research Council Collaborative Doctoral Award [AHRC AH/I506780/1]. Further financial support was received from the BFI London Film Festival and Queen Mary University of London's Central Research Fund and School of English and Drama. I would like to thank the following people who in one way or another, directly or indirectly, have contributed to this thesis. First of all, my most sincere gratitude to my main supervisors: Professor Maria M Delgado, Queen Mary University of London, and Sandra Hebron, former Artistic Director of the BFI London Film Festival. Thanks also to my secondary supervisors: Dr Sue Harris, Queen Mary University of London, and Helen De Witt, former Festivals Producers (2004-2013), BFI London Film Festival, now Head of Cinemas (2013-ongoing) In Argentina: Mariano Martín Kairuz, Sergio Wolf, Eloísa Solaas and the International Press Department at BAFICI. Quintín, Flavia, Fernando Martín Peña, Andrés Di Tella, Diego Lerer, Celina Murga, Juan Villegas, Javier Portafuz, Cecilia Sosa. In Spain: Diego Galán, Mikel Olaciregui, Javier Rebordinos, José Ángel Herrero Velarde aka ’El notario’, Pere Portabella, José María Prado and the staff at the Filmoteca Española, Gemma Beltrán and San Sebastián’s press department, the Filmoteca Vasca, Jaime Pena, Chema de la Peña, Miguel Marías, Reyes Martínez, Álvaro Arroba, Manuel Asín, Carlos F. Heredero, José María de Orbe, José Luis Cienfuegos. In the UK: Helen De Witt, Michael Hayden, Sarah Lutton, Anne-Marie Flynn, Professor Ian Christie, Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, Tony Rayns, Richard Porton, Andrei Plakhov, Libby Saxton, Rob Winter, Joana Granero and the London Spanish Festival staff, Carmen Brieva and the Spanish Embassy’s Cultural 6 Office staff, Sight & Sound staff, the BFI Reuben library staff, BFI London Film Festival staff, and the staff at Queen Mary University of London. Thanks also to all staff who have welcomed me at the festivals I have attended, and to everyone who has ever asked the question: ‘how’s your PhD going?’ and meant it. Last but not least, to my family, for always supporting me regardless. And above all, to Kieron Corless, Nerea Diestro-Corless and P. For having accompanied me on this journey every step (or almost) of the way. 7 NOTES ON REFERENCING AND FORMATTING I have employed the MHRA referencing system for the referencing of this thesis. All translations from Spanish are mine unless otherwise indicated. When interviews were conducted in Spanish this is specified in the list of interviews at the beginning of each chapter. Spanish language film titles are named first in Spanish then in English the first time they are mentioned, but only English (if available) when used after that; for example: Cría cuervos/Raise Ravens (1975) when first mentioned; Raise Ravens after that. Spanish language organizations are named first in Spanish then in English the first time they are mentioned. Only English (if available) when used after that. For all film festivals other than my three case studies, the English name is given. 8 0. INTRODUCTION ‘History doesn’t record reality but constructs it as the object of its discourse’1 0.1. Film Criticism & Academia As the funding stream of this thesis signals – an Arts and Humanities Research Council CDA or Collaborative Doctoral Award entitled ‘Film Festivals: Cinema and Cultural Exchange’ – collaboration and exchange are the very focus of this research. In order to achieve this, I have used my own background as a journalist and researcher for Sight & Sound to inform my methodology. The balance between my four supervisors is also indicative of this exchange – two are academics and two film professionals. Indeed, having the Artistic Director of the London Film Festival as one of the supervisory team has allowed particular access to the inner workings of the festival discourse as well as understanding these events from the industry perspective2.