My Love for Havana is a Whim of My Heart

Geraldine Chaplin’s words when she was approached by the media and the public on her visit to this city in the context of the cinematographic festival like 37 years ago

Text and photo: Maggie Marin Ayarde

After I recognized her within the big 1930 Hall of the National Hotel of Cuba, venue of the International Latin American Cinema Festival of Havana it was not hard to strike up a conversation with this woman who is much alike her parents – Charles Chaplin and Oona O’Neill.

We chose a corner to get away a little from the crowd awaiting the official presentation of the membership of the jury. After having introduced myself she said: I’m having a good time in Havana!

-How long have you been away from this city?

-About 10 years maybe, how awful! There was a time when we came constantly every year, one or two months every year in summer I like it a lot. I think the last time I was here was while working on a French movie in Baracoa and I think it was 10 years ago. Yesterday I was trying to figure it out and I told myself: How is it possible? 10 years, what a crime!

-Why such a long absence?

-Much work, I have had too much work lately, small works but to-and-fro even more than in my life and I say this is due to my wrinkles, of course, since finding grannies is difficult, everybody has had plastic surgery, then I only play grannies”.

-In this festival you will be awarded the Coral for best female performance in last year’s film Dólares de arena.

-Yes. That’s a very beautiful film, so extraordinary and I was so happy at being awarded the prize here and I couldn’t come. I don’t know what I was doing, surely another film was shooting and it kept me busy. I wanted to cut my veins –she said amid laughter- but now when I receive the prize I won’t let it go”.

-This year you are the chairwoman of the fiction category, what’s your opinion about this responsibility?

-Oh my goodness. I know I’m a board member but chairwoman is big word”.

-How do you take on the roles when acting?

-For me, costume is very important. I first learn it all by heart, but entirely, without any interpretation, I let it sink in and then I talk to the director and you have your little way ahead. I suddenly dress up and there’s a mirror and then I see who she is and then I sink in the bank I own in my house of stolen things from other people, friends, people I observe on the street because I’m a keen observer and so I build the character.

“I’ve done many movies and that’s how I work to obey the director, that’s rule number one even though it isn’t always what I think I should do, the director is the boss, and he or she steers the course”.

-When do you reject a character or a movie?

-I never reject characters. I reject movies sometimes because they don’t convince me. Yes, I have said no many times although I like all the characters, it can be a chair, every chair can be interesting and every human being is fascinating because it is a different human being, none are the same. When I reject it’s because of the script”:

-Is the script the backbone of the story for you?

-Yes but not necessarily. For me the director comes first, for instance I already knew a previous work by María Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas, the filmmakers of Dólares de arena and if they had asked me to do any other thing I would do it, like a fly on the wall I would, because I can change myself into a fly as well”.

-What significance does your father’s legacy have on you as an actress and as a human being?

-I have continued against my father’s will who wanted decent professions for his children like architects, medical doctors. It’s been out of chance and laziness that I chose the performing arts, I told myself: I’m going to take advantage of the name and so it was. Later I fell in love with my profession.

Inheriting from my father, no. I imitate my father who never gave sermons. His example was extraordinary, especially his discipline and work capacity.

“I love the response of my daughter Oona when she says that what she inherited from her father is the moustache but she shaves it off and bursts out laughing. I’d like to make those words mine”.

-What catches your eye or do you like about about Havana, Cuba?

-The people, I like the people so much. For me there is warmth, also those whims of the heart which are totally irrational sometimes.

“All my life has been built around the whims of the heart and so has been Cuba, I wouldn’t dare to explain it. Sometimes they change but they run equally deep.” -She smiles and mischievously says that she has a wonderful man”.

-Would you like to film again in Cuba?

-Sure, I’d like to film again in this country, there’s much knowledge here”.

-In your opinion what is the current situation of Latin American Cinema?

-I think there are two types of cinema. It is divided in two, the films intended to see how many people will sit in armchairs on weekends having as a common denominator that they are of very poor quality, turning people into zombies, I don’t like them, I reject them, and the films I like can only be seen unfortunately in festivals. I love festivals for that. They have the films I want to see and I want to make. I try to make the films I’d like to see”.

-The actress displayed liveliness for the color of her clothes, so I asked: Do you have predilection for orange?

She was outspoken in her response.-No, I like colors, all the strong colors, it must be my old age. When I was younger I wore only black now I wear all the colors to transmit joy. Look at my socks –and she quickly rolled up her pant to show me the striped socks which come up as far as her knee and had a lot of colors like yellow, orange, blue and green. I laughed and she did as well and she told me: I have a lot of socks like these ones, in many colors, and it’s very sober.

Before saying goodbye.- Please send a message for the people in Havana at the end of year.

-The only thing I can wish them is to have a good time, it’s a need, bad things should be changed into good things and laugh about it. I learned that from my mother. Sometimes there were terrible things and my mother used to see humor in them and they were all less painful, it’s an experience that can be done”.

The opening gala of the 37th International Festival of New Latin American Film of Havana, in the Karl Marx Theater, of Playa municipality saw how Geraldine Chaplin, in an elegant black dress, received from the Daysi Granados National Cinema prize, the Coral Prize, for best female performance in last festival’s coproduction Dólares de arena.

From this Friday Geraldine Chaplin is evaluating alongside other personalities of the seventh art of the continent the 23 fiction films in contest. She is the chairwoman in this category having films from Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Mexico and Cuba.

Translated by ESTI