Madrid, Spain, May 20, 2004 / 22:00 pm
The renowned Polish film director Krzysztof Zanussi says there is a terrible polarization between the communications media and faith, and that the label Catholic “is not well-liked by anyone in our society.”
Zanussi, who received the prize for Best Director at Cannes, made his comments during the First International Symposium on Cinema at the Catholic University of Valencia, Spain.
The 64 year-old director explained that “in the industry of today it is very difficult because in the last few years I have been more connected with the Catholic Church [Zanussi is an adviser to with the Pontifical Council for Culture], which is hated in the media and in European countries, although less so in America. It is difficult for me to attend the international film festivals and to find distributors, because the label of Catholic is not well-liked by anyone in our society.”
Asked about the possibilities for Catholic directors, Zanussi said, “The possibilities are very few in this world for a Catholic because any relationship with the Church is seen as very negative. I tell my students to not identify themselves too soon as Catholics, but rather to make movies that show their convictions.”