Portuguese film director Miguel Gomes poses after a press conference at the Busan International Film Festival in Busan, Oct. 4. Yonhap Portuguese film director Miguel Gomes said Friday the allure of filmmaking lies in its ability to explore reality and fantasy simultaneously, blending the two seamlessly.
"I've long been obsessed with creating a dialogue between reality and fiction, as they are often intertwined," Gomes said during a press conference at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), where his film "Grand Tour" was selected for the Gala Presentation. "Cinema is versatile in this sense. It requires energy, a certain spark, electricity if you will, but it's also guided by patterns and a balance of contrasts, like positive and negative charges.
" "To truly create, we need the tension, the electricity, between two opposing forces. That's what sparks life in cinema, and it's what can engage the viewer," he said. Gomes has long worked with this theme, exploring the endless possibilities of cinema.
His latest film, "Grand Tour," won him the Best Director Award at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Set in 1917 Rangoon, "Grand Tour" is a historical drama that follows a woman named Molly, determined to track down her fiance, Edward, a civil servant for the British Empire who abandons her on their wedding day and flees. "She went after him, and he kept running away.
It became a game of cat and mouse," he explained, noting that the film's starting point was a lighthearted jok.