THE American actor and director Terry Gilliam took part in the presentation of the first International Film Festival of Ibiza and Formentera.
The presentation took place in the Ibizan restaurant La Raspa.
During a press conference, Gilliam said he welcomed the creation of festivals such as this one which enables people to see films which would otherwise be difficult to see due to the domination of Hollywood films in commercial cinemas. The director said he disagreed with this because everything comes from a small town called Hollywood, which has a very limited view of the world. This is like a diet which is very difficult to swallow. Gilliam spoke about his interest in reviving his project The Man who Killed Don Quixote, with Johnny Depp in the lead role. It is wonderful working with him. He is very quick and very amusing. He should have been part of the Monty Python team with that mentality. The director of Twelve Monkeys, said that he would like to work with some Spanish actors, such as Javier Bardem, who he described as extraordinary, Sergi Lopez and Penelope Cruz, of whom he said when she makes her films in Spain they are fantastic, but when the Americans make them it appears that there is something missing. The reporters joked with the actor about the possibility that, if the Monty Python team existed today, they would dare to make an Islamic version of Life of Brian.
The success of Life of Brian was that it was not about Jesus Christ and that was made very clear in the film. It was about Brian. If we made one now about Islam it would not be about Mohammed but about another person. However, he said that there was no possibility of the Monty Python team getting back together, although he admitted that they do often meet to go out for dinner or to film previews. With regard to his projects, Gilliam said he was very proud of his latest film, Tideland, presented in the Sitges festival where opinion on it was divided. This is the first official presentation of the Ibiza Film Festival, and it will be followed by many others in the next few months, in London, Madrid, Berlin, Amsterdam, Cannes, and Los Angeles as well as in Ibiza.
Terry Gilliam in Ibiza to present international film festival