MIRA, MI REY
A film made in Pamplona will culminate the X edition of Punto de Vista on Sunday 14th February. Directed by the filmmakers Ainara Vera (originally from Pamplona) and the Russian Victor Kossakovsky, Mira, mi rey (2014) was shot in sequence in the historic heart of Navarre's capital. But far from being constricted to local reality, it is a conceptual piece filled with questions that reflect on the essence and values of an entire country, offering a debate about the function and validity of an institution such as the monarchy in Spain.
Is there such a thing as Spanish identity? What truly concerns Spanish people? What are the foundations of the modern Spanish state ruled by higher law? Just as the ceremony to proclaim Felipe VI king was beginning, Vera and Kossakovsky also began filming in a run-of-the-mill street in the city of Pamplona. The solemnity of the ceremony – which we hear off screen – contrasts with the spontaneity of the passers-by. The words of the monarch overlap with the conversations held with citizens, more concerned about the defeat of the Spanish football team the previous night than with the proclamation of the new king. Filmic and real time keep pace here to document a historic moment. Mira, mi rey is the first part of a trilogy that will culminate with the end of Felipe VI’s monarchy.
Ainara Vera
Born in Pamplona, Ainara Vera graduated from the University of Navarre with a degree in Audiovisual Communication. After receiving a scholarship for young artists, she studied a Master’s Degree in Creation Documentary Filmmaking at Pompeu Fabra University. Along with 32 students and Victor Kossakovsky, she co-directed Demonstration, which premiered at IDFA. Her first documentary short, Sertres, premiered in Locarno. She is currently working as first assistant director to Victor Kossakovsky.
Victor Kossakovsky
St. Petersburg, 1961. Aged 17, he began his career at the Leningrad Documentary Film studio as an assistant camera operator, assistant director, and film editor. In 1988 he graduated in scriptwriting and cinematographic direction in Moscow. His films have received over a hundred national and international awards, and his latest feature film, ¡Vivan las antípodas!, has been nominated for Best Documentary by the European Film Academy. Retrospective exhibitions of his work have been held at centres such as the MoMA in New York and the Pompidou in Paris.
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