Amores Ciegos, which is about two couples and their interpersonal struggles, was an unusually hands-on project for Javier because Samitier wasn’t in Spain: “I was her eyes and made decisions because she was in L.A.” This meant he got to chose crew, locations, and some actors. Roberto, on the other hand, had less to do than normal, because there was very little that needed to be digitally altered, one of his domains of expertise. “Are you happy when you have problems to correct?” I asked. “No,” he said, “but I’m happy when I find them in big-budget productions, because they aren’t supposed to be there.”
Short films like Amores Ciegos, Javier explained, are like the CV of a director who is attempting to get financing for a feature-length film. This is especially difficult in Spain, because American films occupy so much theater space. “Normally, of 5 or 6 movies coming out, half are American,” he estimated, and not every one of the others is even Spanish – there are also movies from other parts of Europe and South America to contend with.
Because of lower budgets, Spanish movies tend to be about more intimate, personal topics, which can turn people off, and it can be hard to find an audience for this kind of film. “People prefer American movies,” Javier explained. “They don’t like Spanish films. They prefer to disconnect…The Spanish films that do succeed are similar to American films.”
