Lur Olaizola: "There's something nice in the gesture of creating something with the hardest moments."

The Donostiarra filmmaker and film programmer Lur Olaizola Lizarralde returns to the San Sebastián Film Festival after presenting the Third Notebook at that festival in 2022. Like the previous one, Olaizola will show his work in the Zabaltegi Tabakalera section, the most open of all competitive sections, since he has no limitations on style or time.

in the 2022 film, the main ingredients were the voice of Maria Dolores González Katarain Yoyesand the fragments of her book Yoyes. From her window, as well as the performances of actress Ana Torrent and Lur Olaizola herself. On this occasion, however, more actors participate in the story, with Edurne Azkarate and Sonia Almarcha at the forefront of the story.

Love, Unai and Merche are members of Alice's binding course, and they will deal with this and that while they cut, sew, and paste the leaves. They will talk about life, love, mourning, among other things, or the variations of each to live them all. 

The Variationgoes through mourning and, as we see at the end, is dedicated to your father. What made you want to make the film and how it came to work? What does the creative work offer the creator to help you in mourning?

A year and a half ago, my father died. It happened all of a sudden, and it's a lot of damage.

When I had the first version, I asked Maider Fernández, Claudia Salcedo, the friends who were on the film team later, and my partner to read it. They thought there was something there.

I think for creators, creation is a grip. At least I got to create it, and I think there's something nice about the gesture of creating something with the toughest moments of life.

The protagonists find peace of mind in music. How can this ability of art be explained to give the receiver calm sometimes, and courage sometimes, courage?

I don't know if this ability of art can be explained, but it certainly does.

It seems to me that art has the ability to transmit emotions, and often what we can't communicate through words can be transmitted through music or cinema.

What the creator tries to convey can also be received by each recipient in a different way.

The film shows an aesthetic will, a desire to seek beauty.

In fact, I always try to make my cinema beautiful.

Since fiction takes place in a binding workshop, I thought it was important to film this craftsmanship so that the film's materiality could be felt in the image. I've worked for the first time with the director of photography, Pablo Paloma, and I'd like to repeat it. This collaboration has been essential to get the aesthetics of the film. 

How does the creator measure when he is lost in his world, and when he is pulling a thread from his world that will unite with others?

I think the connection with the receiver may be different depending on each creator. In my case, I've always intended to get to the receiver with my film.

How does it change our relationship with art, largely due to the loss of support for films, music, books?

It is true that we live at a time when, in general, we are losing support. However, and focusing on cinema, in recent years there have been some directors who are filming again in analog. From Moriart, for example, he has shot Maspalomasin 35mm. The new Age of Irati Gorostidi is filmed in 16mm, and so are the variations.

So at least these three films that can be seen at the Festival this year are contrary to the trend you're talking about. 

Edurne Azkarate is the protagonist of the film.

It's been great working with Edurne Azkarate. In this short film, what I was most afraid of was directing actors, because I was doing it for the first time.

So in Variations, I've been running actors for the first time, and it's been a really nice experience, and I'd love to work with Edurne again.

Afterstarting your third notebook, you're back at a very close Festival. How does it change your experience at the Festival when you present the film there?

Being at the festival is very important for any director. As it happens in San Sebastian, we feel the festival is close, but it has a great international level and being able to be there is not easy.

I always enjoy the Zinemaldia as a film programmer for Tabakalera, because I go from film to film, but besides, I'm really excited to be able to present a job that I've done.

There's nothing like watching a movie you made on the big screen and in a crowded room.